A smaller history of the United States

Prefatory Note

The following work, written from the same view-point as the author's larger history (first edition 1877), has been prepared in response to sundry requests for a book of a more elementary character than that, which should be suitable for intermediate schools and for home students.

In essaying to treat our country's wars more concisely than is customai-y in school histories, the author desires not to be misunderstood as in any wise depreciating the sincerity of purpose, or the spirit of self-sacrifice, which so largely animated many who were willing to give up their lives for their country. Yet, as was lately remarked by an influential London journal respecting the war of the Revolution, that even that conflict was one which, " in the opinion of all right-thinking men now alive upon both sides of the Atlantic, ought never to have taken place," there would seem to devolve a responsibility therefore upon writers of history for the young, that they endeavor to incline the minds of these to a consideration of that " more excellent way" of settling disputes which does not involve the dread appeal to arms.

Assured, also, that the pictorial representations of scenes of violence with which the " boys' papers" of the day are filled, 'have been influential in developing a habit of ready resort to the pistol and other weapons, the writer has carefully avoided the introduction of any illustrations which might tend to foster a propensity so subversive of social order and good morals, and one on account of which the whole land even now mourns.

It may be pertinently said here, with reference to a class of illustrations commonly employed in school histories, — I refer to

Prefatory Note.

those representing battles with the Indians, — that these cannot be otherwise than unnecessarily humiliating to a people who, as has been abundantly proved, have been in almost every case of overt war the ones wronged, and not the aggressors. Vividly does the writer recall, after the lapse of more than a fourth of a century, the remark, vehemently uttered, of a lad who occupied the same form with him at school, that " he would wish no better fun than to go West to the plains and be given a chance to shoot the red-skins." Hence the need of fair statement upon the Indian question is specially called for in the school-room, where prejudices may originate which the corrected views of later life may be almost powerless to remove.

As a compensation, it is hoped, for brevity in the direction which has been indicated, space has been found for the insertion of a lengthy chapter (xxiv.) upon the work of the various government departments, wherein the student will obtain an insight into such useful matters of current history and administration as the coast survey, the life-saving and weather-signal services, immigration, the revenue, the public lands, the geological survey of the Territories, etc. This chapter, which has involved much labor in the preparation, may divest the subject of government of something of the repugnance in which it is apt to be held by the youthful student, and make easier to his apprehension the subject-matter of some parts of the Constitution.

Finally, in lieu of any teaching which might seem to support so narrow and mischievous a political maxim as that which declares for " my country, right or wrong," the attempt has been made, through the lessons deducible from our history, to magnify the truthfulness of that noble and more Christian motto of our late President, " I would rather be beaten in the Right, than succeed in the Wrong."

J. W. L.

Germantown, Philadelphia, 1882.

Contents

PERIOD I.

THE EARLY INHABITANTS OF NORTH AMERICA. CHAPTER PAGE

I.— The Mound-Builders and Cliff-Dvvellers 7

Chapter I. The Mound-builders And Cliff-dwellers

1. A large part of the United States was once peopled by a race who, because they built great mounds of earth, have been named the Mound-Builders. We do not know what was their real name.

2. Mounds of Regular Shape. — The mounds were built in many different forms. Sometimes they were shaped like pyramids, not coming to a point at the top, but cut off, or truncated. Some were four-sided at the base ; others were six- or eight-sided. Others, again, appear to have been constructed with steps, winding to the summit. These last were, therefore, something like those Mexican pyramids called teocallis, upon whose summits sacrifices were once offered by the Aztec people to their gods.

3. The Largest of these Regular-shaped Mounds have been found in the States which border on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. There is one at Miamisburg, Ohio, which

History of the United States.

is 68 feet high, and 850 feet around the base; one in West Virginia is more than 70 feet high, and 1000 feet in circum-

Regulau-Shaped Mounds, Washington County, Miss. — Height of high mound, 55 feet; of platform, 10 feet; of road, 4 feet ; of low mound, 8 feet.

ference at the base. At Cahokia, Illinois, there is one still larger. Their usual height, however, is from 6 to 30 feet.

4. Enclosures. — The Mound-Builders not only constructed mounds, they also formed large enclosures by building heavy embankments of earth and stones. These embankments were from 5 to 30 feet high, and appear to have been made use of as fortifications, or as places of refuge from attack. It is estimated that these enclosures in the State of Ohio alone number at least 1500.

5. Odd-shaped Mounds. — There is a third class of these ancient constructions, made in various odd forms, such as those of birds, animals, and men, lying flat, and sometimes of great size. There is a very large one of this sort in Adams County, Ohio, shaped like a serpent, and holding an egg in its mouth. As this "egg" is 160 feet long and 80 feet broad, the serpent itself is not a small one. In Licking County, in the same State, there is a similar curious object made of earth, which is called the " Alligator."

6. The Articles found within the Mounds are, besides human remains, implements, such as stone chisels, arrow-

The Mound- Builders and Cliff-Dwellers.

and lance-heads, axes, and knives; ornaments, such as bracelets and beads, generally made of copper, but sometimes of silver or polished stones; also articles of pottery, and pipes in abundance.

7. Use of the Mounds. — The mounds were used as sepulchres, and perhaps also for the purposes of worship. Frequently a charred appearance is observable on their bare summits, as though sacrifices had been there offered. Yet this appearance may also have been caused by their use as fire-signal stations.

&VL

Mound-Builders' Enclosure, Miami Valley, Ohio.

8. Dress and Habitations of the Mound-Builders. — The Mound-Builders did not dress themselves in skins like the Indians, who came later, but in woven garments, made of a material like hemp. They appear to have been a race of farmers, rather than fighters or hunters.

They must have lived in tents

or in wooden huts, for no trace of their dwellings has ever been found.

9. When they came hither. — At what period the Mound- Builders came to North America is also unknown. We are sure it must have been hundreds of years ago, because every skull as yet found has been in a state of extreme decay. There is but a single one known to have been taken out and kept entire. A very good reason for believing that the mounds were built a long while ago is the fact that large trees, hundreds of years old, are found growing upon them. One trunk of a tree found upon a mound at Marietta, Ohio, showed 800 rings of annual growth.

10. Conjectures as to where they came from. — "We are likewise ignorant as to where the Mound-Builders came from. Some learned people believe that they came from India or Egypt. It is the general opinion, however, that they came hither from Mexico and Central America. It is thought that after living in the land some centuries they were driven back by the present race of Indians, who appear to have come from the North.

11. The Cliff-Dwellers. — Ruins of stone walls and towers have been found in the Rocky Mountain region, chiefly in

Jill

Elephant or Mastodon Mound, Grant County, Wis. — Lying flat on the ground; height, 5 feet; length, 135 feet.

the south-western part of Colorado, and localities adjacent in New Mexico and Arizona. Arrow-points and fragments of pottery are plentiful. Some of the ruins are found on the meadows by the stream-courses ; others arc excavations or caves in the faces of low bluffs and cliffs ; others, again, are built in the shelves of rock high up on the sides of the canons. Whether this people inhabited the country of the Colorado at the same time that the Mound-Builders dwelt in the Valley of the Mississippi, we do not know. It is thought by some that they were the ancestors of the Moquis or Pueblos. Knowing nothing of their real name and history, we speak of them now as the Cliff-Dwellers.

The Mound-Builders and Cliff-Dwellers.

12. The Lowland Ruins are the remains of agricultural settlements, which were probably occupied by a peaceable people. The ordinary houses are square or of other rectangular shape. There is usually near each group of dwellings a circular ruin, resembling a tower, often as much as forty feet in diameter, and in many cases having double or triple walls. The spaces between the outer walls are divided by heavy partition-walls into a number of apartments. The inner or central portion of the tower may have been used as a councilchamber ; the apartments, as the receptacles of sacred or valuable property. It is likely that these structures served as both temples and fortifications.

Other single-walled towers, placed in commanding situations along the canons, were apparently watch- or signal-towers.

Ground-Plan of a Triple-Walled Tower of the Cliff Dwellers.

13. The Cave-Dwellings may have been occupied by the same tribes that inhabited the lowland houses, for the purposes of retreat and defence from their enemies. Tliey were made by digging irregular cavities in the faces of the low bluffs and cliffs, where the stratum was of a soft rock. The fronts were then walled up, leaving only small doorways, and an occasional small window at the side or top.

14. The Cliff-Houses may have been used in times of invasion and war as places of security for their families when the warriors went forth to battle. Or they may have been used as permanent habitations when the tribes were driven from the meadow-lands to take refuge in those " fastnesses of the rock." They are neatly and firmly built of masonry on the shelves of rock, yet their construction must have cost a great deal of labor, as the stone and mortar had to be brought hundreds of feet up the face of precipitous cliffs. [See frontispiece.]

Chapter II. The North American Indians

1. When the islands and continent of America were discovered by Columbus and the Spanish explorers who succeeded him, the native people were called by them Indians, for it was supposed that the land they had reached was part of India.

2. Where the Race of Copper-colored Indians came from we know as little about as we do about the origin of the Mound-Builders. There is, or Mas, a tradition prevalent among the Indian tribes that their ancestors came from the North-West. As our Indians bear a resemblance to the nomads of Eastern Siberia, it is thought that their ancestors crossed to this country either by way of Behriug's Strait or by the Aleutian chain of islands which stretch from Kamtschatka to Alaska.

3. Language. — The speech of the North American Indians comprises at least eight different languages, each of these languages including a large number of dialects. Yet, as there is a similarity in the grammatical structure of all, or nearly all, of these, it is inferred that the tribes had a common origin. They had no written language, but would sometimes represent their ideas by pictures drawn on

History of the United States.

wood, bark, or stone, guttural in toue.

Their speech is mostly harsh and

4. The Dwellings of the Indians, their wigwams or lodges, were frequently formed of a framework of poles, bent together at the top, and covered with skins. Others were huts overlaid with bark. Some of these, as was the case with the Huron habitations, were 100 or even 200 feet in length, aud contained many families under one roof. On our Mexican border, in the region of the Lower Colorado and Gila Rivers, are the Pueblos or Village Indians.

These live, many together, in large houses several stories high, made of adobe, — that is, mud mixed with chopped straw and sand or gravel, and baked in the sun. The

The North American Indians. 15

upper stories are less in size than those below, and are reached by ladders on the outside.

5. Occupations and Amusements. — The chief occupations of the red men were hunting and fishing, constructing bark canoes, and making rude weapons and implements. They had the war-club, the tomahawk of stone, and the flint-headed arrow, for battle and for the chase ; hatchets of stone, stone lasts upon which to fashion their moccasins, knives of the same material to dress skins, and other similar implements. Fish-bones served for angling-hooks, and animal or vegetable fibres for lines. The women tilled the ground, cooked, and did the hardest of the work. Indian corn and tobacco, squashes and beans, were the chief products of their little garden -patches. The principal amusements of the Indians were wrestling, running, leaping, and other athletic sports, together with games of chance and dancing.

6. Their Traffic or Commerce was principally carried on with wampum in the East, and with copper and pipe-stone in the West. The wampum was made of shell, in the shape of beads, and was strung together. It was of two colors, white and black or dark-purple, — the dark beads being valued the higher. These strings of wampum were not only used as money, but also to serve as records of treaties, in which case many of them were joined together in the shape of belts.

7. Government. — The tribes were ruled by sachems or chiefs. Although the government of a tribe generally continued in the same family, yet if the people thought they had good reason for making a change, they would elect a ruler of their own choice. In every tribe were clans or bands, each of which was known by its totem, — generally a bird or an animal. Thus, a tribe would be divided into Wolves, Bears, Turtles, Crows, etc.

8. Personal Appearance and Characteristics. — The Indians, in their physical appearance, are usually tall and well formed, with skin of a copper color, high cheek-bones, and black hair and eyes. Although hardy and brave, hospitable and generous, they also delighted in cunning, and were cruel in their triumphs. Whilst too prone to revenge an injury, a deed of kindness shown them was never forgotten.

9. Religion. — Their religion consisted in a belief in one Great Spirit, the Creator and Ruler of all things, and in many lesser spirits or manitous. Each lake, river, and mountain had its manitou, and these must be pacified by presents, such as beaver-skins, tobacco, meat, or any other article which the Indians highly prized. In place of priests, they had their " medicine-men" or sorcerers, their dreamers and interpreters of dreams. The Indians believed that after death the soul lived forever in the " happy huntinggrounds."

10. The Tribes arranged in Four Groups. — The Indians who occupied the territory between the Atlantic Ocean and the Rocky Mountains may be arranged in four great groups, namely, the Algonkin, Iroquois, Mobilian, and Sioux or Dakota.

(a) Algonkin. — The Algonkin family comprised the greatest number of tribes of any of the four groups. They inhabited most of the territory from Hudson's Bay on the north to the Ohio and Cape Fear Rivers on the south, and from the Atlantic Ocean westward to the Mississippi River.

Some of the tribes of this group were the Chippeways of the Great Lakes ; the Abenakis of Maine ; the Mohicans and Narragansetts of New England ; the Lenni- Lenapes or Delawares; the Powhataus of Virginia; the Slmwnees of Kentucky; the Illinois and Miamis; and the Ottawas, Sacs and Foxes.

The North American Indians. 17

(b) Iroquois. — Surrounded on every side by tribes of the Algonkin was the land of the Iroquois. This family included the Hurons or Wyandots, in Upper Canada ; the Eries, south of Lake Erie ; but principally the confederacy of five warlike tribes which were known to the whites as the " Five Nations."

These Five Nations were located in the State of New York, — the tribe farthest east, near the Hudson River, being the Mohawks ; next to them, on the west, the Oneidas ; then the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas, in the order named.

The Tuscaroras, in 1713, came northward from North Carolina, and, uniting with the five tribes, these became afterward known as the " Six Nations."

(c) Mobilian. — In the region south of Kentucky and North Carolina, and between the. Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River, were the tribes composing the Mobilian group. The three large tribes of Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws are the only ones which properly belong thus together.

The languages of the Cherokees, Catawbas, Uchees, and Natchez are quite different from those of the three firstnamed, and also from one another. They are placed in this group simply for convenience of classification.

The Natchez tribe dwelt by the Mississippi, near the present city of the same name. They had a wigwam temple and sacred fire, being worshippers of the sun. It is thought that they were a remnant of the Mound-Builders, and that their ancestors may have come from Mexico and Central America.

(d) Dakotas or Sioux. — West of the Mississippi, from that river to the desert, dwelt the Dakotas or Sioux. Southward, their country extended as far as the Arkansas River. The names of some of our cities, States, and rivers show

History of the United States.

the particular localities where the tribes once dwelt, as the Tetons and Omahas of Nebraska, the Yanktons and Iowas, the Kansas, Poncas, and Osages.

There was one tribe only of the great Sioux family east of the Mississippi, namely, the Winnebagoes. They were located on the west side of Lake Michigan, north of where Chicago now stands.

11. Tribes of the Far West. — Of the other large tribes west of the land of the Dakotas there were, and are still, the Blackfeet Indians of the Upper Missouri, and the

A House of the Pueblos or Village Indians.

Crows of the Yellowstone ; the Pawnees of the Platte ; the roving Comanches and Apaches of the Rio Grande, and other tribes. The Blackfeet were often at war with the Flat-Heads or Snake Indians, who belonged west of the Rocky Mountains.

The North American Indians. 19

12. Habits of the Nomad Tribes. — The most of these tribes, as well as the Dakotas, resided in their villages not more than five months of the year, principally to plant and gather the crop of maize. Then the whole population, except those who trapped the beaver and other fur animals, would remove to the ranging-grounds of the buffalo, living on the meat of that animal and drying quantities of it for future use.

13. The Tribes of the North-West, beyond the Rocky Mountains, the Flat-Heads or Snakes, the Chinooks, the Walla- Wallas, etc., are neither so tall, strong, nor active as the Indians east of that range. The California tribes have long, straight hair, and very dark complexions, and are thought to be of Malay origin. The Pueblos or Village Indians of Arizona have been already spoken of in paragraph 4.

14. Tribes North of our Territory. — The region between Hudson's Bay and the Rocky Mountains was sparsely inhabited by hunters and trappers of the Athabasca tribes. Still farther north, the shores of all the seas, bays, and inlets, and also the islands from Greenland to Behring's Strait, were inhabited then, as at present, by the Eskimos.

15. Tribes or Races South of us. — The Aztecs, whom the Spaniards found inhabiting Mexico, had attained to a high degree of civilization, not unlike that of the ancient Egyptians. They were skilled in architecture and metal-working, and practised embalming the dead. The natives of some of the West India Islands — the Caribs of the Bahamas, San Domingo, Jamaica, etc. — were gentle and peaceable. Those of the Caribbean Islands were fierce and warlike. The natives of all these islands were, however, almost exterminated by the Spaniards soon after their conquest by the Europeans.

PERIOD II.

EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES, TO THE SETTLEMENT OF JAMESTOWN.

Chapter III. The Northmen In America

1. Traditions of the Indians. — The Indians of the various tribes had many improbable traditions of the early peopling of this country. As they possessed no written language, these vague accounts are of little value. As to their own origin, the belief among them is general that they were created by a Great Spirit. Some of their myths, however, are in character like the following, which has been handed down by one of the California tribes. First of all, there existed the moon. Next came the coyote, or prairiewolf. The moon and the coyote created all things, including man. This man, said some, was in the form of a stone; others affirmed that he was a mass of flesh like a great earth-worm. Certain of the tribes appear to have had a tradition of a deluge, which at some ancient epoch covered the earth and drowned all of mankind but a few.

2. The First Visitors. — The first who came to the American shores, after the early peopling of the country by the Mound-Builders and Indians, appear to have been the Northmen. We speak of the Northmen now as the Scandinavians ; in other words, those who inhabit the countries of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, which, together, are

The Northmen in America.

called Scandinavia. The accounts of their early voyages to this country are contained chiefly in the Icelandic sagas, ■which were poems or tales recited by the native bards, or saga-men, and afterward written in books.

3. Northmen settle in Iceland. — We are sure, in the first place, that Iceland was occupied by Norwegians in or about the year 874. The name of the leader of this company

Nortihiex's Vessel.

was Ingolf. He left his native country to escape the tyranny of the viking Harold, who was surnamed the Fair-haired.

4. Greenland next Discovered.— After the Northmen had been in Iceland more than a hundred years, one of their number, named Eric the Red, sailed to the westward with a few men, and discovered a country which he called

Greenland. Measure upon the map, and you will find that Greenland is only two hundred miles away from Iceland. It is surprising that such a seafaring people did not find it sooner.

5. Biarni's Voyage. — The news of Eric's discovery reaching Iceland, a bold sailor, named Biarni, sailed for the same region ; but his vessel was blown southward, out of its course, and other strange lands were seen, which may have been parts of Nova Scotia and New England.

6. Northmen on the New England Coast. — About the year 1000, Leif, the son of Eric, also sailed to the south on a voyage of discovery. He landed on a coast which, from the description given in the saga, appears to have been the south-eastern part of Massachusetts. The country was named by him Vinland, because of the abundance of grapes found there ; and to another coast farther north, which was probably Nova Scotia, was given the name of Mark land.

7. Later Voyages. — There are accounts of a few other voyages by the Icelanders to the same shores, and of disputes with the natives, or " skrellings," as the Northmen called them. But, the printer's art being as yet unknown, the knowledge of the Northmen's discoveries was not spread abroad. Even of Greenland scarcely anything was heard until the time when Hans Egede, in 1721, established a mission-station of the United Brethren on its western coast.

8. Traditions of Madoc and of the Zeni. — In addition to these accounts concerning the Northmen there is a less credible tradition about Madoc, the son of a Welsh prince, who was reputed to have come hither in the twelfth century. There is also the later narrative of two brothers named Zeno, of the city of Venice, who were said to have sailed to Iceland and Greenland and the shores adjacent.

Explorations of the Spaniards. 23

Chapter IV. Exploeations Of The Spaniards

1. The Spirit of Discovery and the Desire for Trade with the Far East began to show itself in Europe shortly after the period of the Crusades. The Crusades had made the people of Europe acquainted with remote regions that they had heard of before only by name. The glowing tales of travellers who had penetrated to India and other distant lands also increased the desire to know still more of those wonderful countries.

2. Improvements in Navigation. — The invention of the mariner's compass infused new life into the art of the navigator. No longer dependent upon observing the position of the sun and the stars, he could now pursue his course across the deep even though thick clouds overspread the skies. When the mariners of Spain and Portugal found they might safely pass beyond the " Pillars of Hercules," — for so the heights on either side of the Straits of Gibraltar were called, — the exploration of the West African coast was continued in earnest. The little kingdom of Portugal was particularly active in that direction, and soon became famed as the foremost of maritime nations.

3. Prince Henry of Portugal. — This thirst for adventure and discovery was greatly fostered by Prince Henry of Portugal, who drew around him men of science, established a naval college and observatory, and caused much attention to be paid to the making of maps. Many expeditions were fitted out, and numerous new facts were gathered for the map-makers. Yet it is certain that the love of knowledge

24 History of the United States. [U92

was by no means the chief spur to enterprise with many, for the traffic in slaves and the barter for gold soon became prominent objects of the African voyages.

4. Columbus and his Theory. — One of those who for a while earned a livelihood at map-making in the capital of Portugal, was a native of Genoa, named Christopher Columbus. He had early engaged in a seafaring life, visiting many places, perhaps even Iceland, and was one of the small number of people in that age who believed that the earth was a globe, and not flat as it appeared to be. Hence, he felt confident that a much more easy and rapid way to reach India than by the overland route would be to sail directly westward across the Atlantic.

5. Efforts of Columbus to obtain Aid. — Desirous of proving the truth of his theory, Columbus set out to obtain the aid he needed. This he found to be a difficult task, for kings, court people, and most of the men of science whom he met, scouted his ideas as visionary. Unsuccessful with the senate of liis native Genoa, his scheme rejected by King John of Portugal, and also by his geographers, Columbus finally presented himself at the court of Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella, the sovereigns of that country, were then engaged in war with the Moors, so that seven weary years elapsed before the application of Columbus was finally granted.

6. Columbus sails from Palos, in Spain. — On the 3d day of the Eighth month (August), in the year 1492, Columbus sailed from the port of Palos, in Spain. He was accompanied by 120 men, in three small vessels. They were detained a few days at the Canary Isles to repair one of the vessels, and then continued on their westward course. Week after week the little fleet sailed onward, and, though the men became alarmed and were almost ready to mutiny, the faith of the commander failed not.

1499] Explorations of the Spaniards. 25

7. America Discovered. — Finally, fields of sea-weed began to appear; then came birds, which the Spaniards were sure belonged upon the land. Next, at evening, a light was seen by the expectant voyagers, and the following morning they beheld a low, sandy beach, and strange, darkliued people upon it. It was on the 12th day of the Tenth month (October), 1492, that America was discovered by Columbus, who, supposing he had arrived on the coast of India, called the natives Indians.

8. Columbus concludes his First Voyage. — The land which Columbus had discovered was an island of the Bahama group, called by the natives Guanahani, but by the Spaniards named San Salvador. It was taken possession of in the names of the king and queen of Spain, without any thought of the rights of its unresisting owners. Columbus then sailed southward, and, after discovering Cuba, Havti or Hispaniola, and others of the West India Islands, returned to Spain, where he was received with great honors.

9. Columbus made Three Other Voyages to the New World. Upon the first of these, in. 1494, Jamaica was discovered. Next, in 1498, he sailed along the northern coast of South America, near the mouth of the river Orinoco. Upon his last voyage, in 1502, he explored the coast of Honduras, but, returning thence, was wrecked upon the island of Jamaica, and remained there a year before succor arrived. It is sad to record the fact that from Havti he sent hundreds of slaves to Spain, contrary to the wishes of Queen Isabslla. Yet Columbus was a man of a religious spirit, and professed to be doing God service in sending the pagan natives to a Christian land.