The thrilling story of the world's giant republic, from the earliest discoveries to the present time ...

Dedication

TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE

OF THE

FHE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Preface

No apology is needed in presenting another history of tlie United States to the rising generation of our glorious country. No other story is so inspiring and thrilling as that of our own land, from its discovery to the present time. The account of our marvelous progress in civilization, in the arts, in education and in power should be read and re-read to be understood and appreciated.

This work begins with the fascinating recital of the Norse discoveries (more like fable than reality), those wild, impetuous Vikings of old, who were among the first to dare the perils of unknown seas, and carry their conquering hordes into other lands. It gives the authentic history, as well as some of the legends, of those first bold explorers.

It tells of the mysterious mound builders, whose origin, race, and history has so long been a puzzle to scientists ; of the daring cliff dwellers, whose inaccessible, cave-like homes were made beside the aeries of the majestic eagle, the national bird of our land ; of Columbus, the resolute hero, who discovered a new world in the face of great obstacles, and opened the pathway of American civilization ; of the red patriots, who died, defending their homes from the relentless grasp of the invader.

Then came the adventurous Spaniards, searching for gold and the fountain of youth, and, by accident rather than by design, making discoveries which thrilled the old world with wonder and incredulity.

The crack of the white settlers' musket is heard in the wilderness, and a heroic vanguard of civilization and a new nation is seen marching onward in search of home, of country, of peace and of freedom from oppression.

The gallant little Mayflower, bringing the foundation of a mighty nation, anchors at last beside the "wild New England shore." The same hand which guided that staunch little vessel to that rocky, snow-bound coast might have led it to the golden strands of California, but rocks are more substantial than golden nuggets, and the future of the greatest

8 PREFACE.

richest, and most powerfnl nation on earth demanded a race of stem, self-sacrificing men to build it up.

From the beginning the bright star of progress never set, and the growing nation moved steadily onward and upward, through wars and desolations to the first place among the nations.

The wars with the red men are recorded in blood and massacres, and will teach this generation at what a sacrifice and cost our liberties, our comforts and our rare priveleges were purchased.

We can almost hear the joyful clang of the old Liberty Bell, as it rang out our Independence, so loudly and clearly, that the pulsing echo swept around the whole world, telling of the birth of a new nation.

A little army, fired with even more than Spartan heroism, boldly struck for Liberty and freedom of thought and action, and the recital of that "time which tried men's souls," always quickens the heart-beats, and sends the triumphant blood tingling through every vein of the true

patriot.

This book tells the story of the great Civil War, the greatest struggle on record, when brother met brother upon the field of battle, and the cloud of desolation covered our land. It is followed by a full history of our war with Spain, of our Philippine and Hawaiian possessions.

All of the principal events of our history are accurately traced down to the present day, telling of that dark time when the dastardly assassin's bullet ended the life of President McKinley, and the world paused with a gasp of horror and ready sympathy.

The work is in conversational form, being comprised by questions and answers, a manner of recital as new as it is interesting to young people. The historical facts are absolutely reliable, as none were admitted unless supported by the best authority.

Added to all this is the intensely interesting account of the manners, the habits, the customs, and the traits of the Indian tribes of North America. The book should be placed in the hands of every child in the land, and it is especially adapted for supplementary reading in the schools.

Chapter I

The Prize Offer. — Cave and Cliff Dwellings. — Mound Builders. — The Lost Atlantis. — The American Indian. — Why so Called. — Indian Schools. — Indian Characteristics. — Story of Hatuey. — How the Indians Found Out that the Spaniards were Not Gods. — What They Thought of Gun-powder. — Traditions. — Tribes. — Mexican Indians. — "Fire-water." , 17

Discovery of Iceland. — Settlement. — Greenland. — Norsemen. — Discovery of America. — Vineland. — Claims of Other Nations Regarding the Discovery of America. — Columbus. — Where Born. — How He Came to Try a Voyage of Discovery. — Treachery of King John II. — Rebellious Crew. — Land Discovered. — Was Friday an Unlucky Day. — Superstitions. — Baked Beans. — Story of an Egg. — Other Voyages. — Death of Isabella. 32

Cabot. — Vasco de Gama. — Amerigo Vespucci. — Not the First Discoverer. — Gasper Cortereal. — Kidnapping the Indians for Slaves. — Ponce de Leon. — The Spring of Youth. — Vasco Numez de Balboa. — Discovery of the Pacific Ocean. — Cortez and Pizarro. — Magellan. — His Discoveries and Death. — Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon. — Stephen Gomez. — Narvaez. — Cartier. — Alarcom. — Diaz. — Fernando de Soto. — Cruelty to Indians. — Discovery of Mississippi River. — Willoughby. — Coligny. — Ribault. — Melendez. — Founding of St. Augustine. — Gourgnes. — Frobisher. — Drake. — Sir Humphrey Gilbert. — Sir Walter Raleigh 48

Club Badges. — Gosnold. — First Direct Route to America. — London and Plymouth Companies. — Chamberlain. ^First Permanent French Settlement. — Quebec. — George Popham. — Raleigh Gilbert. — First Permanent English Settlement. — John Smith. — Po-

8 CONTENTS.

cahontas. — Her Real Name. — Her Marriage. — Henry Hudson. — Dutch Settlements. — Price Paid for New York. — First Representative Congress. — Negro Slavery. — Landing of the Pilgrims. — Character of the Pilgrims. — Story of the Moose-trap. — Indian Storehouses. — Attacked by the Indians 63

Trip to Plymouth, Mass. — New Friends. — Pilgrim Wharf. — Plymouth Rock. — Cole's Hill. — Town Brook. — Pilgrim Spring. — Training Green. — Watson's Hill. — Burial Hill. — Pilgrim Hall. — General Hancock's Clock. — Peregrine White's Cradle. — John Alden's Bible. — Sword of Miles Standish. — Governor Winslow's Chair. — National Monument. — Old Houses. — First Constitution of NewEngland. — Miles Standish. — Second Marriage. — Home. — Monument.— Sam oset. — Captain Hunt. — Squanto. — Massasoit. — Treaty. — Quadequinto. — Hobbomak. — Corbitant. — Canonicus.— Massasoit's Sickness. — Queer Broth. — Why the Pilgrims Landed on the Rock-bound Coast of New England Rather than the Gold-fretted Coast of California. — First Thanksgiving 77

Ferdinand Gorges. — John Mason. — Maine and New Hampshire. Portsmouth. — Dover. — First Indian War. — Jamestown Saved. Story of the War. — Settlement of New York. — Description of Dutch Houses. — Quincy. — Boston. — Salem. — First Church of Boston. — Roger Williams. — Providence Founded. — Indian Friendship. — Lord Baltimore. — Wouter Van Twiller. — Concord Founded. — Anne Hutchinson. — Schools. — Harvard College. Pequod War. — Extermination of the Tribe. — New Sweden. Jesuits. — First Printing Press in America. — Another Indian War. — Cruelty to Quakers. — Missionaries. — Pine Tree Shillings. — A Bride's Dowry 94

Indian War in Maryland. — Nathan Bacon. — King Philip's War. Brass Kettle Story. — Saved by a Jack-o-Lantern. — King Philip's

CONTENTS. g

Death.— His Assassin. — Great Comet. — Charleston Founded. William Penn.—LaSalle.— Charter Oak.— King William's War. Salem Witchcraft. — Captain Kidd.— West India Buccaneers in

Story of Hannah Dustin. — Yale College. — Eunice Williams. — French More Cruel than Indians. — First Newspaper in United States. Coree War. — Yammassee War. — Founding of New Orleans. Annihilation of Natchez Indians. — Oppressions. — Oglethorpe Founds Georgia. — King George's War. — French and Indian War. — George Washington. — Benjamin Franklin. — General Braddock's Defeat. — Story of Acadia 128

Montcalm. — Loudon. — Massacre of Fort William Henry. — William Pitt. — Louisburg Taken. — Stark. — Putnam. — Abercrombie. Loss of Ticonderoga — Fort Duquesne. — Death of Wolfe and Montcalm at Quebec. — Monument to their Memory. — Peace. Indian War. — Pontiac. — English Oppression. — Samuel Adams. Stamp Act. — Patrick Henry. — Boston Massacre. — Boston Tea Party. — General Gage 146

Green Mountain Boys. — Ethan Allen. — Benedict Arnold. — First Continental Congress. — Rogers' Rangers. — Story of Putnam. Independence of Boston Boys. — Paul Revere's Ride. — Battle of Lexington. — "Yankee Doodle." — Story of Dame Catherick. " To Arms !". — ^John Stark, — Capture of Ticonderoga. — Battle of Bunker Hill. — Death of General Warren. — Invasion of Canada. Capture of Ethan Allen. — Sent to England in Chains. — Death of Montgomery. — Story of the American Flag. — British Leave Boston. — Declaration of Independence 165

Independence. — First P^ourth of July Bonfire. — " Free'n-Equal." Saving a Spy. — How the News of the Declaration was Received lo CONTENTS.

by the Colonies. — Fate of Nathan Hale. — Plots and Counterplots. Lord Cornwallis. — Daubury. — Ridgefield. — Lafayette. — Sag Harbor. — Burgoyne Gets Indian Allies. — Murder of Jane Mc- Crea. — Ticonderoga. — Fort Stanwix. — Brandy wine. — Burgoyne Surrenders. — Valley Forge. — France Acknowledges the Independence of the United States. — Lord Howe Leaves Philadelphia. Monmouth Court House. — Molly Pitcher. — Wyoming Massacre. Brant. — Red Jacket. — Cornplanter- — Daniel Boone. — Anthony Wayne. — Stony Point. — Sumpter and Marion. — Emily Geiger. Brave Boys. — Elizabeth Zane. — Fort Henry. — Arnold's Treason. Andre's Execution. — Cruelty of Carleton. — Battle of Camden. "The Fighting Parson of '76." — Surrender of Cornwallis. Cost of the War. — Peace 186

First Congress. — Washington Elected President. — Indian War. Admission of New States. — War with Tripoli. — First Steam Vessel. — Another Indian War. — Tecumseh. — The Prophet. Black Hawk War. — Battle of Tippecanoe. — War of 18 12. Creek War. — Weatherford and Jackson. — Fort Mimms. — Saved by Dogs. — Smallest Naval Battle in the World. — Battle on Lake Erie. — Perry. — Lundy's Lane. —City of Washington Captured by the British. — Battle of New Orleans. — Trouble with the Seminole Indians. — First Steam Cars. — Burial of a Great Chief 209

CHAPTER XIIL— 1835-1861.

Seminole War. — Cold Weather. — Canada Tries to Gain Independence. Aroostook War. — Telegraph. — Bunker Hill Monument. Mexican War. — Texas. — Gold Discovered in California. — How Gold is Mined.— The Great West. — Stock Raising.— Atlantic Cable. — John Brown's Revolt. — Secession. — Kansas. — Surrender of Fort Sumter 228

Prin-^ipal Battles of the War. — Merrimac. — Ericsson's " Cheese Box." Sioux Outbreak. — Emancipation Proclamation. — Sherman's March. — Sheridan's Raid. — Peace. — Assassination of Lincoln... 245

CONTENTS. H

Indian Wars. — Purchase of Alaska. — Grant. — Pacific Rail Road. Shortest Route to India at Last. — Chicago Fire. — Boston Fire. Centennial. — Assassination of Garfield. — Bartholdi Statue of Liberty. — Columbian Exposition. — Cuban Insurrection. — History of Cuba. — The Maine. — War with Spain. — Assassination of McKinley 268

Hawaii. — Philippines. — Review of States. — Army. — Navy. — Colleges and Schools 293

CHAPTER XVII.

Conclusion of Review. — Visitors. — Triumph 308

INDIAN TRIBES OF NORTH AMERICA.

Their Manners, Habits, Customs and Traits 325

THE ESQUIMAUX.

Their Appearance. Customs Dress, Dwellings, Hunting, Etc . . 487

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,

PAGE

Navajo Boy 21

Pequot Indians in Costume 27

A Norse Sea King 33

Mock Suns Seen by Early Explorers 34 Indian Amusements — Canoe Race

between Squaws , 36

Christopher Columbus 41

Landing OF Columbus 45

Hernando Cortez 51

Indian Warriors 53

Fernando de Soto 55

Queen ELizABETii 58

The Renowned Explorer, Sir

Martin Frobisher 59

Frobisher and His 'Ships Passing

Greenwich 61

Sir Walter Raleigh 62

Captain John Smith 65

Pocahontas 68

Henry Hudson , 70

Governor Brewster's Chair 81

Chained Bible, Time of James I... 82

Priscilla 85

Indian Child in Cradle 95

Cecil, Second Lord Baltimore.. .. 99

JohnWinthrop 10 1

John Endicott 106

Peter Stuyvesant 108

King Philip 112

William Penn 118

Autographs to Pennsylvania

Charter 119

Great Seal OF Pennsylvania 120

Charter Oak 121

Rev. Cotton Mather 124

Indian Life in Their Native Forests i 29

General Oglethorpe 132

PAGE

A Delaware Indian 137

Half King 138

Franklin's Printing Press 139

Disastrous Defeat of General

Braddock 1 40

Montcalm 147

Arrival of Indian Allies at the

French Camp 148

William Pitt 149

Washington Planting the Flag on

Fort Duquesne 152

A Civilized Indian 154

PoNTiAC 155

Visit of Pontiac and the Indians to

Major Gladwin 156

Samuel Adams 158

Hanging a Stamp Act Official in

Effigy 159

Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia... 166

General Israel Putnam 167

Minute Man 170

Fight at Concord Bridge 172

General John Stark 173

Capture OF Ticonderoga 175

Battle OF Bunker Hill 176

Continental Bills 179

General Richard Montgomery 180

Unite or Die Flag 182

An American Rifleman 184

John Hancock 187

Old Liberty Bell 188

Signers of Declaration of Independence 189

House in Which Declaration of

Independence was Written 190

Speaker's Chair and Desk on which

the Declaration was Signed... 191

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

Lord Cornwallis 192

Marquis DE Lafayette 193

Gen. Burgoyne Addressing the

Indians 194

Gen. Burgoyne 195

Gen. Nathaniel Greene 196

Sir Henry Clinton 199

Tarleton's Lieutenant and the

Farmer 201

Benedict Arnold 203

Major Andre 204

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis.... 205 Washington's Home, Mount Vernon 206

George Washington 210

Inauguration of Washington 211

Fulton's First Steamboat 213

James Madison 214

Pioneer Hero's Fight with Savages 215

"Wasp" Boarding the "Frolic" 218

Perry's Victory on Lake Erie 220

James Monroe 224

John Quincy Adams 226

Osceola, Chief of the Seminoles... 229 Lieutenant Grant Going for Ammunition at Monterey 232

Jefferson Davis 240

Fort Moultrie, Charleston Harbor 241

Major Anderson 242

James Buchanan 243

Confederate Flag 244

Abraham Lincoln 246

General George B. McClellon 247

Lieutenant-General Polk 248

Island No. 10 250

Major-General Philip Kearney... 251 General McClellan at the Battle

of Antietam 252

Lieutenant-General T. J. Jackson.. 254 General Sherman at the Outbreak

OF the War 256 page

General Longstreet 259

Battle of Spottsylvania Courthouse 260

Battle of Cold Harbor 261

Sheridan's Charge AT Cedar Creek 262

Commodore David G. Farragut 264

General Robert E.Lee 265

Lava Beds — Scene in Modoc War... 269 Scenes in Southern Part of Alaska 270 Esquimau in Water-Proof Canoe 272

Ulysses S. Grant 274

Indians Watching First Train on

Pacific Railroad 275

Burning of Chicago 276

Main Building of Centennial

Exhibition 277

James A. Garfield 278

Grover Cleveland 279

Administering the Oath to President Cleveland 280

Benjamin Harrison 281

William McKinley 283

Admiral George Dewey 284

Landing of American Troops at

Cienfuegos 285

Signatures of Peace Commissioners. 287

Theodore Roosevelt 29 1

Street Scene in Manila 297

Coats-of-Arms of the States... 302-3 16 Winter Camp of Friendly Dacotas 359

Civilized Navajo Belle 373

Rocky Mountain Bear 375

Pueblo Chief 407

Pueblo Maiden 408

Spanish-American Indian 409

Indian Grist Mill 410

Pueblo at Prayer 411

Navajo Matron 413

Navajo Loom 414

Group of Moquis 415

UhiNiERAL PEPPERELL AT THE SIEGE OF LOUibbUKG

GENERAL STARK AT THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON

CHAPTER I.

H, Mamma Nelson!" cried Bennie, rusliing to Mr. Nelson's almost as soon as lie was back from his summer vacation at Grandpa's house. " I did not have a bit better time than we had learning the Story of Our Presidents.

And I've been thinking that we ought to study the Story of our Nation — can we ? "

"Why, that is just v/hat we were talking about this very afternoon ! Perhaps you don't know that the history class in the South End school are planning to beat us all this year. What do you think? Mr. Harland has offered a prize- a historical library— to the class that will prove that they understand the history of the United States the best. Just think i it ! only the history of our own country !" cried Charlie.

"You will find that that is something to know when you come to tell it to Mr. Harland, I guess," nodded Jake. "You remember, it is to be told in our own words ; we cannot repeat what we read."

" Think what a grand thing it will be for our class to give the library to the school, to remember us by ! " exclaimed Nettie.

"And you can do it, if you try," smiled Mamma Nelson, encouragingly. "I will help you on the outline history, if you will promise to faithfully study the books that I will provide for you, and make it a fair and honorable contest. Miss Weymouth, who has charge of the history class at the South End school, intends to have her scholars at her house two nights in every week "

"To study ! — that isn't fair ! " ejaculated Bennie.

"Oh, yes ; it will be perfectly fair, if you have the same chance How many have you in your class ? "

"Just thirteen of us ; there ought to be another. There are fifteen in the South End class," said Jake.

" I am the one more," laughed Mamma Nelson, " and we will prove the luck in numbers. I will give every Friday and Saturday evening to you as long as you obey my rules, and the books will be ready for you to begin next week. Will that be satisfactory ? "

"Oh, yes," cried Nettie.

"Hurrah for Mamma Nelson !" shouted Bennie.

"I knew she'd help us," nodded Charlie.

"And if she does, we'll win !" asserted Jake, very positively.

EAGER TO STUDY OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY.

" We want to keep still about what we are doing, though," said Charlie. " Let the South Enders crow, we'll take our turn at the end of the race."

" Of course. And now let's go and tell the rest," said Bennie.

Frida}^ night found the North End history class, all eager and excited, at Mamma Nelson's and before the time to begin their lesson.

" We've come — is it right ? " asked Bessie Greer, holding her sister Marion's hand.

" You see we were not real sure but that it was only an invitation from Nettie and the boys," added Phinney Jernegan.

" But we thought we'd come and see," concluded Marcella Hines.

" It is all right, and I am glad to see you interested," said Mamma Nelson cordiall}^ " I have a copy of Northrop's History of the United States for each one of you, and you are to keep them as souvenirs of this contest, but I do not want them to look as nice and new at the end as they do now. You will find other standard histories on the table, and I would like to have you bring what 3^ou have at home. Truth can only be learned by comparison. To-night I will tell the story, but after this I shall expect 3'ou to tell me.

We must include tiie whole of the New World in the story of discovery, for then the United States was only a part of the whole, audit would be hardly possible to give it a separate history. The earliest inhabitants of our broad land are shrouded in mystery. There are nearly as many theories about them as there are books upon the subject. Traces of cave and cliff dwellings are found all over the country, and those which have yielded up their hidden curiosities have increased, even while enlightening, the mysteries of past ages ; and mounds, from a few inches in height to many feet, still keep their buried secrets. Judging from these ruins the earliest settlers may be divided into at least three distinct classes."

"How old do you think these ruins are ? " asked Hadley.

WHAT THE SPANIARDS FOUND IN NEW MEXICO.

**Theymaybe more modern than we would like to believe. The

Spaniards found both ruins and thriving cities when they marched

through New Mexico. When La Salle visited the Nachez Indians in

he was astonished to find large houses built of sun-dried bricks,

covered with dome-shaped roofs of cane. These Indians are

thought to be descendants of the Mound-builders, by many people."

" Do you know the story of the lost Atlantis ?" asked Nettie, with eager curiosity.

"Ah, my dears, the beautiful story of the lost Atlantis is no better known to us than the secrets of the mys'terious mounds, the silent caves and the inaccessible cliffs. Ancient writers have described such a land, and have said that the flood was due to its destruction."

' Did you never think that the lost Atlantis was America, after all ? " asked Phinney.

" We would rather think so than to think it never existed, wouldn't we ? It may be that the people of those times had means of knowing about our land. The legends of the North American natives tell of a great flood, when only one man and his wife were saved, and about the darkness which covered the face of the earth."

EARLY INHABITANTS OF OUR COUNTRY.

" I read of an Indian chief who declared that the Master of Life was an Indian, — of his own tribe, too ! " laughed Charlie.

"I expect you can tell me all about the American Indians," said Mamma Nelson looking around the circle of eager faces.

" Oh, no. Mamma

Nelson, but we ought to tell something about them. Wendell Philips said that neither Greece, nor Germany, nor the French, nor the Scotch could show a prouder record than they," answered Marcella.

'' I know that they have been abused," cried Bennie.

''And I think that they were no worse than the whites who took their homes away from them," asserted Jake.

"Prejudice and ignorance have governed INDIAN FAMILY— DELAWARE TRIBE. public Opinion of the In-

dian, I think, and while he is surely no saint he is no greater sinner than his white brother, and could tell as long a story of cruelty and oppression. We should be as ready to acknowledge the faults of our ancestors, as to proudly tell of their perseverance and courage. We should be as ready to own that the Indians were patriotic and brave, as to tell of their dark and revengeful deeds."

"Did the Indians never fight among themselves ?" asked Charlie. *' Yes, indeed. And one great fight was caused by a grashopper.

EARLY INHABITANTS OF OUR COUNTRY.

Some children were playing together wlien a Delaware child caught a grasshopper which a Shawnee child wanted. The children came to blows ; the mothers came to see what was the matter and began to quarrel ; the men came to their rescue, and the result was a fight in which nearly half of them were killed."

"Just about as sensible as some of the fights now!" exclaimed Nettie.

"Can you tell us why they were called Indians?" asked Hadley.

"The first explorers thought they had discovered a part of India, and called the men that they found Indians, and they have borne that name ever since, when really they are the only true Americans."

" Where did they come from, or were they always ^^, here ?" questioned Josie.

"One historian says that, while the origin of the Indian, like that of the Mound-builder, is in doubt, there is evidence to prove that they are among the navajo boy.

oldest races of men, and that it is absurd to say that they came over the sea, or were descended from the lost tribes of Israel. Yet some still hold that opinion. Some people declare that their wild instincts will prevent them from adopting our modes of life or learning. I think that the Indian School at Carlisle alone would prove this false. There are boarding and day schools upon nearly all of the reservations, besides as many as twenty-four other institutions resembling Carlisle, which is the largest and best known. These schools have a capacity of caring for and educating nearly six thousand young people at a time, and the graduates from them will compare favorably with those from white scliools. In religion they are simple and childlike. A little five-year-old Indian girl, when her baby sister was abont to die, made this beantiful, simple prayer : ' Oh, God, Father, my little sister wants to go to Heaven. Open the door softly and take her in.'"

"I have heard that the Indians were not always cruel to the whites," observed Ray.

TRAITS AND LEGENDS OF THE INDIANS.

"Noj that was one of the first lessons which they learned. They practiced as well as preached personal independence and freedom from all restraint, and resented the rule of the white man. They considered it a weakness to forgive, and noble to revenge. Bad spirits were thought to bring disease and starvation ; good ones sunshine and plenty. Nearly all Indian legends say that they were expecting visitors from a distant land, — manitous, or gods, — who would be superior to the red race which they would elevate to their own plane. But they soon found that the newcomers were foes instead of friends, and they made a gallant fight for their homes in their own cruel way, which, after all, was not much more cruel than the ways of their conquerors, certainly not worse than those of our Anglo-Saxon forefathers in Europe."

''Did Columbus ill treat them?" asked Ruthie in surprise.

'' He began the slave trade. Others came, kidnapping the natives and selling them as slaves, until the most trustful became suspicious and treacherous. Drake tells the story of a white man, who, meeting an Indian saluted him as brother. ' Ugh, how we be brothers ? ' asked the Indian. 'Oh, by way of Adam, I suppose,' was the laughing answer. The red man did not reply for some minutes, then he said gravely, 'Ugh, me t'ank him Great Spirit we no nearer brothers.'"

" All the early discoverers did not use the Indian badly, — Penn didn't," cried Bennie.

"No. Some purchased lands instead of taking them b}- force. In 1634 Maquacomen, a Pawtuxent chief, said : ' I love the English so well

EARLY INHABITANTS OF OUR COUNTRY.

that if they should go about to kill me, if I had so much breath as to speak, I would command my people not to avenge my death, for I know they would do no such thing except it were through my own fault.'

, INDIAN WEAPONS.

Two hundred and forty-two years later Sitting Bull, the Sioux, said : ' There is not one white man who loves an Indian, and not one true Indian but what hates a white man.' Ninigret, a famous chief, when asked to allow Christianity to be taught to his people, said : ' It would be better to preach it to the English until they were good. ' "

"I can tell you the story of Hatuey," said Katie eagerly. '■ When Diego Velasquez invaded Cuba, Hatuey told all the natives to throw their gold into the sea, because gold was the god of the Spaniards and there was no place to elude their search for it but the bottom of the ocean, so they collected all the gold they could and threw it into the sea. After that Hatuey was taken and sentenced to be burned at the stake. As he stood there, with dry wood smeared with pitch piled high around him, a priest came forward to baptize him so that he might be sure of the joys of paradise. 'Do Spaniards go to your heaven ? ' asked the cacique, drawing back. 'Certainly, all good men go there,' was the reply. ' Then leave me, I will not go where there is danger of meeting them,' was the answer, as the black smoke closed around hiifi^."

WHY A SPANIARD WAS DROWNED.

"Good for you, Katie, but I think I can beat that story," laughed Jake. " When the Spaniards went to Mexico the natives reverenced them as superior beings. When they saw a man on horseback they thought that man and horse were one mysterious creature. But there were some among them who doubted, and determined to prove the origin of the Spaniards. They asked one of them to go to a cacique's house with them, and while rowing across the river, they pushed him overboard and held him under the water until he drowned. Then they took him up gently and carried him ashore, where they watched the body three days and nights to see it show signs of returning life. When it gave evidence of death instead, they knew the Spaniards were mortal like themselves."

" I know a story, too," cried Bessie. "The Araucanians of South America, when they saw negroes with the Spaniards, thought that gunpowder was made from their bodies, they were so black. So they captured one as soon as they could and burned him to discover the secret of the ' white man's thunder that killed.' They were much surprised and bewildered by the result."

" Here is another," added Marion. " Indians believed that all people who went to the ' happy hunting ground ' without being scalped, strangled, or hung, would find perfect happiness. When Major Elliot was killed, fighting bravely, they would not scalp him, for they thought that so brave a man ought to go to heaven, but they cut oft" his right hand and foot so that he could not harm them there."