A school history of the United States

II

“ These five men, more than any others, have shaped the whole future of American history.” — John Fiske.

A

SCHOOL HISTORY

OF THE

BY

HENRY ALEXANDER WHITE, Ph.D., D.D., LL.D.

FORMER PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN THE WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY, VIRGINIA; AUTHOR OF “ LIFE OF ROBERT E. LEE,” “ LIFE OF STONEWALL JACKSON,” ETC.

WITH MANY MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

( Revised Edition )

SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY

NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO

ATLANTA

SAN FRANCISCO

DALLAS

Copyright, 1904, 1910, 1917, by SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY

OQ v)

THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED

so imtc

•0

Preface

This History of the United States aims to give in simple form the story of the founding and the growth of the states that make up our Federal Union. From the nature of the subject itself, this story ought to engage the interest of the boys and girls in their grammar school years. If, however, the text-book in history is overloaded with facts, then this natural interest in the subject will fade from the pupil’s mind. In the present volume the effort has been to select only those facts that are essential to a general knowledge and understanding of the development of the United States, and to set forth the ideas entertained by the people as well as to describe their acts. Various features in the life of the people at all periods are presented — their social, religious, industrial, political and educational interests and progress. The attempt is made to group the facts in such a way as to make clear the relation of cause and effect in American history, to show how one event leads to another and how one idea among the people springs out of another idea.

With but few exceptions, the histories of the United States now used in the schools have been written b}^ authors of Northern birth and education. For this reason alone, perhaps, it is natural that we find in all of these books the historv of the author’s home section fully treated, while much of historical interest concerning other sections is either briefly mentioned or omitted altogether. The pupils read also in poem and story of historical events associated with the Northern states, but little comes to their hands in the way of literature bearing on the South. Again, in discussing the causes and events leading up to the disastrous war between the states, the histories state clearly the point of view of the North, while the contention of the South is not fully presented. The author of this book has endeavored to write impartially of all sections, but has taken special pains that due attention should be given to the part played by the people of the South in all periods of American history.

Vlll

PREFACE.

There is much for the teacher to do in the matter of adding interest to the study of history. The pupil should be encouraged to picture in his mind the occurrences described in the text and to tell of them in his own words. The teacher must see that the pupil does not fall into the habit of committing to memory the statements made in the book. The young student must be led to understand the meaning of the facts set forth, and to appreciate the grouping of facts and the ideas they represent. The pupil's comprehension of the lesson may be discerned by asking him to repeat the substance of it or to write it in his own language. With the same purpose in view, the teacher should prepare his own questions in the first study of a chapter, using those in the book for later review.

In beginning the study of any portion of the book, the geographical location of places under consideration should first be explained by the teacher. Then, let the pupil reproduce on paper or blackboard the maps in the book, without elaborateness — merely a few lines to show the windings of the seacoast, the course of a river or a high-way, or the route followed by an army on the march.

At each meeting of the class a few minutes should be spent in reviewing the preceding lessons. As the study progresses, the review work may deal for the most part with the grouping of facts and their arrangement in periods. The Topical Reviews at the end of each Part in this History will aid in this important work.

By these and other methods let the teacher strive to develop the pupil s interest in the acts, the ideas and principles of the .people whose lives have made up the history of our country.

Henry Alexander WiiitEo

Part I. Period of Discovery and Exploration

CHAPTER PAGE

I. — Early Discoverers, 1000-1492 ... 1

II. — The Discovery of America, 1492-1520 . 6

IV. — The American Indians . . . . 21

Part II. Period of Colonization

Y. — The Founding of Jamestown, 1590-1624 . 26

VI. — The Growth of the Colony in Tidewater

YIT. — The Planting of Maryland, 1632-1689 . 42

VIII. — The Settlement of New England, 1602-1643 48

IX. — The New England Confederacy, 1643-1684 58

X. — The Middle Colonies, 1609-1689 . . . 63

XII. — The Settlement of Georgia, 1732-1752 . 79

XIII. — French Settlements in North America . 86

Part III. . The English and French in North America

XIV. — Growth of the English Colonies, 1689-1763 93

XV. — France Driven Out of North America, 1689-

1763 99

XVI. — Life in the Colonies in 1763 . . . 4)9

X

CONTENTS.

Part IV. CHAPTER

XVII. — Causes Leading to the Revolution XVIII. — The Colonies Claim Independence of Parliament, 1763-1774

XIX. — Beginnings of the War, 1774-1776 .

XX. — The Campaigns in the Middle States, 1776-

XXI. — The Closing Campai gns of the War,

1778-1783

XXII. — The Thirteen Confederate States, 1781—

XXIII. — Making the Constitution, 1785-1789

PAGE

Part V

XXIV. — The Early Years of the New Republic,

1789-1800

XXV. — Jefferson’s Administrations, 1801-1809

XXVI. — War with England, 1809-1815 .

XXVII. — Monroe’s Administrations, 1817-1825 XXVIII. — The Administration of John Quincy Adams,

1825-1829

XXIX. — Jackson’s Administrations, 1829-1837

XXX. — Slavery Becomes a Political Issue, 1837-

1 844 ........

XXXI. — The War with Mexico and the Compromise

XXXII. — Sectionalism and the Republican Party,

1850-1856

CONTENTS. XI

Part V I .

CHAPTER PAGE

XXXIII. — Events Leading to the War Between the

XXXIV. — Events of the War in 1861 . . . 288

XXXV.— Events of the War in 1862 ... 302

I. The War in the West in 1862 . . 302

II. The War in the East in 1862 . . 308

XXXVI.— Events of the War in 1863 ... 320

I. The War in the West in 1863 . . 322

II. The War in the East in 1863 . . 326

XXXVII.— Events of the War in 1864 . . . 335

XXXVIII.— The End of the War, 1865 ... 349

XXXIX. — Reconstruction, 1865-1877 . . . 357

Part VII. XL. — Industrial Development .... 375

XLI. — Territorial Expansion and Some Recent

Appendices.

I. The Declaration of Independence . . . 3

II. The Articles of Confederation .... 7

III. The Constitution ....... 16

IV. Presidents of the United States .... 32

V. Table of the States: Admission, Area, Population,

Representation ...... 33

VI. A Selected List of Reference Books ... 34

LIST OF MAPS.

Trade Routes to the East .....

The World as Known in the Time of Columbus Toscanelli’s Map, 1474 .....

The Routes of Columbus's Voyages .

Explorations and Settlements on the Atlantic Coast The Location of the Indian Tribes .

The Virginia Grant of 1606 ....

rp m

. Following

The Virginia Grant of 1609 The New England Colonies The Middle Colonies ....

The Southern Colonies ....

Colonies during the French and Indian Wars, 1763 (Colored) ......

The Chain of French Forts .....

The Campaign about Boston, 1775-76 The Campaigns of 1776 ......

IMie Campaigns about New York and New Jersey The Campaigns in the Middle States Boone’s Trail (1775) and Clark’s Campaign (1778-79)

The Campaigns in the South .....

Yorktown

The States and their Land Claims at Close of Revolution (Colored) ....... Following

The United States in 1800 (Colored). . . Facing

Western Explorations, 1804-06. .

The War of 1812 rn rp

PAGE o

>y

i

XIV

LIST OF MAPS.

The Missouri Compromise ......

Territorial Growth of the United States (Colored) Following The Mexican War ......

The Mexican Cessions and the Oregon Country

The Compromise of 1850 .......

Result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act . . . . .

United States during the War between the States (Colored)

Following

Charleston Harbor ........

The War in Virginia in 1861 ......

The War in the Southwest ......

The War in the West .......

The Battle of Hampton Roads ......

Jackson's Campaign in the Valley of Virginia .

The Peninsula .........

The First Invasion of the North .

The Vicksburg Campaign ......

Chattanooga and Vicinity

The Second Invasion of the North . . . . .

Gettysburg .........

The Campaign from the Wilderness to Appomattox ShermaiPs Campaign .......

United States in 1914, with Alaska (Colored) . Following Territorial Dependencies of the United States (Colored)

Facing

A Map of the World Showing the United States and Dependencies .........

PAGE

A SCHOOL HISTORY OF THE

UNITED STATES.

Chapter I. Early Discoverers

IOOO-I492.

1. Leif, the Son of Eric. IOOO. — Our story begins at a time when Europe, western Asia and northern Africa were the only known countries of the world. The Atlantic Ocean was called the Sea of Darkness, for no man had yet sailed far upon its waters. Something mere than one thousand years ago (874 a.d.), the bold seamen of Norway found their way into the western Atlantic as far as the island of Iceland, where they planted a colony. In the year 986, Eric (Er'Ik) the Red, a chieftain of Iceland, sailed farther westward and established a colony of Northmen in Greenland, an island which lies at the very threshold of northern America.

In the year 1000, Leif (Llf), the son of Eric, set forth from Greenland and steered his vessel fearlessly toward the setting sun. The long ship was driven through the angr}^ waters

LEIF ERICSOX.

I IOOO'

:2

PERIOD OF DISCOVERT AM) EXPLORATION with both oar and sail. After a voyage of many days Leif found a coast which furnished his crew quantities of wild grapes. They called the country Finland, meaning Vineland. Other voyages were made by the Northmen to Vinland, which was probably that region of North America now called New England. The discoveries made by Leif, the son of Eric, did not bring any great benefit to his countrymen, and soon all knowledge con-

TRADE ROUTES TO THE EAST.

cerning these voyages of the Northmen passed out of the minds of the people of Europe.

2. Marco Polo in Eastern Asia. 1271-1205. — Formally years after Leif discovered new lands to the westward, the countries of eastern Asia still remained unknown to the people of Europe. Between the years 1096 and 1291, the Christians of Europe made several warlike expeditions, called crusades, into Asia to recover the Holy Land (Palestine) from the Turks. The crusaders did not win control of the Holy Land, but they gained some

r

a knowledge of the people of the East. In the thirteenth century, Marco Polo, a Venetian, made a land journey to India, Chin and Japan, and remained there more than twenty years Four years after his return to Europe (1299) he published the story of his travels. The eyes of Polos fellow-countrymen opened in wonder when they read his description of the riches of the great Khan, the Emperor of China. To Japan Polo gave 'the name Cipango, and he declared that the floors of the palaces of the king of Cipango were of pure gold. Marco Polo’s book stirred the traders of Venice and of Genoa to seek the treasures of India, China and Japan. The merchants of these two cities, therefore, sent vessels to the eastern ports of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and grew rich through their trade with the caravans which came overland from India, bringing silks, shawls, muslins, pearls and spices.

3. Henry the Navigator. 1418-1403. — The highways of trade thus established between Europe and Asia were gradually closed by the Turks. These warlike people swarmed into the lands near the eastern Mediterranean, and in the year 1453 they completed the conquest of all western Asia by seizing the city of Constantinople. The Europeans saw that other trade-routes to the East must be found. Prince Henry of Portugal, known as Henry the Navigator, led the way iii the search for a route around the barrier set up by the Turks. From the yeai 1418 until his death in 1463, he continued to send his sailors down the west coast of Africa. These Portuguese seamen went farther and farther at each attempt, until, in the year 1471, a Portuguese vessel crossed the line of the equator. But as the southern end of Africa was not yet found, Europeans could not make the journey to the East upon the sea. The Turks continued to hold the only known ways of reaching the lands of eastern Asia, and the merchants were still compelled to look for a new trade route.

4. The Early Years of Columbus. 1440-1473. — Christopher Columbus was born at Genoa in Italy, about the year 1446. His father was a wool-comber. At school the young Christopher

PERIOD OF DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION. L 1oo °- learned to read Latin and became a good penman. At the age ol fourteen he became a sailor, and took part in many bold adventures among the pirates and the war-ships and the tradingvessels on the Mediterranean. He gave much time to the study of geography and became skillful in making maps and charts. About 1470, Columbus went to Portugal and sailed down the African coast with some of the Portuguese expeditions that were attempting to find a new way upon the sea to India and Japan.

5. The Great Plan ol* Columbus. — From ancient times the theory had been held by a few scholars that the earth is round and not flat. Columbus adopted this view, and about 1473

CANARY

IS.--V as known in the time of Columbus

USTRALIAN

THE WORLD AS KNOWN IN THE TIME OF COLUMBUS.

determined to test the question of the roundness of the earth by sailing westward in search of eastern Asia. In 1474 he received a letter from Toscanelli, the astronomer of Florence, Italy, declaring that the way to India was westward across

EARLY DISCOVERERS.

the Atlantic. Toscanelli also sent a map, upon which Cipango (Japan) was located within the limits of the present Gulf of Mexico.

For nearly twenty years, with the great purpose held fast in his mind, Columbus traveled from one European kingdom to another, in search of money to fit out ships for the voyage westward in search of Cipango. He laid his plans in vain before the rulers of his native city, Genoa. Then he sought aid from the sovereigns of Portugal and Spain. Bartholomew, brother of Columbus, went to seek assistance in England and in France. At length Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain agreed to send three ships under the command of Columbus upon the great adventure.

Questions.

1. What countries of the world were known in the year 1000? How much honor is due to the Northmen as discoverers of America ?

2. What treasures did Marco Polo claim to have seen in the East ? What lines of trade were established between western Europe and Asia ? What articles were brought from Asia by the European traders ?

3 . What progress was made by the Portuguese in the work of finding a sea route to the East ?

4 . Tell about the early years of Columbus.

5 . What was the belief of Columbus about the shape of the earth ?

AVhat was tbe plan which he formed ? Tell of his efforts to get aid for his voyage.

Geography Study.

Locate on the map Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Palestine, China, Japan, India, Portugal, Spain, France, England, Italy, Turkey, Black Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Find Venice, Genoa, Constantinople and Florence.

Chapter II. The Discovery Of America

1492-1520.

G. The Departure ot* Columbus. 1492. — Half an hour before sunrise on Friday, August 3, 1492, Columbus gave orders to raise the anchors of his three small ships in the port of Palos, Spain. The Santa Maria, the flagship of Columbus, could carry a burden of only one hundred tons. She had a complete deck and was about sixty-three feet in length. The other two caravels, the Pinta and the Nina , were smaller still. 1 Ninety sailors made up the active crews of the vessels, and in addition thirty adventurers and priests were aboard. The fleet was steered southward along the coast of Africa to the Canary Islands, where nearly a month was spent in repairing a rudder and in changing some of the sails. The sixth day of September saw the three ships turned westward from the Canaries into the “Sea of Darkness.” Hardly had the islands faded from view, when a great terror seized upon many of the sailors. They feared the perils of the unknown waters into which they were rushing; but Columbus was full of confidence, for he had the mariner's compass and an instrument with which to calculate his position. He also carried Toscanelli's map of the world, upon which was represented Cipango, or Japan. Columbus believed that he could reach this island by sailing westward a distance of less than three thousand miles.

1 The Pinta was commanded by Marlin Alonso Pinzon (Pen-thon'), and the Nrna bv In’s brother, Vicente Yafiez Pinzon.

THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.

7. Columbus Discovers the Bahama Islands. — Nearly a month went by after the departure from the Canaries and then the sailors lost hope of discovering land. They were laying plans to throw Columbus overboard, when sea-fowl began to appear in numbers. A green branch full of red berries and other objects indicating land were observed in the water. About ten o’clock in the evening of October 11, 1492, Columbus saw a distant, moving

From a sixteenth-century print.

COLUMBUS DEPARTING ON HIS FIRST VOYAGE,

TAKES LEAVE OF THE KING

• AND QUEEN.

light. At two o’clock the next morning, in the clear moonlight, a sailor on the Pinta caught sight of land. Thirty-five days had passed since the departure from the Canaries, and seventy days since the little fleet had sailed from Spain. Friday morning, October 12, 1492, Columbus went ashore, set up a cross and gave to the place the name of San Salvador. It was one of the Bahama group ot islands. From San Salvador Columbus sailed southward until he discovered the island of Cuba. He afterwards visited

Haiti, where lie left a garrison of forty men. He thought that these islands lay close to the eastern coast of Asia, When Columbus returned to Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella lavished great honor upon him. He displayed gold ornaments, strange plants and birds, curious weapons, and six of the natives whom he called Indians, for he was sure that he had reached India in the far East.

8. The Last Voyages of Columbus. 1493-1504. — In September, 1493, Columbus set forth upon a second voyage. A great

company of adventurers sailed with him. They expected to find precious stones and silks in the land of magic which Columbus called the Island of India. He sailed along the southern coast of Cuba and afterwards discovered Jamaica. The men left in Haiti on the first voyage had perished, but Columbus established there a second company which became a flourishing colony.

A third voyage in 1498 brought the explorer into the mouth of the Orinoco River and to the mainland of South America, which he supposed to be the continent of Asia. Columbus then returned to Haiti where he aroused such enmity against himself that he was arrested by the colonists and sent back to Spain in chains. He was at once set free by the king and queen.

A fourth and last voyage was made in 1502-1504. Columbus sailed between Cuba and South America, and thence along the coast of the mainland (Central America) from Honduras to Panama, in search of a water passage to the Indian Ocean. He secured none of the famed wealth of the East, and he lost the favor of Ferdinand and Isabella. Poverty, neglect and sorrow were the last portion

CHRISTOPHER COLTJMRUS.

15120.]

THE DISCOVERY OE AMERICA.

of this great man, who died at Valladolid, 1 Spain, May 20, 1506. He never knew that he had found a new continent, but to the end believed that he had discovered the shortest route irom Spain to eastern Asia.

9. John Cabot . 1497-1408. — The story of the discoveries

made by Columbus on his first voyage stirred the spirit of John vabot (Cab'ot) to take part in the work of exploration. Cabot

1 Columbus requested that he might be buried in Santo Domingo, Haiti, and, therefore, thirty years after his death, his body was borne across the Atlantic to this island. Haiti was afterwards ceded to France, and in 1796 the supposed remains of Columbus were placed by Spain in the Cathedral of Havana, Cuba. On the 31st of November, 1898, when the Spaniards were leaving Cuba, these remains were removed from the Cathedral of Havana and sent to Spain. Some have claimed, however, that a mistake was made in 1796 and t hat the body of a son of Columbus was then carried from Santo Domingo

to Havana. If this view is correct, the ashes of the explorer repose in Santo Domingo to this day.

[ 1491 !

was a native of Genoa, but he was then living in the city of Bristol, England. In early life he had made a visit to Arabia and there saw great caravans bringing spices from the regions beyond India. Cabot sought an interview with King Henry VII. of England, and offered to find a route to East India shorter than that followed by Columbus. He secured a ship at Bristol, with a crew of eighteen men, and sailed westward in May, 1497.

On the 24th of June, Cabot

THE CABOT MEMORIAL TOWER AT BRISTOL, ENGLAND.

sighted land at some point near the Gulf of St. Lawrence, either Cape Breton or Labrador. At this time, Columbus had not vet reached the mainland of the new world. John Cabot was, therefore, the first European, after Leif, son of Eric the Red, to look upon the continent of North America.

Cabot went ashore, planted the English flag and took possession of the land in the name of King Henry VII. It is probable that John Cabot and his son Sebastian came again to Labrador in 1498, with five or six ships. They sailed southward along the coast, which they supposed to be apart of Asia. The explorers saw only icebergs, polar bears and great forests of timber. The English dream of a rich Asiatic trade thus passed away, to be replaced a century later by the plan of establishing a great English commonwealth in North America.

10. Vespucius. 14-07. — In June, 1497, while Cabot was unfurling the English Hag on the coast of Labrador, another Italian

THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.

touched the mainland of the new continent near Cape Honduras, in what we now call Central America. This was Americus Vespucius (Ves-pu'che-us) who was making explorations in company with Pinzon, one of the captains who had sailed with Columbus in 1492.

1 1 . Vasco tla Gama. 1497- 1491). — In the same year, 1497, Vasco da Gama (Vahs'co dii Ga'ma) steered a Portuguese fleet around the Cape of Good Hope, the extreme southern point of Africa, and thence eastward. By the summer of 1499 he was back in Portugal with great cargoes of silks, jewels and ivory. He had reached India by the eastern sea route. The idea was at once set forth that the new islands and coasts in the western Atlantic were not a part of Asia, but lands lying between Asia and Europe. The effort was henceforth made to reach Asia by finding a waterway through these lands, or around them.

THE STATUE OF VESPUCIUS.

12. Cortereal and Cabral. 1500. — In 1500 Cortereal (Corta-ra-al') ran his Portuguese vessel into the entrance of Hudson Strait, near Labrador. He was seeking a northern route to China. In the same year Cabral (Ca-bral') brought a Portuguese fleet to anchor off the coast of Brazil. As this land lay east of the Line of Demarcation, 1 it was thereafter held by Portugal.

I rill

The Line of Demarcation. — Since t he mariners of Spain and of Portugal were foremost in exploring’ the southwestern Atlantic, ail agreement

13. The Naming of America. — About the year 1501 Vespucius sailed southward along the coast of Brazil. A German geographer, Waldseemuller (Valt'-za-miil'ler), who published an account of the voyages of Vespucius, suggested, in the year 1507, that in honor of Americus Vespucius the new regions to the southward should be called America. The name was accepted and placed, at first, upon maps of South America. Some years later it was applied to North America also.

14 . Balboa and Magellan. 1513 - 1520 . — In 1513 Balboa (Bal-bo'a), the Spaniard, climbed to the crest of a mountain on the Isthmus of Panama. Southwestward from the point where he stood Balboa saw the gleaming of the waters of a vast ocean, which he named the South Sea. The year 1520 saw the ships of Spain enter the South Sea by passing around South America. 1 Magellan, commander of the fleet, called the great sea the Pacific, which name it still bears. He sailed westward across the Pacific to the Philippine Islands, where he was slain by the natives. Some of his comrades continued the voyage and reached Spain in 1522. They were the first to sail around the globe, thus proving beyond dispute that the world is round. And they were the first also to see the new world, America, lying apart by itself with a wide ocean on each side.

Questions.

1. Tell of the first voyage of Columbus.

* 2 . What were the first islands discovered ? What did Columbus carry back to Spain at the end of his first voyage ? What land did Columbus think he had reached ?

3. What lands were actually reached by Columbus during his last was established by decree of Pope Alexander \ I., regarding the division of lands that should be discovered. A meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands was taken as the “line of demarcation ” ; all new lands discovered east of this line were to belong to Portugal, all west of it to Spain. The Portuguese, therefore, made their explorations to the eastward.

1 They left Spain in 1519. In the latter part of the year 1520 they passed through t he Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean.

EXPLORATIONS.

three voyages ? How was Columbus treated in Haiti ? What became of the remains of Columbus ?

4 . Tell of the voyages of the Cabots.

5 . Tell about the voyages made by Da Gama, Cortereal, Americus Vespucius and Cabral. Why was the new world called America and not Columbia ? What was the Line of Demarcation ?

o. Who first discovered the Pacific Ocean ? Tell of Magellan and his journey.

Geography Study.

Locate on the map Palos, Canary Islands, Bahama Islands, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Orinoco River, Honduras, Panama, Havana, Santo Domingo, Cape Verde Islands, Bristol, Labrador, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Breton, Hudson Strait, Brazil, Strait of Magellan and Philippine Islands.

Chapter III. Explorations

1513-1590.

15. The Discovery of Florida.

1513-1521. — The year 1513, which witnessed the discovery of the Pacific Ocean by Balboa, marked also the voyage of Ponce de Leon (Pon'thfi da La-on'). He sailed northward from the island of Cuba in search of a magical fountain called the Fountain of Youth, which would bring back youth, it was said, to every man who bathed in its waters. On Easter Day he came in sight of a coast which he named Florida, from the Spanish name for Easter, “Pascua Florida”

(the . flowery passover). In 1521 Ponce de Leon came again and attempted to plant a colony in Florida, but the Indians

PONCE DE LEON.

[ i r> i :s -

PERIOD OF PISOOV ERY AND

EXPLORATION.

forced him away, and the wound left by an Indian arrow speedily caused his death. 1

16. Early French Explorers. 1524-1541.- — As early as

1504 the fishermen of Normandy and Brittany, in France, ventured as far westward as Newfoundland to catch codfish. They gave to Cape Breton Island its name, and in 1506 a Frenchman explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence. When King Francis I. came to the throne of France (1515), he determined to have his share of the New World, and he sent an Italian, Verrazano (Ver-ra-tsa'no), with a French fleet to seek for treasure. Yerrazano captured a great quantity of Spanish gold on its way eastward from Mexico, and then searched the American shore from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Nova Scotia (1524). It is interesting to note that these French sailors made a brief visit inside the limits of what are now the harbors of New York and Newport.

From 1534 to 1541 1 lie French were attempting to find a water-route to China by sailing up the St. Lawrence. Jacques Cartier (Zhak Kar-tya') pushed his way up this stream to the head of navigation for large vessels and gave the name Montreal to a high, steep hill on its northern bank.

17. Spanish Explorations in the Southwest. 1528-1542. — The desire to find gold brought many bold men from Spain to America. In 1528 Narvaez (Nar-va-eth') led four hundred Spaniards into the region north of the Gulf of Mexico, but most