'■im, . \CU% 'S ^ V^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 lu lU 122 1.1 £ LS 120 L25 lU. 11.6 Sciences Corporatton as WBT MAM STRHT «vniTH,N.Y. USM ( 71* ) •73-4503 4^ ^*#* ^^ CIHM/ICMH Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microficlies. Canadian Instituta for Hiatorical Microraproductiona Inatitut Canadian da microraproductiona Itiatoriquaa 1960 Technical and Bibliographic Notea/Notas tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha boat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua. which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction. or which may aignificantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. D D El D D D D Coloured covara/ Couvartura da coulaur I I Covara damaged/ Couvartura andommag^a Covera restored and/or laminated/ Couverture reatauria et/ou pelliculAe □ Cover title miasing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes gAographiques en couleur Coloured init (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ ReliA avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intirieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages bianchea ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissant dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont pas M film^es. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl6mentaires; L'Institut a microfilm* le meilleur exemplaira qu'il lui a At6 poaaible da aa procurer. Lea details da cet exemplaira qui aont paut-4tre uniques du point de vue bibliographique. qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dana la mAthode normale oe f ilmage aont indiqute ci-daaaoua. Th to D D D El D D This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indiqu* ci-deaaous. 10X 14X 18X 22X Coloured pagea/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagAea Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages reatauriaa et/ou pellicul6es Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages dicoiories. tachetAes ou piquies Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es Showthrough/ Tranaparance Th po of fill Or ba th( aic oti fin aic or I I Quality of print varies/ Quality inigale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel suppi^mentaire Th ah Til wl M< dil an ba rig rtti mi r~| Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc.. have been ref limed to ensure the best possible image/ Lea pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont M fiim^es A nouveau de fapon A obtenir la meilleure image possible. 26X 30X 7 11 II 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X I tails I du odifier une mage The copy filmad hare has baan raproducad thanka to tha ganarosity of: National Library of Canada Tha imagas appearing hara ara tha bast quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. L'exemplaira filmi fut reproduit grAce A la ginAroait* da: BibiiothAqua nationala du Canada Las imagas suivantas ont AtA reproduites avac la plus grand soin. compta tanu da la condition at da la nettetA de l'exemplaira filmA, at en conformitA avac las conditions du contrat de filmaga. Original copies in printed paper covers ara filmed beginr'ng with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or iliuatratad impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. Les exemplairas originaux dont la couvarture en papier est ImprimAe sont filmAs en commenpant par la premier plat at en terminant soit par la darnlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d 'illustration, soit par la second plat, salon Ic cas. Tous les autres exemplairas originaux sont filmAs an commandant par la premiAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration at en terminant par la darniAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol -^ (meaning 'CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"). whichever applies. Un dee symboles sulvants apparaltra sur la darniAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — »> signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbols ▼ signifie "FIN ". ly/laps. plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely Included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAs A des taux de rAductlon diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, ii est filmA A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas. un prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. irrata to pelure, n A n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 BY THE SAME AUTHOR. ff 9 I'l-Ht/i I'/wusiniif. THE NINETEENTH CENTUHY. A History l!y Komkhi M ac- KKNZIK. L"n>wn 8vo, Cloth Antii|iic. I'rice 7s. 6«,1. I'rcsclilinK in a hnmly furiti a liislory of the ureal events and iiiovciiicnts of ihe prcNcnt century, in our own country, llirou^liout tlie Kritisli Kinpirc, on the Cohiii^eiit of luiro|K, anil in America. THE TIMES. - " A vahiable addition to the library." THE SCOTSAfA.V.—" Ihe central idea of the work and the chief aim of the writer is ilisplayed in his very eviilent »iesii;ii to trace llie urowlh of free institu- tions in the dilVeretit Stales of iMimpe, and partii iiiarly in Kn^jaiid . . . No nu)re iivstructive or more useful lHX>k could l>e put into the lianils of the risitij; j-enera- tion of the present liay. The hook is written in a terse and pointed style. The movement is rapid throughout ; and though the scene freipiciuly chanj'es, its central thought- that of the education of the i^ce in the spirit of freedom—is never lost sight of for a moment." DAILY KES'/EIV.—" 'Wr'xncu with rare iK)wer and skill; from iKJRinnini: to end the hook is highly interestiiii; and instructive. It is a |K)liti<'al guide as well as a history, and a safer guide with a more captivating manner wdl not easily be found." s f I 4 ^ T. NELSON AND SONS, t.ONDON, Kl)INHl'Ki;H. AM) NKW Voh'K. 1 ;• » ■ « ^ 3i)istovn. /3t-f, A iM E R I C A. I. THE UNITED STATES. II. -DOMINION OF CANADA. III. -SOUTH AMERICA, Ac. \ I ! .'.I By ROIUIRT MACKENZIE. \ ■ « J^ou^(rn T. NKLSON AND SONS, PATKIJNOSTETJ HOW F.niNRrRCll ; AMI NKW YORK. 1882. \A!i Rights Ktif»-nU.\ 160597 \S?82. y CONTENTS. -•♦- THE UNITED STATES. BOOK FIRST. I. DWCOVBRT, n 11. COLONIZATION, 18 III. VIRGINIA, ... n IV. NEW KNCSIJVNn, 28 V. THE NEW ENGLANH PER8ECUTI0NS, ... 38 VI. WITCHCRAFT IN NEW ENGLAND, 43 VII. THE INDIANS, 4« VIII. NEW YORK, 48 IX. PENNSYLVANIA, 51 X. GEORGIA, ... 54 XI. SLAVERY, ... 68 XII. EARLY GOVERNMENT, 64 BOOK SECOND. I. GEORGE WASHINGTON, II. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, III. THE VALLEY OF THE OHIO, ... IV. AMERICA ON THE EVE OF THE REVOLUTION, B7 71 73 81 vi (,'ONTKNTS. V. BINKGK mi.l<, VI. 1NI>KPKNI)ENC'K, VII. AT WAH, ... VIII. SYMPATHY IJKYONI) TIIK SKA, IX. TIIK WAR CONTIMKS, X. THE MlUnENDEIl AT HAn.\TO(JA, XI HELP FIIOM KIROPE, XII. MAJOK ANDRE, XIII. THE CLOSE OK THE WAR, XIV. THE THIRTEEN ST.VTES BECOME A N.VTION XV. THE WAR WITH (JRE.VT UHITAIN, 101 107 ll-J 114 117 119 128 127 132 141 BOOK THIRD. I. KINC, COTTON, II. SLAVERY, ... III. MISSOURI, ... IV. HOPE FOR THE NKCKO, V. TEXAS, VI. THE WAR WITH MEXI(( , VII. CALIFORNIA, VIII. KANSAS, ... IX. THE rNDKIUiROrNl) RAILWAY, X. JOHN BROWN, XI. EIGHTEEN HINDREO AND SIXTY. XII. SECESSION, Xril. THE TWO PRE.SII)ENTS, IM l.'VS 104 160 170 173 170 170 183 18ft 100 UHJ 200 BOOK FOURTH. I. THE FIRST BLOW STRICK, 11. THE BATTLE OF BILL RIN, 204 211 CONTENTS. Vtt III. "on to RirHMONI»," IV. I.IHKKTV TO THK C'APTIVK. ... V. CONKEIjKU.VTK HrcCKSSKS, VI. THK WAH (ONTIMKrt, VII. (iKTTYMBt'RO, Mil. THK LAST CAMI'AICN, IX. THK MIHDKK OK THK I'UI-^^IUE^fT, X. THK I.OS.'HK.s ANI> THK (iAINS oK THK WAK, XI. AKTKU THK WAH, XII. HOW THK AMKUICANH ("ARKn KOK THKIR HOI.MIKRS, BOOK FIFTH. I. HKINITRD AMKRICA, II. KNiil.ANI) AM) AMKRirA, III. I.NIHSTUIAI. A.MKHI<.'A, IV. KinC.VTION IN AMRRICA, V. KIKOPE AND AMERICA, I'OSTSCKII'T- PKKSIDKNT (iARKIKLM, ill IM Ml S81 m Mi 210 mt S«7 270 278 288 203 200 808 THE DOMINION OP CANADA. I. THK DAWN OF CANADIAN HISTOKV, ... II. SAMIEI. DE CHAMI'I.AIN, III. THK .lEsriTS IN CANADA, IV. THE VALLEY OK THE MIS.SI.SHll'I'I, V. THE AMERICAN CONTINENT fiAINED IIV THE IlltlTISH, VI. COLONIZATION BV FRANCE AND »V EN»JLAND, VII. AFTER THE CONQUF-ST, VIII. CANADA DURING THK WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, IX. CONSTITUTIONAL C.OVKRNME.VT, SU 817 S24 3:u 337 348 354 sei 364 • •• Vlll CONTENTS. X. THE WAK or 1812, ... XI. DOMKMTIC HTRIKR, ... XII. TMB CANADIAN KKVOLUTION, XIII. OONrKDRRATlC :«, XIV. THS MAHITIMK PKOVINCRH, ... XV. THR IMIOVINCBM OK THK NOKTH-WKHT, XVI. THK PROOKKHH OK THR CANADIAN NATION, 308 373 9S0 304 399 409 426 SOUTH AMERICA. I. DIHCOVKRY AND CONQUKMT, ... II. THR INDIANH OK HPANIHH AMRRICA, ... III. HPANIHH GOVKRNMRNT OK THK NRW WORLD, IV. HKVOI.UTION, V. INDKPKNDK.NCR, VI. THR CHURCH OK ROMR IN HPANIHH AMKRICA, VII. liRAXIL, 439 460 479 494 r>11 534 544 ft 308 S7» 304 399 400 42fl 430 460 479 404 r>n 534 544 UNITED STATES. Hi ' /> n I^IIE T NITED SFAl^KS. ,1 look ;i-r hot. CHAPTEli I. 1)Iscovp:hy. tho sea, lu'irun. T was late in tlie liistory of tlic worM l)of(»ro Kuirpr ami Amorica bocnino known to each otlicr. During tho first fifteen centuries of tln^ Christian era Europe was unaware of the vast continent which lay beyond Asia liad ceased to influence her. Africa liad not Her history Avas waiting for tho mighty influence which America was to exercise in her aflairs through all the future ages. ' Men had been slow to establish conipletely their dominion over the sea. They learned very early to build ships. Thoy availed themselves very early of the surprising power which the helm exerts over the movements of a ship. Uut, during many ages, they found no surer unidanco upon ISCOVEUY. last look at Granada, and Spain had rest from her eiirht centuries of war. In England, the Wars of the Roses hale, and ought to be used for their good. Two of his pupils were John Knox the reformer, and Georga Iluchanan the historian, by whom this doctrine, so great and yet BO simple, was clearly perceived and firmly maintained. But to the great mass of mankind it seemed that the King had divine authority to dispose of his subjects and their property according to his pleasure. Poor patient humanity still bowed in lowly reverence before its Kings, and bore, without wonder- ing or murmuring, all that it jileased them to inflict No stranger superstition has ever possessed the human mind than this boundless mediajval veneration for the King — a veneration which follies the most abject, vices the most enormous, were not able to qu< nek But as this unhappy century draws towards its close, the elements of a most benign change are plainly seen at work. The Bible has been largely read. The Bible is the book of all ages and of all circumstances. But never, surely, since its first gift to man was it more needful to any age than to that which now welcomed its restoration with wonder and delight. It took deep hold on the minds of men. It exercised a silent influence which gradually changed the aspect of society. The narrative portions of Scripture were especially acceptable to the untutored intellect of that time; and thus the Old Testament was pre- ferred to the New. This j>reference led to some mistakes. Bules which had been given to an ancient Asiatic people were applied in circumstances for which they were never intended or fitted. It is easy to smile at these mistakes. But it is impos- sible to over-estimate the social and political good which we now enjoy as a result of this incessant reading of the Bible by tha people of the sixteenth century. COLONIZATION. 91 III nearly all European countries the King clainieil to regulate the religious belief of his suhjects. Even in England that power was still claimed. The people wore beginning to suspect that they were entitled to think for tlu!nis(^lveb — a suspiciou which grew into an indignant certainty, and widened and deepened till it swept from the throne the unhappy House of Stuart. A little way into the seventeenth century America became the refuge of those who would not receive their faith at the bidding of the King. The best part of American colonization resulted from the foolish and insolent oppressions of Europe. At the beginning, however, it was not so. It was from an iiu- pulse of vngrant blackguardism that the first American colony sprang. ^s^ ri CHAPTER III. VIIUJINIA. |IR WALTER RALEIGH spont a largo fortune in attempting to colonizo Virginia. Ho succeeded in directing the attention of his countrymen to the region which had kindled his own enthusiasm, but his colonies never prospered. Sometimes the colonists returned liome disgusted l)y the hardships of the wilderness. Once they were massacred by the Indians. When help came from Eng- land the infant settlement was in ruins. The bones of unburied men lay about the fields; wild deer strayed among tho un- tenanted houses. Once a colony wholly disapj)eared. To this day its fate is unknown. Sir Walter was enduring his long captivity in the Tower, writing his " History of the World," and moaning piteously over the havoc which prison-damps wrought upon his handsome frame. The time had now come, and his labours were about to bear fruit. The history of Virginia was about to open. It opened with meagre promise. A charter from the King established a Company whose function was to colonize — whose privilege was to trade. The Company sent out an expedition which sailed in three small vessels. It con- sisted of one hundred and five men. Of these one-half were gentlemen of broken fortune; some were tradesmen; others were footmen. Only a very few were farmers, or mechanics, or persons in any way fitted for the life they sought. Morally tha 1606 A.D. VIRGINIA. 23 aspect of the expedition was even more discouraging. "An liundred dissolute j>er8on8" were On board the ships. The re- spectable portions of the expedition must have gone into very little room. But, happily for Virginia, there sailed with these reprobate founders of a new empire a man whom Providence had highly gifted with titnt.'ss to govern his fellow-men. ITis name was John Smith. No writer of romance would Isave given his hero this name ; but, in spite of his name, the man was truly heroic. IIo was still under thirty, a 8trong-lind)ed, deep-chested, mas- sively-built man. From boyhood he had been a soldier — roam- ing over the world in search of adventures, wherever hard blows were being exchanged. He was mighty in single combat. Once, while opposing armies looked on, he vanquished three Turks, and, like David, cut off their heads, and bore them to his tent. Returning to England when the passion for coloniz- ing was at its heigiit, lie caught at once the prevailing impulse. He joined the Virginian expedition; ultimately he became its chief. His fitness was so manifest, that no reluctance on liis own part, no jealousies on that of his companions, could bar him from the highest place. Men became Kings of old by the same process which now made Smith a chief. The "dissolute persons" sailed in their ships up the James river. Landing there, they proceeded to construct a little town, which they named Jamestown, in honour of the King. This was the first colony which struck its roots in American soil. The colonists were charmed with the climate and with the luxuriant beauty of the wilderness on whose confines they had settled. But as yet it was only a wilderness. The forest had to be cleared that food might be grown. The exiled gentlemen laboured manfully, but under grievous discouragements. " The axes so oft blistered their tender fingers, that many times every third blow had a loud oath to drown the echo." Smith was a man upon whose soul there lay a becoming reverence for sacred t4 vriwiiviA. things. Ho devisod how to have every man's onthH numbered ; " and at ni^ht, for every oath, to have a can of water poured down liis sleeve." Under this treatment i\n) evil assuaged. The emigrants had laiuUKl in early spring. Summer came with its burning heat; supplies of food ran low. "Had wo been as free from all sins as from gluttony and drunkeimoss," Smith wrote, "wo might have been canonized as saints." Tho colonists sickened and dit^l. From those poor blistered fingers dropped for ever the unaccustomed axe. JU^foro autumn evt^ry second man had died. But the hot Virginian sun, which proved so deadly to the settlers, ripened the wheat th(>y had sowed in the spring, and freed the survivors from the pressure of want. Winter brought them a healthier temperature and abundant supplies of wild-fowl and game. When the welfare of the colony was in some measure secured, Smith set forth with a few companions to explore the interior of the country. He and his followers were captured by the Indians, and the followers were summarily butchered. Smith's com- posure did not fail him in the worst extremity. He produced his pocket-compa.ss, and interested the savages by explaining its properties. He wrote a letter in their sight — to their infinite wonder. Tliey spared him, and made a show of him in all tho settlements round about. Ho was to them an unfathomable mystery. He was plainly su})erhuman. Whether his power would bring to them good or evil, they were not able to deter- mine. After much hesitation they chose the course which prudence seem to counsel. They resolved to extinguish powers so formidable, regarding whose use they could obtain no guarantee. Smith was bound and stretched upon the earth, his head resting upon a great stone. The mighty club was up- lifted to dash out his brains. But Smith was a man who won golden opinions of all. The Indian chief had a daughter, Poca- hontas, a child of ten or twelve years. She could not bear to see the pleasing Englishman destroyed. As Smith lay waiting VIlUllNrA. 25 (oimoHs, tlio fatal Ktroko, kIio cjiii^'ht liiin in lior nmiH ami iut(*rpo8od liorHolf l)otwoon him and the clul». Her intorcosHiou i»revailod, aiul Smith was not free. Five yoara later, "an honost and (liscroet" young KngliHhman callod John Jlolfo loved this young Indian girl. Ife liad a Horo mental struggh^ about uniting hiniK(>lf with "one of barbarous breeding and of a eursed race." But love triumphed. l\o laboured for her conversion, and had the happiiu^ss of seeing Imt baptized in the little church of Jamestown. Then lie married her. After a time he took her home to England. Her appear- nnce was pleasing; lu'r mind was acute; her piety was sincere; licr manners bore pictures(|ue evidence of her forest upbringing. The English King and (.'ourt regardcMl her with liv((ly inten'st as the first-fruits of the wiId(Tness. (Jreat hop(>s were founded on this union of the two races. She is the brightest |)icture — this young Virginian wife and nmther — which the history of the doomed native races presents to us. IJut she did not livo to revisit her native land. Death parted her very early from her husband and her child. When Smith returned from captivity the colony was on t]w verge of extinction. Only thirty-eight pi^rsons were left, and they were })reparing to dny was ' wholly pie bore iry, and victims aken at ket. In 0. The n tov/ns Iderness , by the •f roads i relent- By took upants. [ndians 1 Eng- i could onsive of the iposed in the lere it d only lently in an ed it cated all who smoked in churches. But, in defiance of law and reason, the demand for tobacco continued to increase. The Virginians found their most profitable occupation in supplying this demand. So eager were they, that tobacco was grc wn in the squares and streets of Jamestown. In the absence of money tobacco became the Virginian currency. Accounts were kept in tobacco. The salaries of members of Assembly, the stipends of clergymen, were paid in tobacco ; offences were punished by fines expressed in tobacco. Absence from church cost the delinquent fifty pounds ; refusing to have his child baptized, two thousand pounds ; entertaining a Quaker, five thousand pounds. When the stock of tobacco was unduly large, the currency was debased, and much inconvenience resulted. The Virginians corrected this evil in their monetary system by compelling every planter to burn a certain proportion of his stock. Within a few years of the settlement the Virginians had a written Constitution, according to which they were ruled. Tliey had a Parliament chosen by the burghs, and a Governor sent them from England. The Episcopal Church was established among them, and the colony divided into parishes. A college was erected for the use not only of the English, but also of the most promising young Indians. But they never became an educated people. The population v/as widely scattered, so that schools were almost impossible. In respect of education, Vir ginia fell far behind her sisters in the North. nuni- II '! CHAPTER lY. NEW ENGLAND. LTTTLE more tlian two centuries ago New England was one vast forest. Here and there a little space was cleared, a little corn was raised ; a few Indian families made their temporary abode. The savage occupants of the land spent their profitless lives to no better purpose than in hunting and fighting. The rivers which now give life to so much cheerful industry flowed uselessly to the sea. Providence had prepared a home which a great people might fitly inhabit. Let us see whence and how the men were brought who were the destined possessors of its opulence. The Reformation had taught that every man is entitled to read his Bible for himself, and guide his life by the light he obtains from it. But the lesson was too high to be soon learned. Protestant princes no more than Popish could permit their sub- jects to think for tliemselves. James I. had just ascended the English throne. His were the head of a fool and the heart of a tyrant. He would allow no man to separate himself from the Established Church. He would " harry out of the land " all who attempted such a thing ; and he was as good as his word. Men would separate from the Church, and the King stretched out his pitiless hand to crush them. On the northern border of Nottinghamshire stands the little town of Scrooby. Here there were some grave and well-repiited persons, to whom the idle ceremonies of the Established Church NEW ENGLAND. 29 were an offence. They met in secret at the house of one of tlieir number, a gentleman named Brewster. They were minis- tered to in all scriptural simplicity by the i)astor of tlieir choice — Mr. Robinson, a wise and good man. But their secret meet- ings were betrayed to the authorities, and their lives were made bitter by the persecutions that fell upon them. They resolved to leave their own land and seek among strangers that freedom which was denied them at home. They embarked with all their goods for Holland. But when tlie ship was about to sail, soldiers came upon them, plundered them, and drove them on shore. They were marched to the public square of Boston, and there the Fathers of New England endured such indignities as an unbelieving rabble could inflict. After some weeks in prison they were suffered to return home. Next spring they tried again to escape. Tliis time a good many were on board, and the others were waiting for the return of the boat which would carry them to the ship. Suddenly dragoons were seen spurring across the sands. The shipmaster pulled up his anchor and pushed out to sea with those of his passengers whom he had. The rest were conducted to prison. After a time they were set at liberty, and in little groups they made their way to Holland. Mr. Robinson and his congrega- tion were reunited, and the first stage of the weary pilgrimage from the Old England to the New was at length accomplished. Eleven quiet and not unprosperous years were spent in Holland. The Pilgrims worked with patient industry at their various handicrafts. They quickly gained the reputation of doing honestly and effectively whatever they professed to do, and thus they found abundant employment. Mr. Brewster established a printing-press, and printed books about liberty, which, as he had the satisfaction of knowing, greatly enraged the foolish King James. The little colony received additions from time to time as oi)pression in England became more intolerable. 1609 A.D. 5 n r ao NEW ENGLAND. 1620 A.D. The instinct of separation was strong within the Pilgrim heart. They could not bear the thought that their little colony was to mingle with the Dutchmen and lose its independent existence. But already their sons and daughters were forming alliances which threatened this result. The Fathers considered long and anxiously how the danger was to be averted. They determined again to go on pilgrimage. They would seek a home beyond the Atlantic, whcie they could dwell apart and found a State in which they should be free to think. On a sunny morning in July the Pilgrims kneel upon the sea-shore at Delfthaven, while the pastor prays for the success of their journey. Out upon the gleaming sea a little ship lies waiting. Money has not been found to transplant the whole colony, and only a hundred have been sent. The remainder will follow when they can. These hun- dred depart amid tears and prayers and fond far^iwella Mr. Kobinson dismissed them with counsels which breathed a pure and high-toned wisdom. He urged them to keep their minds ever open for the reception of new truths. " The Lord," he said, "has inore truth to break forth out of his holy Word. I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of the Reformed Churches, who are come to a period in religion, and will go at present no further than the instruments of their reformation. Luther and Calvin were great and shining lights in their times, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel of God, but, were they now living, would be as willing to embrace further light as that which they first received. I beseech you, remem- ber that you be ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known to you from the written Word of God." Sixty ^ight years later, another famous departure from the coast of Holland took place. It was that of William, Prince of Orange, coming to deliver England from tyranny, and give a new pourse to English history. A powerful fleet and army sailed with the prince. The chief men of the country accom- NEW ENGLAND. 81 t panied him to his ships. Public prayers for his safety were offered up in all the churches. Insignificant beside this seems at first sight the unregarded departure of a hundred working- men and women. It was in truth, however, not less, but even [more memorable. For these poor people went forth to found a great empire, destined to leave as deep and as enduring a mark upon the world's history as Rome or even as England has done. The Mayflower^ in which the Pilgrims made their voyage, was a ship of one hundred and sixty tons. The weather proved stormy and cold ; the voyage unexpectedly long. It was early in September when they sailed; it was not till the 11th No- vember that the Mayflower dropped her anchor in the waters of Cape Cod Bay. It was a bleak-looking and discouraging coast which lay be- fore them. Nothing met the eye but low sand-hills, covered with ill-grown wood down to the margin of the sea. The Pil- grims had now to choose a place for their settlement. About this they hesitated so long that the captain threatened to put them all on shore and leave them. Little expeditions were sent to explore. At first no suitable locality could be found. The men had great hardships to endure. The cold was so ex- cessive that the spray froze upon their clothes, and they resem- bled men cased in armour. At length a spot was fixed upon. The soil appeared to be good, and abounded in " delicate springs" of water. On the 23rd December the Pilgrims landed, stepping ashore upon a huge boulder of granite, which is still reverently preserved by their descendants. Here they resolved to found their settlement, which they agreed to call New Ply- mouth. The winter was severe, and the infant colony was brought very near to extinction. They had been badly fed on board the Mayflower^ and for some time after going on shore there was very imperfect shelter from the weather. Sickness fell ITT p " 82 NKW ENGLAND. heavily on the worn-out Pilgrims. Every second clay a grave had to be dug in the frozen ground. By the time spring came in there were only fifty survivors, and these sadly enfeebled and dispirited. But all through this dismal winter the Pilgrims laboured at their heavy task. The care of the sick, the burying of the dead, sadly hindered their work ; but the building of their little town went on. They found that nineteen houses would contain their diminished numbers. These they built. Then they uuv- rounded them with a i)alisade. Vpon an eminence beside their toAvn they erected a structure which served a double purpose. Above, it was a fort, on which they mounted six cannon ; be- low, it was their church. Hitherto the Indians had been a cause of anxiety, but had done them no harm. Now they felt safe. Indeed there had never been much risk. A recent epidemic had swept off nine-tenths of the Indians who inhabited that region, and the discouraged survivors could ill afford to incur the hostility of their formidable visitors. The Pilgrims had been careful to provide for themselves a government. They had drawn up and signed, in the cabin of the Mayjlotver^ a document forming themselves into a body politic, and promising obedience to all laws framed for the general good. Under this constitution they appointed John Carver to be their governor. They dutifully acknowledged King James, but they left no very large place for his authority. They were essentially a self-governing people. They knew what desjiotism was, and they were very sure that democracy could by no possibility be so bad. The welcome spring came at length, and " the birds sang m the viToods most pleasantly." The health of the colony began . ojiie'iv^hat to improve, but there was still much suffering to endure, Tlie summer passed not unprosperously. They had ttl^en possession of the deserted clearings of the Indians, and had no difficulty in providing themselves with food. But in NEW ENGLAND. 88 the autumn came a sliip with a new company of Pilgrims. This was very encouraging ; but unhappily the ship brought no provisions, and tho supplies of the colonists were not sufficient for this unexpected addition. For six montlis ihero was only half allowance to each. Such straits recurred frequently during the first two or three years. Often the colonists knew not at night "where to have a bit in the morning." Once or twice the opportune arrival of a ship saved them from famishing. They suffered much, but their cheerful trust in Providence and in their own final triumph never wavered. They faced the dif- ficulties of their position with undaunted hearts. Slowly but surely the little colony struck its roots and began to grow. The years which followed the coming of the Pilgrims were years through which good men ir England found it bitter to live. Charles I. was upon the throne ; Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury. Bigotry as blind and almost as cruel as Eng- land had ever seen thus sat in her high places. Dissent from the Popish usages, which prevailed more and more in tho Church, was at the peril of life. A change was near. John Hampden was farming his lands in Buckinghamshire. A greater than he — his cousin, Oliver Cromwell — was leading his quiet rural life at Huntingdon, not without many anxious and indignant thoughts about the evils of his time. John Milton was peacefully writing his minor poems, and filling his mind with the learning of the ancients. The Men had come, and tho Hour was at hand. But as yet King Charles and Archbishop Laud had it all their own way. They fined and imprisoned every man who ventured to think otherwise than they wished him to think : they slit his nose, they cut off his ears, they gave him weary hours in the pillory. They ordered that men should not leave the kingdom without the King's permission. Eight ships lay in the Thames, with their passengers on board, when that order was given forth. The soldiers cleared the ships, and (687) 3 ' 1 i ■I ? 84 NEW ENGLAND. the poor emigrants were driven back, in poverty and despair, to endure the misery from which they were so eager to escape. New England was the refuge to which the wearied victims of this senseless tyranny looked. The Pilgrims wrote to their friends at home, and every letter was regarded with the interest due to a " sacred script." They had hardships to tell of at first ; then they had prosperity and comfort ; always they had liberty. New England seemed a paradise to men who were denied permission to worship God according to the manner which they deemed right. Every summer a few ships were freighted for the settlements. Many of the silenced ministers came. Many of their congregations came, glad to be free, at whatever sacrifice, from the tyranny which disgraced their native land. The region around New Plymouth became too narrow for the population. From time to time a little party would go forth, with a minister at its head. With wives and children and baggage they crept slowly through the swampy forest. By a week or two of tedious journeying they reached some point which pleased their fancy, or to which they judged that Providence had sent them. There they built their little town, with its wooden huts, its palisade, its fort, on which one or two guns were ultimately mounted. Thus were founded many of the cities of New England. For some years the difficulties which the colonists encountered were almost overwhelming. There seemed at times even to be danger that death by starvation would end the whole enter- prise. But they were a stout-hearted, patient, industrious people, and labour gradually brought comfort. The virgin soil began to yield them abundant harvests. They fished with such success that they manured their fields with the harvest of the sea. They spun and they weaved. They felled the timber of their boundless forests. They built ships, and sent away to foreign countries the timber, the fish, the furs which were not re- NEW ENGLAND. M quired at home. Ere many years a ship built in Massachusetts sailed for London, followed by "many prayers of the churches." Their infant commerce was not without its •*•"*** AiD. troubles. They had little or no coin, and Indian corn was made a legal tender. Bullets were legalized in room of the farthings whicii, with their other coins, had vanished to pay for foreign goods. But no difficulty could long resist their steady, undismayed labour. They were a nol)le p.^ople who had thus begun to strike their roots in the great forests of New England. Their peculi- arities may indeed amuse us. Tlie Old Testament was their statute-book, and they deemed that the institutions of Moses were the best model for those of New England. They made attendance on public worship compulsory. Tliey christened their children by Old Testament names. They regulated female attire by law. They considered long hair unscriptural, and preached against veils and wigs. The least wise among us can smile at the mistakes into which the Puritan Fathers of New England fell. But the most wise of all ages will most profoundly reverence the purity, the earnestness, the marvellous enlightenment of these men. From their incessant study of the Bible they drew a love of human liberty unsurpassed in depth and fervour. Coming from under despotic rule, they established at once a government absolutely free. They felt — what Europe has not even yet fully appre^ bended — that the citizens of a State should be able to guide the affairs of that State without helpless dependence upon a few great families ; that the members of a Church ought to guide the affairs of that Church, waiting for the sanction of no patron, however noble and good. It was one of their fundamental laws that all strangers professing the Christian religion and driven from their homes by persecutors, should be succoured at the public charge. The education of children was almost their earliest care. The Pilgrims bore with them across the sea a 86 NEW ENGLAND. (lepp persuasion that tlieir infant State could not thrive without education. Three years after the landing, it was reported of them among the friends they had left in London, that " their children were not catechised, nor taught to read." The colonists felt keenly this reproach. They utterly denied its justice. They owned, indeed, that they had not yet attained to a school, much as they desired it. But all parents did their best, each in the education of his own children. In a very few years schools began to appear. Such endowment as could be afforded was freely given. Some tolerably qualified brother was fixed upon, and "entreated to become schoolmaster." And thus gradually the foundations were laid of the noble school system of New England. Soon a law was passed that every town containing fifty householders must have a common school ; every town of a hundred householders must have a grammar school. Harvard College was established within fifteen years of the landing. The founders of New England wore men who had known at home the value of letters. Brewster carried with him a library of two hundred and seventy-five volumes, and his was not the largest collection in the colony. The love of knowledge was deep and universal. New England has never swerved from her early loyalty to the cause of education. Every colonist was necessarily a soldier. The State provided him with arms, if poor ; required him to provide himself, if rich. His weapons were sword, pike, and matchlock, with a forked stick on which to rest his artillery in taking aim. The people were carefully trained to the use of arms. In the devout spirit of the time, their drills were frequently opened and closed with prayer. Twenty-three years after the landing of the Pilgrims the population of New England had grown to twenty-four thousand. Forty-nine little wooden towns, with their wooden churches, wooden forts, and wooden ramparts, were dotted here and there over the land. There were four separate colonies, which NEW ENGLAND. 37 hitherto had maintained separate governments. They were Plymouth, Massachuset*' ', Connecticut, and New Haven. There appeared at first a disposition in the Pilgrim mind to scatter wid(jly, and remain apart in small self-governing communities, b'or some years every little band which j)ushed deeper into the wilderness settled itself into an independent State, having no political relations with its neighbours. But tliis isolation could not continue. The wilderness had other inhabitants, whoso presence was a standing menace. Within "striking distance" there were Indians enough to trample out the solitary little lOn'dish counnunities. On their frontiers were Frenchmen and Dutchmen — natural enemies, as all men in that time were to each other. For mutual defence and encouragement, the four colonies joined themselves into the United Colonies of New England. This was the first confederation in a land where confederations of unprecedented magnitude were hereafter to be established. 1643 A.D. m- CHAPTER V. TIIK NKW ENGLAND PKHHHCUTIONS. HE Puritans left their native England and came t(5 the "outside of the world," as they called it, that they might enjoy liberty to worship God according to the way which they deemed right. They had discovered that they themselves were entitled to toleration. They felt that the restraints laid upon themselves were very unjust and very grievous. But their light as yet led them no further. They had not discovered that people who differed from them were as well entitled to be tolerated as they them- selves were. Wo have no right to blame them for their back- wardness. Simple as it seems, men have not all found out, even yet, that every one of them is fully entitled to think for himself. And thus it hapi)ened that, before the Pilgrims had enjoyed for many years the cheerful liberty of their new home, doctrines raised their heads among them which they felt themselves bound to suppress. One February day there stepped ashore at Boston a young man upon whose coming great issues depended. His name was Roger Williams. He was a clergyman — " godly and zealous " — a man of rare virtue and power. Cromwell admitted him, in later years, to a considerable measure of intimacy. He was the friend of John Milton — in the bright days of the poet's youth, ere yet "the ever-during dark " surrounded him. From him Milton acquired his knowledge of the Dutch language. He carried with him to 1631 A.D. THE NEW ENGLAND PERSECUTIONS. M the New World certain strange opinionH. Long thought had satisfied him that in regard to religious belief and worsliip man is responsibh) to God alone. No man, said Williams, is entitled to lay compulsion upon another man in regard to religion. The civil power has to do only with the " bodies and goods and out- ward estates " of men ; in the domain of conscience God is tho only ruler. New England was not able to receive these senti- ments. Williams became minister at Salem, where he was held in high account. In time his opinions drew down upon him the unfavourable notice of the authorities. Tho General Court of Massachusetts brought him to trial for the errors of his belief. His townsmen and congregation deserted him. His wife reproached him bitterly with the evil ho was bringing upon his family. Mr, Williams could do no otherwise. He must testify with his late.Ht breath, if need be, against the " soul oppression " which he saw around him. The court heard him, discovered error in his opinions, declared him guilty, and pronounced upon him sentence of banishment. All honour to this good and brave, if somewhat eccentric man. He of all the men of his time saw most clearly tho beauty of absolute freedom in matters of conscience. He went forth from Salem. He obtained a grant of land from the Indians, and he founded the State of Rhode Island. Landing one day from a boat in which he explored his new possessions, he climbed a gentle slope, and rested with his companions beside a spring. It seemed to him that the capital of his infant State ought to be here. He laid the foundations of his city, which he named Providence, in grateful recognition of the Power which had guided his uncertain steps. His settlement was to be " a shelter for persons distressed for conscience." Most notably has it been so. Alone of all the States of Christendom, Rhode Island has no taint of persecution in her statute-book or in her history. Massachusetts continued to drive out her heretics; Rhode Island took them in. They might err in their interpretation of 'I ;' 'H 1^1 fl 40 THE NEW ENGLAND PERSECUTIONS. Scripture. Pity for themselves if they did so. But while they obeyed the laws, they might interpret Scripture according to the light they had. Many years after, Mr. Williams became President of the colony which he had founded. The neighbour- ing States were at that time sharply chastising the Quakers with lash and brandincc-iron and gibbet. Rhode Island was 1651 A.D. invited to join in the persecution. Mr. Williams replied that he had no law whereby to punish any for their belief " as to salvation and an eternal condition." He abhorred the doctrines of the Quakers. In liiF seventy-third year he rowed thirty miles in an open boat to wage a public debate with some of the advocates of the system. Thus and thus only could he resist the progress of opinions which he deemed pernicious. In beauti- ful consistency and completeness stands out to the latest hour of his long life this good man's loyalty to the absolute liberty of the human conscience. And thus, too, it happened that when seven or eight men began to deny that infants should be baptized, New England never doubted that she did right in forcibly trampling out their heresy. The heretics had started a meeting of their own, where they might worship God apart from those who baptized their infants. One Sabbath morning the constable invaded their worship and forcibly bore them away to church. Their deportment there was not unsuitable to the manner of their inbringing. They audaciously clapped on their hats while the minister prayed, and made no secret that they deemed it sin to join in the services of those who practised infant baptism. For this " sej^aration of themselves from God's people " they were put on trial. They were fined, and some of the more obdurate among them were ordered to be "well whipped." We have no reason to doubt that this order was executed in spirit as well as in letter. And then a law went forth that every man who openly condemned the baptizing of infanta should suffer banishment. Thus resolute were the good THE NEW ENGLAND PERSECUTIONS. 41 1656 A.D. men of New England that the right which they had come so far to enjoy should not be enjoyed by any one who saw a different meaning from theirs in any portion of the Divine Word. Thus, too, when Massachusetts had reason to apprehend the coming of certain followers of the Quaker persuasion, she was smitten with a great fear. A fast-day was proclaimed, that the alarmed people might "seek the face of God in reference to the abounding of errora, especially those of the Ranters and Quakers." As they fasted, a ship was Hearing their shores with certain Quaker women on board. These unwelcome visitors were promptly seized and lodged in prison ; their books were burned by the hangman ; they them- selves were sent away home by the ships which brought them. All ship-masters were strictly forbidden to bring Quakers to the colony. A poor woman, the wife of a London tailor, left her husband and her children, to bring, as she said, a message from the Lord to New England. Her trouble was but poorly be- stowed ; for they to whom her message came requited her with twenty stripes and instant banishment. The banished Quakers took the earliest opportunity of finding their way back. Laws were passed dooming to death all who ventured to return. A poor fanatic was following his plough in distant Yorksliire, when the word of the Lord came to him saying, "Go to Boston." He went, and the ungrateful men of Boston hanged him. Four persons in all suffered death. Many were whipped; some had their ears cut off. But public opinion, which has always been singularly humane in America, began to condemn these foolish cruelties. And the Quakers had friends at home — friends who had access at Court. Tliere came a letter in the King's name directing that the authorities of New England should " forbear to proceed further against the Quakers." That letter came by the hands of a Quaker who was under sentence of death if he dared to return. The authorities could not but receive it — could not but give 1661 A.D. Tl[f 42 THE NEW ENGLAND PERSECUTIONS. I ; I II effect to it. The persecution ceased ; and with it may be said to close, in America, all forcible interference with the right of men to think for themselves. The Quakers, as they are known to us, are of all sects the least offensive. A persecution of this serene, thoughtful, self- restrained people, may well surprise us. But, in justice to New England, it must be told that the first generation of Quakers differed extremely from succeeding generations. They were a fai'atical people — extravagant, disorderly, rejecters of lawful authority. A people more intractable, more unendurable by any government, never lived. They were guided by an " inner light," which habitually placed them at variance with the laws of the country in which they lived, as well as with the most harmless social usages. George Fox declared that " the Lord forbade him to put off his hat to any man." His followers were inconveniently and provokingly aggressive. They invaded public worship. Tliey openly expressed their contempt for the religion of their neighbours. They perpetually came with "messages from the Lord," which it was not pleasant to listen to. They appeared in public places very imperfectly attired, thus symbolically to express and to rebuke the spiritual naked- ness of the time. After a little, when their zeal allied itself with discretion, they became a most valuable element in American society. But we can scarcely wonder that they created alarm at first. The men of New England took a very simple view of the subject. They had bought and paid for every acre of soil which they occupied. Their country was a homestead from which they might exclude whom they chose. They would not receive men whose object was to overthrow all their institutions, civil and religious. It was a mistake, but a most natural mistake. Long afterwards, when New England saw her error, she nobly made what amends she could, by giving compensation to the representatives of those Quakers who had suffered in the evil times. may be said the right of all sects the mghtful, self- istice to New 1 of Quakers They were a ;rs of lawful endurable by by an " inner vith the laws with the most at "the Lord followers were riiey invaded itempt for the ly came with isant to listen fectly attired, )iritual naked- al allied itself le element in der that they id took a very and paid for country was a m they chose. overthrow all mistake, but a New England :ould, by giving akers who had CHAPTER VI. WITCHCRAFT IN NEW ENGLAND. HEN the Pilgrims left their native land, the belief in witchcraft was universal. England, in much fear, busied herself with the slaughter of friendless old women who were suspected of an alliance with Satan. King James had published his book on Demonology a few years before, in which he maintained that to forbear from putting witches to death was an " odious treason against God." England was no wiser than her King. All during James's life, and long after he had ceased from invading the kingdom of Satan, the yearly average of executions for witchcraft was somewhere about five hundred. The Pilgrims carried with them across the Atlantic the universal delusion, which their way of life was fitted to strengthen. They lived on the verge of vast and gloomy forests. The liowl of the wolf and the scream of the panther sounded nightly around their caljins. Treacherous savages lurked in the woods watching the time to plunder and to slay. Every circumstance was fitted to increase the suscepti- bility of the mind to gloomy and superstitious impressions. P)ut for the first quarter of a century, while every ship brought news of witch - killing at home, no Satanic outbreak dis- turbed the settlers. The sense of brotherhood was yet too strong among them. Men who have braved great dangers and endured great hardships together, do not readily come rti' 1 1 1! ■ii^ ii WITCHCRAFT IX NEW ENGLAND. to look upon each other as the allies and agents of the Evil One. In 1645 four persons were put to death for witchcraft. During the next half century there occur at intervals solitary cases, when some unhappy wreich falls a victim to the lurking superstition. It was in 1692 that witch-slaying burst forth in its epidemic form, and with a fury which has seldom been witnessed elsewhere. In the State of Massachusetts there is a little town, then called Salem, sitting pleasantly in a plain between two rivers ; and in the town of Salem there dwelt at that time a minister whose name was Paris. In the month of February the daughter and niece of Mr. Paris became ill. It was a dark time for Massachusetts; for the colony was at war with the French and Indians, and was suffering cruelly from their ravages. The doctors sat in solemn conclave on the afflicted girls, and pronounced them bewitched. Mr. Paris, not doubting that it was even so, bestirred himself to find the offenders. Suspicion fell upon three old women, who were at once seized. And then, with marvellous rapidity, the mania spread. The rage and fear of the distracted community swelled high. Every one suspected his neighbour. Children accused their parents ; parents ac- cused their children. The prisons could scarcely contain the suspected. The town of Fahnouth hanged its minister, a man of intelligence and worth. Some near relations of the Governor were denounced. Even the beasts were not safe. A dog was solemnly put to death for the part he had taken in some Satanic festivity. For more than twelve months this mad panic raged in the New England States. It is just to say that the hideous cruelties whn;h were practised in Europe were not resorted to in the prosecution of American witches. Torture was not inflicted to wring confession from the victim. The American test was more humane, and not more foolish, than the European. Those WITCHCRAFT IN NEW ENGLAND. 45 bs of the Evil a,ken in some Buspected persons who denied their guilt, were judged guilty and hanged ; those who confessed were, for the most part, set free. Many hundreds of innocent persons, who scorned to l)urchase life by falsehood, perished miserably under the fury of an excited people. The fire had been kindled in a moment ; it was extinguished as suddenly. The Governor of Massachusetts only gave efiect to the reaction which had occurred in the public mind, when he abruptly stopped all prosecutions against witches, dismissed all the suspected, pardoned all the condemned. The House of Assembly proclaimed a fast — entreating that God would pardon the errors of his people " in a late tragedy raised by Satan and his instruments." One of the judges stood up in church in Boston, with bowed down head and sorrowful countenance, wliile a paper was read, in which he begged the prayers of the congregation, that the innocent blood which he had erringly slied might not be visited on the country or on him. The Salem jury asked forgiveness of God and the community for what they had done under the power of " a strong and general delusion." Poor Mr. Paris was now at a sad discount. He made public acknowledgment of his error. But at his door lay the origin of all this slaughter of the unoffending. His part in the tragedy could not be forgiven. The people would no longer endure his ministry, and demanded his removal. Mr. Paris resigned his charge, and went forth from Salem a broken man. If the error of New England was great and most lamentable, her repentance was prompt and deep. Five-and-twenty years after she had clothed herself in sackcloth, old women were still l)urned to death for witchcraft in Great Britain. Tlie year of blood was never repeated in America. \m\ i m CHAPTER VII. THE INDIANS. ' '*' frreat continent on which the Pilgrims had landed 'V: +he home of innumerable tribes of Indians. They h{ d no settled abode. The entire nation ^vandei: ''ither and thither as their fancy or their liuc . o"' I •'.'':; directed. When the wood was burned down in their Jiei^hbourhood, or the game became scarce, they abandoned their villages and moved off to a more inviting region. They had their great warriors, their great battles, their brilliant victories, their crushing defeats — all as uninteresting to mankind as the wars of the kites and crows. They were a race of tall, powerful men — copper-coloured, with hazel eye, high cheek-bone, and coarse black hair. In manner they were grave, and not without a measure of dignity. They had courage, but it was of that kind which is greater in suffer- ing than in doing. They were a cunning, treacherous, cruel race, among whom the slaughter of women and children took rank as a great feat of arms. They had almost no laws, and for religious beliefs a few of the most grovelling superstitions. They worshipped the Devil because he was wicked, and might do them an injury. Civilization could lay no hold upon them. They quickly learned to use the white man's musket ; they never learned to use the tools of the white man's industry. They developed a lo^-e for intoxicating drink passionate and iri'esistible beyond all example. The settlers behaved to them A. THE INDIANS. 47 ms had landed js of Indians, entire nation fancy or their the wood was ffame became [ off to a more s, their great lefeats — all as es and crows, coloured, with In manner ignity. They sater in sufFer- cherous, cruel children took no laws, and superstitions, ed, and might d upon them, musket ; they an's industry, lassionate and laved to them as Christian men should. They took no land from them ; what land they required they bought and paid for. Every acre of New England soil was come by with scrupulous honesty. The friendship of the Indians was anxiously cultivated — sometimes from fear, oftener from pity. But nothing could stay their progress towards extinction. Inordinate drunkenness and the gradual limitation of their hunting-grounds told fatally on their numbers. And occasionally the English were forced to march against some tribe which refused to be at peace, and to inflict a defeat which left few survivors. Early in the history of New England, efforts were made to win the Indians to the Christian faith. The Governor of Massachusetts appointed ministers to carry the gospel to the savages. Mr. John Eliot, the Apostle of the Indians, was a minister near Boston. Moved by the pitiful condition of the natives, he acquired the language of some of the tribes in his neighbourhood. He went and preached to tliem in their ovrn tongue. He printed books for them. The savages received his words. Many of them listened to his sermons in tears. Many professed faith in Christ, and were gathered into congregations. He gave them a simple code of laws. It was even attempted to establish a college for training native teachers ; but this had to be abandoned. The slothful- ness of the Indian youth, and their devouring passion for strong liquors, unfitted them for the ministry. These vices seemed incurable in the Indian character. No persuasion could induce them to labour. They could be taught to rest on the Sabbath ; they could not be taught to work on the other six days. And even the best of them would sell all they had for spirits. These were grave hindrances ; but, in spite of them, Christianity made considerable progress among the Indians. The hold which it then gained was never altogether lost. And it was observed that in all the misunderstandings which arose between the English and the natives, the converts steadfastly adhered to their new friends. I I if- '. it CHAPTER VIII NEW YORK. 1609 A.D. URING the first forty years of its existence, the great city which we call New York was a Dutch settlement, known among men as New Amster- dam. That region had been discovered for the Dutch East India Company by Henry Hudson, who was stil] in search, as Columbus had been, of a shorter route to the East. The Dutch have never displayed any aptitude for colonizing. But they were unsurpassed in mercantile discernment, and they set up trading stations with much judg- ment. Three or four years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, the Dutch West India Company determined to enter into trading relations with the Indians along the line of the Hudson river. They sent out a few families, who planted themselves at the southern extremity of Manhattan Island. A wooden fort was built, around which clustered a few wooden houses — just as in Europe the baron's castle arose and the huts of the baron's dependants sheltered beside it. The Indians sold valuable furs for scanty payment in blankets, beads, muskets, and intoxicating drinks. The prudent Dutchmen grew rich, and were becoming numerous. But a fierce and prolonged war with the Indians broke out. The Dutch, having taken offence at something done by the savages, expressed their wrath by the massacre of an entire tribe. All the Indians of that region made common cause against the danger- 1643 A.D. NEW YORK. 40 1645 A.D. ous strangers. All the Dutch villages were burned down. Long Island became a desert. The Dutchmen were driven in to the southern tip of the island on which New York stands. They ran a palisade across the island in the line of what is now Wail Street. To-day, "Wall Street is the scene of the largest monetary transactions ever known among men. The hot fever of speculation rages there incessantly, with a fury unknown elsewhere. But then, it was the line within which a dis- heartened and diminishing band of colonists strove to maintain themselves against a savage foe. The war came to an end as wars even then required to do. For twenty years the colony continued to flourish under the government of a sagacious Dutchman called Petrus Stuyvesant. Petrus had been a soldier, and had lost a leg in the wars. He was a brave and true-hearted man, but withal despotic. When his subjects petitioned for some part in the making of laws, he was astonished at their boldness. He took it upon him to inspect the merchants' books. He persecuted the Lutherans and " the abominable sect of Quakers." It cannot be said that his government was faultless. Tlie colony prospered under it, however, and a continued immigra- tion from Europe increased its importance. But in the twen- tieth year, certain English ships of war sailed up the bay, and, without a word of explanation, anchored near the settlement. Governor Petrus was from home, but they sent for him, and he came with speed. He hastened to the fort and looked out into the bay. There lay the ships — grim, silent, ominously near. Appalled by the presence of his unexpected visitors, the ; Governor sent to ask wherefore they had come. His alarm was well founded ; for Charles II. of England had presented to his brother James of York a vast stretch of territory, including the region which the Dutch had chosen for tlieir settlement. It was not his to give, but that signified nothing either to Charles (687) 4 : 60 NEW YORK. or to James. These ships had come to take possession in the Duke of York's name. A good many of the colonists were English, and they were well pleased to be under their own Government. They would not fight. The Dutch remembered the Governor's tyrannies, and they would not fight. Governor Petrus was prepared to fight single-handed. He had the twenty guns of the fort loaded, and was resolute to fire upon the ships. So at least he professed. But the inhabitants begged him, in mercy to them, to forbear ; and he suffered himself to be led by two clergymen away from the loaded guns. It was alleged, to his disparagement, afterwards, that he had " allowed himself to be persuaded by ministers and other chicken-hearted persons." Be that as it may. King Charles's errand was done. The little town of fifteen hundred inhabitants, with all the neighbouring settlements, passed quietly under English rule. And the future Empire City was named New York, in honour of one of the meanest tyrants who ever disgraced the English throne. With the settlements on the Hudson there fell also into the hands of the English those of New Jersey, which the Dutch had conquered from the Swedes. ISH r' CHAPTER IX. PENNSYLVANIA. ^ Is T was not till the year 1682 that the uneventful ' but quietly prosperous career of Pennsylvania began. The Stuarts were again upon the throne of England. They had learned nothing from their exile ; and now, with the hour of their final rejection at hand, they were as wickedly despotic as ever. William Penn was the son of an admiral who had gained victories for England, and enjoyed the favour of the royal family as well as of the eminent statesmen of his time. The highest honours of the State would in due time have come within the young man's reach, and the brightest hopes of his future were reasonably entertained by his friends. To the dismay of all, Penn became a Quaker. It was an unspeakable humiliation to the well-connected admiral. He turned his son out of doors, trusting that hunger would subdue his intractable spirit. After a time, however, he relented, and the youthful heretic was restored to favour. His father's influence could not shield him from persecution. Penn had suffered fine, and had lain in the Tower for his opinions. Ere long the admiral died, and Penn succeeded to his possessions. It deeply grieved him that his brethren in the faith should endure such wrongs as were continually inflicted upon them. He could do nothing at home to mitigate the severities under which they groaned, therefore he formed the 62 PENNSYLVANIA. groat design of loading them forth to a new world. King Charles owed to the admiral a sum of £1G,000, and this doubt- ful investment had descended from the father to the son. Ponn offered to take payment in land, and the King readily bestowed upon him a vast region stretching westward from the river Delaware. Here Penn proposed to found a State free and self- governing. It was his noble ambition " to show men as free and as happy as they can be. " He proclaimed to the people already settled in his new dominions that they should be governed by laws of their own making. " Whatever sober and free men can reasonably desire," he told them, " for the security and improvement of their own happiness, I shall heartily comply with." He was as good as his word. The people appointed representatives, by whom a Constitution was framed. Penn confirmed the arrangements which the people chose to adopt. Penn dealt justly and kindly with the Indians, and they requited him with a reverential love such as they evinced to no other Englishman. The neighbouring colonies waged bloody wars with the Indians who lived around them — now inflicting defeats which were almost exterminating — now sustaining hideous massacres. Penn's Indians were his children and most loyal subjects. No drop of Quaker blood was ever shed by Indian hand in the Pennsylvanian territory. Soon after Penn's arrival he invited the chief men of the Indian tribes to a con- ference. The meeting took place beneath a huge elm-tree. The pathless forest has long given way to the houses and streets of Philadelphia, but a marble monument points out to strangers the scene of this memorable interview. Penn, with a few com- panions, unarmed, and dressed according to the simple fashion of their sect, met the crowd of formidable savages. They met, he assured them, as brothers " on the broad pathway of good faith and good will." No advantage was to be taken on either side. All was to l)e " openness and love ; " and Penn meant what he said. Strong in the power of truth and kind- E '1! PENNSYLVANIA. 63 Id. King his doubt- in. Ponn { bestowed the rivor e and solf- as free and pie already overned by I free men curity and ;ily comply 5 appointed led. Penn ;o adopt. , and they inced to no ged bloody w inflicting sustaining n and most er shed by iter Penn's IS to a con- 1-tree. The streets of ,o strangers a few com- Iple fashion They met, ay of good taken on and Penn and kind- ness, he Ix'nt the fierce savages of the Delaware to his will. They vowed "to live in love witii William Pars after, they were known to recount to strangers, with deep emotion, the words wliich Penn had spoken to them under the old elm-tree of Shakamaxon. The fame of Penn's settlement went abroad in all landa A[en wearied with the vulgar tyranny of Kings heard gladly that the reign of freedom and tranquillity was established on the banks of the Delaware. An asylunt was opened " for the good and oppressed of every nation." Of these tliere was no lack. Pennsylvania had nothing to attract such " dissolute persons " as had laid the foundations of Virginia. But grave and God- fearing men from all the Protestant countries vjught a home where they might live as conscience taught them. The new colony grew apace. Its natural advantages were tempting. Penn reported it as "a good land, with plentiful springs, the air clear and fresh, and an innumerable (^jantity of wild-fowl and lish ; what Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be well-con- tented with." During the first year, twenty-two vessels arrived, bringing two thousand persons. In three years, Philadelphia was a town of six hundred houses. It was half a century from its foundation before New York attained equal dimensions. When Penn, after a few years, revisited England, he was able truly to relate that " things went on sweetly with Friends in Pennsylvania ; that they increased finely in outward things and in wisdom." il CHAPTER X. GEORGIA. 1732 A.D. HE thirteen States which composed the original TJnion were, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecti- cut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Of these the latest born was Georgia. Only fifty years had passed since Penn established the Quaker State on the banks of the Delaware. But changes greater than centuries have sometimes wrought had taken place. The Revolution had vindicated the liberties of the British people. The tyrant house of Stuart had been cast out, and with its fall the era of despotic government had closed. The real governing power was no longer the King, but the Par- liament. Among the members of Parliament during the rule of Sir Robert Walpole was one almost unknown to us now, but de- serving of honour beyond most men of his time. His name was James Oglethorpe. He was a soldier, and had fought against the Turks and in the great Marlborough wars against Louis XIV. In advanced life he became the friend of Samuel Johnson. Dr. Johnson urged him to write some account of tis adventures. " I know no one," he said, " whose life would be more interesting : if I were furnished with materials I should be very glad to write it. " Edmund Burke considered him " a GEORGIA. 56 name was more extraordinary person than any he had ever read of." John Wesley " blessed God that ever he was born." Oglethorpe attained the great age of ninety-six, and died in the year 1785. The year before his death he attended the sale of Dr. Johnson's books, and was there met by Samuel Rogers the poet. " Even then," says Rogers, " he was the finest figure of a man you ever saw ; but very, very old — the flesh of his face like parchment." In Oglethorpe's time it was in the power of a creditor to im- prison, according to his pleasure, the man who owed him money and was not able to pay it. It was a common circumstance that a man should be imprisoned during a long series of years for a trifling debt. Oglethorpe had a friend upon whom this hard fate had fallen. His attention was thus painfully called to the cruelties which were inflicted upon the unfortunate and helpless. He appealed to Parliament, and after inquiry a partial remedy was obtained. The benevolent exertions of Oglethorpe pro- cured liberty for multitudes who but for him might have ended their lives in captivity. This, however, did not content him. Liberty was an incom- plete gift to men who had lost, or perhaps had scarcely ever possessed, the faculty of earning their own maintenance. Ogle- thorpe devised how he might carry these unfortunates to a new world, where, under happier auspices, they might open a fresh career. He obtained from King George II. a charter by which the country between the Savannah and the Alatamaha, and stretching westward to the Pacific, was erected into the province of Georgia. It was to be a refuge for the deserving poor, and next to them for Protestants suffer- ing persecution. Parliament voted £10,000 in aid of the humane enterprise, and many benevolent persons were liberal with their gifts. In November the first exodus of the insolvent took place. Oglethorpe sailed with one hundred and twenty emigrants, mainly selected from the prisons — penniless, but of good repute. He surveyed the coasts of Georgia, and chose a 1732 A.D. 66 GEORGIA. it ill I ' 51 site for the capital of his new State. He pitched his tent where Savannah now stands, and at once proceeded to mark out the line of streets and squares. Next year the colony was joined by about a hundred German Protestants, who were then under persecution for their beliefs. The colonists received this addition to their numbers with joy. A place of residence had been chosen for them which the devout and thankful strangers named Ebenezer. They were charmed with their new abode. The river and the hills, they said, re- minded them of home. They applied themselves with steady industry to the cultivation of indigo and silk ; and they pros- pered. The fame of Oglethorpe's enterprise spread over Europe. All struggling men against whom the battle of life went hard looked to Georgia as a land of promise. They were the men who most urgently required to emigrate j but they were not always the men best fitted to conquer the difficulties of the immigrant's life. The progress of the colony was slow. The poor persons of whom it was originally composed were honest but ineffective, and could not in Georgia more than in England find out the way to become self-supporting. Encouragements were given which drew from Germany, from Switzerland, and from the Highlands of Scotland, men of firmer texture of mind — better fitted to subdue the wilderness and bring forth its treasurea With Oglethorpe there went out, on his second expedition to Georgia, the two brothers John and Charles Wesley. Charles went as secretary to the Governor. John was even then, although a very young man, a preacher of unusual promise. He burned to spread the gospel among the settlers and their Indian neighbours. He spent two years in Georgia, and these were unsuccessful years. His character was unformed ; his zeal out of proportion to his discretion. The people felt that he preached "personal satires" at them. He involved himself in quarrels, and at last had to leave the colony 1736 A.D. GEORGIA. 57 secretly, fearing arrest at the instance of some whom he had offended. He returned to begin his great career in England, with the feeling that his residence in Georgia had been of much value to hirnself, but of very little to the people whom he sought to benefit. Just as Wesley reached England, his fellow-labourer George Whitefield sailed for Georgia. There were now little settlements spreading inland, and Whitefield visited these, bearing to them the word of life. He founded an Orphan-House at Savaimah, and supported it by contributions — obtained easily from men under the power of his unequalled eloquence. He visited Georgia very frequently, and his love for that colony remained with him to the last. Slavery was, at the outset, forbidden in Georgia. It was op- j)Osed to the gospel, Oglethorpe said, and therefore not to be allowed. He foresaw, besides, what has been so bitterly expe- rienced since, that slavery must degi'ade the poor white labourer. But soon a desire sprung up among the less scrupulous of the settlers to have the use of slaves. Within seven years from the first landing, slave-ships were discharging their cargoes at Savannah. CHAPTER XI SLAVERY. -•.<» N the month of December 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers landed from the Mayjiower. Their landing takes rank among our great historical transactions. The rock which first received their footsteps is a sacred spot, to which the citizens of great and powerful States make reverential pilgrimages. And right it should be so; for the vast influence for good which New England exerts, and must ever exert, in the world's afi'airs, has risen upon the foundation laid by these sickly and storm-wearied Pilgrims. A few months previously another landing had taken place, destined in the fulness of time to bear the strangest of fruits. In the month of August a Dutch ship of war sailed up the James river and put twenty negroes ashore upon the Virginian coast. It was a wholly unnoticed proceeding. No name or lineage had these sable strangers. No one cared to know from what tribe they sprang, or how it fared with them m their sorrowful journeying. Yet these men were Pilgrim Fathers too. They were the first negro slaves in a land whose history, during the next century and a half, was to receive a dark, and finally a bloody, colouring from the fact of Negro Slavery. The negro slave trade was an early result of the discovery of America. To utilize the vast possessions which Columbus had bestowed upon her, Spain deemed that compulsory labour was 1 .? SLAVERY. 59 1542 A,D. indispensable. The natives of the country naturally fell the first victims to this necessity. Terrible desolations were wrought among the poor Indians. Proud and melancholy, they could not be reconciled to their bondage. They perished by thousands under the merciless hand of their new task-masters. Charles V. heard with remorse of this ruin of the native races. Indian slavery was at once and peremptorily forbidden. But labourers must be obtained, or those splendid possessions would relapse into wilderness. Spanish merchants traded to the coasts of Africa, where they bought gold dust and ivory for beads and ribands and scarlet cloaks. They found there a harmless idle people, whose simple wants were supplied without effort on their part; and who, in the absence of inducement, neither laboured nor fought. The Spaniards bethought them of these men to cultivate their fields, to labour in their mines. They were gentle and tract- able ; they were heathens, and therefore the proper inheritance of good Catholics ; by baptism and instruction in the faith their souls would he saved from destruction. Motives of the most diverse kinds urged the introduction of the negro. At first the traffic extended no further than to criminals. Thieves and murderers, who must otherwise have been put to death, enriched their chiefs by the purchase-money which the Spaniards were eager to pay. But on all that coast no rigour of law could produce offenders in numbers sufiicient to meet the demand. Soon the limitation ceased. Unoffending persons were sys- tematically kidnapped and sold. The tribes went to war in the hope of taking prisoners whom they might dispose of to the Spaniards. England was not engaged in that traffic at its outset. Ere long her hands were as deeply tainted with its guilt as those of any other country. But for a time her intercourse with Africa was for blameless purposes of commerce. And while that continued the English were regarded with confidence by the ; : • \ t I %^ 60 Africans. SLAVERY. 1557 A.D. At length one John Lok, a shipmaster, stole five black men and brought them to London. The next Eng- lishman who visited Africa found that that theft had damaged the good name of his countrymen. His voyage was unprofitable, for the natives feared him. When this was told in London the mercantile world was troubled, for the African trade was a gainful one. The five stolen men were conveyed safely home agaui. This was the opening of our African slave-trade. Then, for the first time, did our fathers feel the dark temptation, and thus hesitatingly did they at first yield to its power. The trafiic in gold dust and ivory continued. Every Englishman who visited the African coast had occasion to know how actively and how profitably Spain, and Portugal too, traded in slaves. He knew that on all that rich coast there was no merchandise so lucrative as the unfortunate people themselvea It was not an age when such seductions could be long withstood. The English traders of that day were not the men to be held back from a gainful traffic by mere considerations of humanity. Sir John Hawkins made the first English venture in siave- trading. He sailed with three vessels to Sierra Leone. There, by purchase or by violence, he possessed himself of three hundred negroes. With this freight he crossed the Atlantic, and at St. Domingo he sold the whole to a great profit. The fame of his gains caused sensation in England, and he was encouraged to undertake a second expedition. Queen Elizabeth and many of her courtiers took shares in the venture. After many difficulties, Hawkins collected five hundred negroes. His voyage was a troublous one. He was beset with calms ; water ran short, and it was feared that a portion of thfi cargo must have been flung overboard. " Almighty God, however," says this devout man-stealer, "who never suffers his elect to perish," brought him to the West Lidies without loss of a man. But there had arrived before him a rigorous interdict from the 1562 A.D. SLAVERY. 91 King of Spain against the admission of foreign vessels to any of his West Indian ports. Hawkins was too stout-hearted to suffer such frustration of liis enterprise. After some useless negotiation, he landed a hundred men with two pieces of cannon ; landed and sold liis negroes ; paid the tax which he himself had fixed; and soon in quiet England divided his gains with his royal and noble patrons. Thus was the slave-trade established in England. Three centuries after, we look with horror and remorse upon the results which have followed. In most of the colonies there was unquestionably a desire for the introduction of the negro. But ere many years the colonists became aware that they were rapidly involving themselves in grave difficulties. The increase of the coloured population alarmed them. Heavy debts, incurred for the purchase of slaves, dis- ordered their finances. The production of tobacco, indigo, Pnd other articles of Southern growth, exceeded the demand, and prices fell ruinously low. There were occasionally proposals made — although not very favourably entertained — with a view to emancipation. But the opposition of the colonists to the African slave-trade was very decided. Very frequent attempts to limit the traffic were made even in the Southern colonies, where slave labour was most valuable. Soon after the 1787 Revolution, several Slave-owning States prohibited the At Dm importation of slaves. The Constitution provided that Congress might suppress the slave-trade after the lapse of twenty years. But for the resistance of South Carolina and Georgia the prohibition would have been immediate. And at length, at the earliest moment when it was possible, Congress gave effect to the general sentiment by enacting " that no slaves be imported into any of the thirteen United Colonies." And why had this not been done earlier ? If the colonists were sincere in their desire to suppress this base traffic, why did they not suppress it ? The reason is not difficult to find. 1807 A.D. «9 SLAVERY. England would not permit them. England forced the slave- trade upon the reluctant colonists. The English Parliament watched with paternal care over the interests of this hideous traffic. During the first half of the eighteenth century Parlia- ment was continually legislating to this effect. Every, restraint upon the largest development of the trade was removed with scrupulous care. Everything that diplomacy could da to open new markets was done. When the colonists sought by imposing a tax to check the importation of slaves, that tax was repealed. Land was given free, in the West Indies, on condition that the settler should keep four negroes for every hundred acres. Forts were built on the African coast for the protection of the trade. So recently as the year 1749 an Act was passed bestowing additional encouragements upon slave-traders, and emphatically asserting " the slave-trade is very advantageous to Great Brit- ain." There are no passages in all our history so humiliating as these. It is marvellous that such things were done — deliberately, and with all the solemnities of legal sanction — by men not un- acquainted with the Christian religion, and humane in all the ordinary relations of life. The Popish Inquisit'on inflicted no suffering more barbarously cruel than was endured by the victim of the slave-trader. Hundreds of men and women, with chains upon their limbs, were packed closely together into the holds of small vessels. There, during weeks of suffering, they remained, enduring fierce tropical heat, often deprived of water and of food. They were all young and strong, for the fastidious slave-trader rejected men over thirty as uselessly old. But the strength of the strongest sunk under the horrors of this voyage. Often it happened that the greater portion of the cargo had to be flung overl card. Under the most favourable circumstances, it was expected that one slave in every five would perish. In every cargo of five hundred, one hundred would suffer a miser- able death. And the public sentiment of England fully SLAVERY. 68 sanctioned a traffic of which these horrors were a necessary part At one time the idea was prevalent in the colonies that it was contrary to Scripture to hold a baptized person in slavery. The colonists did not on that account liberate their slaves. Tliey escaped the difficulty in the opposite direction. They withhold baptism and religious instruction. England took some pains to put them right on this question. The bishops of the Church and the law-officers of the Crown issued authoritative declara- tions, asserting the entire lawfulness of owning Christians. The colonial legislatures followed with enactments to the same effect. The colonists, thus reassured, gave consent that the Bouls of their unhappy dependants should be cared for. Up to the Revolution it was estimated that three hundred thousand negroes had been brought into the country direct from Africa. The entire coloured population was supposed to amount to nearly half a million. II i ! I • ! I CHAPTER XII. EARLY GOVERNMENT. I \ \ u I HERE was at the outset considerable diversity of pattern among the governments of the colonies. As time wore on, the diversity lessened, and one great type becomes visible in all. There is a Governor appointed by the King. There is a Parliament chosen by the people. Parliament holds the purse-strings. The Governor applies for what moneys the public service seems to him to require. Parliament, as a rule, grants his demands ; but not without consideration, and a distinct assertion of its right to refuse should cause appear. As the Revolution drew near, the function of the Governor became gradually circumscribed by the pressure of the Assemblies. When the Governor, as repre- senting the King, fell into variance with the popular will, the representatives of the people assumed the whole business of government. The most loyal of the colonies resolutely defied the encroachments of the King or his Governor. They had a pleasure and a pride in their connection with England ; but they were at the same time essentially a self-governing people. From the government which existed before the Revolution it was easy for them to step into a federal union. The colonists had all their interests and all their grievances in common. It was natural for them, when trouble arose, to appoint representa- tives who should deliberate regarding their affairs. These representatives required an executive to give practical effect to EARLY GOVERNMKNT. 05 their resolutions. Tlie officer who was appointed for that pur- pose was cjalled, not King, but President ; and was chosen, not for life, but for four years. By this simple and natural process arose the American Government. At first Virginia was governed by two Councils, one of which was English and the other Colonial. Both were entirely under the King's control. In a very few years the representative system was introduced, and a popular assembly, over whoso proceedings the Governor retained the right of veto, regulated the affairs of the colony. Virginia was the least democratic of the colonies. Her leanings were always towards monarchy. She maintained her loyalty to the Stuarts. Charles II. ruled her in his exile, and was crowned in a robe of Virginian silk, presented by the devoted colonists. The baffled Cavaliers sought refuge in Virginia from the hateful triumph of Republicanism. Virginia refused to acknowledge the Commonwealth, and had to be subjected by force. When the exiled House was restored, her joy knew no bounds. The New England States were of different temper and differ- ent government. While yet on board the Mayflower^ the Pilgrims, as we have seen, formed themselves into a body politic, elected their Governor, and bound themselves to submit to his authority, " confiding in his prudence that he would not adventure upon any matter of moment without consent of the rest." Every church member was an elector. For sixty years this democratic form of government was continued, till the despotic James II. overturned it in the closing years of his unhappy reign. The Pilgrims carried with them from England a bitter feeling of the wrongs which Kings had inflicted on them, and they arrived in America a people fully disposed to govern themselves. They cordially supported Cromwell. Crom- well, on his part, so highly esteemed the people of New Eng- land, that he invited them to return to Europe, and offered them settlements in Ireland. They delayed for two years to (6S7) 5 T •0 EARLY GOVERNMENT. proclaim Charles II. when he was restored to the English tlirone. Tliey shelt<>red the regicides who fled from the King's vengeance. Tliciy hailed the Revolution, by which the Stuarts were expelled and constitutional monarchy set up in England. Of all the American colonies, those of New England were the most democratic, and the most intolerant of royal interference with their libertios. New York was bestowed upon the Duke of York, who for a time appointed the Governor, Pennsylvania was a grant to Penn, who exercised the same authority. Ultimately, however, in all cases, the appointment of Governor rested with the King, while the representatives were chosen by the people. r^^*t ^lish ng's arts ind. the mce Dr a ; to ver, 'So ok J^ctonb. CHAPTER I. GEORGE WASHINGTON. N the year 1740 there fell out a great European v/ar. There was some doubt who should fill the Austrian throne. The emperor had just died, leaving no son or brother to inherit his dignities. His daughter, Maria Theresa, stepped into her father's place, and soon made it apparent that she was strong enough to maintain what she had done. Two or three Kings thought they had a better right than she to the throne. The other Kings ranged themselves on this side or on that. The idea of looking on while, foolish neighbours destroyed themselves by senseless war, had not yet been suggested. Every King took part in a great war, and sent his people forth to slay and be slain, quite as a matter of course. Ho they raised great armies, fought great battles, burned cities, wasted countries, inflicted and endured unutterable miseries, all to settle the question about this lady's throne. But the lady was of a heroic spirit, well worthy to govern, and she held her own, and lived and died an empress. Dvuig these busy years, a Virginian mother, widowed in earh t'e, was training up her eldest son in the fear of God — all svare, as she infused the love of goodness and duty into his nd, that she was giving a colour to the history of her 68 GEORGE WASHINGTON. if b1 country throughout all its coming ages. That hoy's name was Goorge Washington. He was born in 1732. His father — a gonthiinan of good fortune, with a pedigree wliicli can be traced beyond tht^ Norman Conquest — died when his son was eleven years of age. Upon George: \s mother devolved the care of his upbringing. She was a devout woman, of excellent sense and deep aflft'ctions ; but a strict disciplinarian, and of a temper which could brook no .shadow of insubordination. Under her rule — gentle, and yet strong — George ^»arned obedience and self-control. In boyhood he gave remarkable promise of those excellences which distinguished his mature years. His school- mates recognized the calm judicial character of his mind, and he became in all their disputes the arbiter from whose decision there was no appeal. He inherited his mother's love of com- mand, happily tempered by a lofty disinterestedness and a love of justice, which seemed to render it impossible that he should do or permit aught that was unfair. His person was large and })Owerful. His face expressed the thoughtfulness and serene strength of his character. He excelled in all athletic exercises. His youthful delight in such i)ursuits developed his physical capabilities to the utmost, and gave him endurance to bear the liardships which lay before him. Young gentlemen of Virginia were not educated then so liberally as they have been since. It was presumed that Washington would be a mere Virginian proprietor and farmer, as his fathor had been ; and his education was no higher than that position then demanded^ He never learned any language but liis own. The teacher of his early years was also the sexton of the parish. And even when he was taken to an institution of a more advanced description, he attempted no higher study than the keeping of accounts and the copying o^ legal and mercantile papers. A few years later, it was thought he might enter the civil or military sei vice of his country ; and he was put to the study of mathematics and land-surveying. GKORGE WASHINGTON. 69 !■ George WaHhington did nothing hy halvt'8. In youth, as in manhood, lie did tlioroughly what lie had to do. His acliool (ixercise books are models of neatness and accuracy, iris jilans and measurenunits made while he studied land-surveying were as scrupulously exact as if great pecuniary interests depended upon them. In his eightctenth year he was employed by Govern- ment as surveyor of public lands. Many of his survcjys were recorded in the county oftices, and njmain to this day. Long (ixperienco has esta])lished their unvarying accuracy. In all dis[)utes to which they have any relevancy, their evidence is accepted as decisiv(v During the years which preceded the llevolution he manag(!d his estates, j)acked and shipped his own tobacco and flour, kept his own books, conducted his own corre- spondence. His books may still Ije seen. Perhaps no clearer or more accurate; record of business transactions has been kv\)t in America since the FatluT of American Independence rested from book-k(!eping. TIkj Hour wjiich he ship[)ed to foreign l)orts canu^ to be known as his, and the Washington brand was Iiabitually exempted from insp(!ction. A most reliable man; his words and his deeds, his j>rofessions and his i)ractice, are ever found in most perf(!ct harmony. By some he has been regarded as a stolid, j)rosaic person, wanting in those features of character which captivate the minds of men. It was not so. In an earlier age George Washington would have been a true knight-errant wiv i an insatial)l(! thirst for adventure and a l)iissionate love oi battle. He had in high degree those qualities which mak ancient knighthood i)ictures(|ue. l»ut liigher (jualities thai th('S(! bore rule within him. He had wisdom beyond most giving hiui deep insiglit into the wants of his time. He had jlcar }H'rc<^ptions of the duty which lay to his hand. What hi saw to be right, the strongest impulses of his soul constraincM him to do. A massive intellect and an iron strength of will 'ere given to him, with a gentle, loving heart, with dauntless courage, with purity and loftiness of aim. 70 GEORGE WASHINGTON. ( •: He had a work of extraordinary difficulty to perform. History rejoices to recognize in him a revolutionary leader against whom no questionable transaction has ever been alleged. The history of America presents, in one important feature, a very striking contrast to the history of nearly all older countries. In the old countries, history gathers round some one grand central figure — some judge, or priest, or king — whose biography tells all that has to be told concerning the time in which he lived. That one predominating person — David, Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon — is among his people what the sun is in the planetary system. AH movement originates and terminates in him, and the history of the people is merely a record of what he has chosen to do or caused to be done. In America it has not been so. The American system leaves no room for predominat- ing persons. It affords none of those exhibitions of solitary, all-absorbing grandeur which are so picturesque, and have been so pernicious. Her history is a history of her people, and of no conspicuous individuals. Once only in her career is it other- wisa During the lifetime of George Washington her history clings very closely to him ; and the biography of her great chief becomes in a very unusual degree the history of the country. j: CHAPTER 11. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. HILE Washington's boyhood was being passed on the banks of the Potomac, a young man, destined to help him in gaining the independence of the country, was toiling hard in the city of Phila- delphia to earn an honest livelihDod. His name was Benjamin Franklin; his avocations were manifold. He kept a small stationer's shop ; he edited a newspaper ; he was a bookbinder ; he made ink ; he sold rags, soap, and coffee. He was also a printer, employing a journeyman and an apprentice to aid him in his labours. He was a thriving man; but he was not ashamed to convey along the streets, in a wheelbarrow, the paper which he bought for the purposes of his trade. As a boy he had been studious and thoughtful; as a man he was prudent, siigacious, trust tvorthy. His prudence was, however, some- what low-toned and earthly. He loved and sought to marry a deserving young woman, who returned his affection. There was in those days a debt of one hundred pounds upon his printing- house. He demanded that the father of the young lady should pay off this debt. The father was unable to do so. Whereupon the worldly Benjamin decisively broke off the contemplated alliance. When he had earned a moderate competency he ceased to labour at his business. Henceforth he laboured to serve his fellow-men. Philadelphia owes to Franklin her university, her hospital, her fire-brigade, her first and greatest library. i II I n '^ 72 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 1752 AD. 1766 A.D. He earned renown as a man of science. It had long been his thought that lightning and electricity were the same ; but he found no way to prove the truth of his theory. At length he made a kite fitted suitably for his experiment. He stole away from his house during a thunder-storm, having told no one but his son, who accompanied him. The kite was aent up among the stormy clouds, and the anxious philosopher waited. For a time no response to his eager questioning was granted, and Franklin's countenance fell. But at length he felt the welcome shock, and his heart thrilled with the high con- sciousness that he had added to the sum of human knowledge. When the troubles arose in connection with the Stamp Act, Franklin was sent to England to defend the rights of the colonists. The vigour of his intellect, the matured wisdom of his opinions, gained for him a wonderful supremacy over the men with whom he was brought into contact. He was examined before Parliament Edmund Burke said that the scene reminded him of a master examined by a parcel of schoolboys, so consi)icuously was the witness superior to his interrogators. Franklin was an early advocate of independence, and aided in preparing the famous Declaration. In all the councils of that eventful time he bore a leading part. He was the first American Ambassador to France; and the good sense and vivacity of the old printer gained for him high favour in the fasliionable world of Paris. He lived to aid in framing the Constitution under which America has en- joyed prosperity so great. Soon after h-' passed away. A few months before his death he wrote to Washington : — " I 1789 am now finishing my eighty -fourth year, and probably A* Urn with it my career in this life ; but in whatever state of existence I am placed hereafter, if I retain any memory of what has passed here, I shall with it retain the esteem, re- spect, and affection with which I have long regarded you." 1777 A.D. CHAPTER III. THE VALLEY OF THE OHIO. 1748 A.D. HE peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, which gave a brief repose to Europe, left unsettled the con- tending claims of France and England upon ^ American territory. France had possessions in Canada and also in Louisiana, at the extreme south, many hundreds of miles away. She claimed the entire line of the Mississippi river, with its tributaries ; and she had given effect to her pretensions by erecting forts at intervals to connect her settlements in the north with those in the south. Her claim included the Valley of the Ohio. This was a vast and fertile region, whose value had just been discovered by the English. It was yet unpeopled ; but its vegetation gave evidence of wealth unknown to the colonists in the eastern settlements. The French, to establish their claim, sent three hundred soldiers into the valley, and nailed upon the trees leaden plates which bore the royal arms of France. They strove by gifts and per- suasion to gain over the natives, and expelled the English traders who had made their adventurous way into those re- cesses. The English, on their part, were not idle. A great trading company was formed, which, in return for certain grants of land, became bound to colonize the valley, to estab- lish trading relations with the Indians, and to maintain a competent military force. This was in the year 1749. In that age there was but one solution of such difficulties. Govern- ■ 74 THE VALLEY OF THE OHIO. i t' i; ' rf 1754 A.D. ments had not learned to reason ; they could only fight. Early in 1751 both parties were actively preparing for war. That war went ill with France. When tlie sword was sheathed in 1759, she had lost not only Ohio, but the whole of Canada. When the fighting began it was conducted on the English side wholly by the colonists. Virginia raised a little army. Washington, then a lad of twenty-one, was offered the command, so great was the confidence already felt in his capacity. It was war in miniature as yet. The object of Washington in the campaign was to reach a certain fort on the Ohio, and hold it as a barrier against French en- croachment. He had his artillery to carry with him, and to render that possible he had to make a road through the wilder- ness. He struggled heroically with the difficulties of his posi- tion, but he could not advance at any better speed than two miles a-day ; and he was not destined to reach the fort on the Ohio. After toiling on as he best might for six weeks, he learned that the French were seeking him with a force far out- numbering his. He halted, and hastily constructed a rude in- trenchment, which he called Fort Necessity, because his men had nearly starved while they worked at it. He had three hundred Virginians with him, and some Indians. The Indians deserted so soon as occasion arose for their services. The French attack was not long withheld. Early one summer morning a sentinel came in bleeding from a French bullet All that day the fight lasted. At night the French summoned Washington to surrender. The garrison were to march out with flag and drum, leaving only their artillery. Washington could do no better, and he surrendered. Thus ended the first campaign in the war which was to drive France from Ohio and Canada. Thus opened the military career of the man who was to drive England from the noblest of her colonial possessions. But now the English Government awoke to the necessity of vigorous measures to rescue the endangered Valley of the Ohio. THE VALLEY OF THE OHIO. 75 A campaign was plauiied which was to expel the French from Ohio, and wrest from them some portions of their Canadian territory. The execution of this great design was intrusted to General Braddock, with a force which it was deemed would overbear all resistance. Braddock was a veteran who had seen the wars of forty years. Among the fields on which he had gained his knowledge of war was Culloden, where he had borne a part in trampling out the rebellion of the Scotch. He was a brave and experienced soldier, and a likely man, it was thought, to do the work assigned to liim. But tliat proved a sad mis- calculation. Braddock had learned the rules of war ; but ho liad no capacity to comprehend its principles. In the pathless forests of America he could do nothing better than strive to give literal effect to those maxims which he had found applicable in the well-trodden battle-grounds of Europe. The failure of Washington in his first campaign had not de- prived him of public confidence. Braddock heard such accounts of his efficiency that he invited him to join his staff. Washing- ton, eager to efface the memory of his defeat, glafHy accepted the offer. The troops disembarked at Alexandria. The colonists, little used to the presence of regular soldiers, were greatly emboldened by their splendid aspect and faultless dis- cipline, and felt that the hour of final triumph was at hand. After some delay, the army, with such reinforcements as the province afforded, began its march. Braddock's object was to reach Fort Du Quesne, the great centre of French in- fluence on the Ohio. It was this same fort of which Washing- ton endeavoured so manfully to possess himself in his disastrous campaign of last year. Fort Du Quesne had been built by the English, and taken from them by the French. It stood at the confluence of the Alle- ghany and Monongahela ; which rivers, by their union at this ]K)int, form the Ohio. It was a rude piece of fortification, hut 1755 A.D. 76 THE VALLEY OF THE OHIO. i h M [U the circumstances admitted of no better. The fort was built of the trunks of trees ; wooden huts for the soldiers surrounded it. A little space had been cleared in the forest, and a few patches of wheat and Indian corn grew luxuriantly in that rich soiL The unbroken forest stretched all around. Three years later the little fort was retaken by the English, and named Fort Pitt. Then in time it grew to be a town, and was called Pittsburg. And men found in its neighbourhood boundless wealth of iron and of coal. To-day a great and fast-growing city stands where, a century ago, the rugged fort with its cluster of rugged huts were the sole occupants. And the rivers, then so lonely, are ploughed by many keels ; and the air is dark with the smoke of iiniumerable furnaces. The judgment of the sagacious Englishmen who deemed this a locality which they would do well to get hold of, has been amply borne out by the experience of posterity. Braddock had no doubt that the fort would yield to him directly he showed himself before it. Benjamin Franklin looked at the project with his shrewd, cynical eye. He told Braddock that he would assuredly take the fort if he could only reach it ; but that the long slender line which his army must form in its march " would be cut like thread into several pieces " by the hostile Indians. Braddock "smiled at his ignorance." Benja- min offered no further opinion. It was his duty to collect horses and carriages for the use of the expedition, and he did what was required of him in silence. The expedition crept slowly forward, never achieving more than three or four miles in a day ; stopping, as Washington said, *'to level every mole-hill, to erect a bridge over every brook." It left Alexandria on the 20th April. On the 9th July Brad- dock, with half his army, was near the fort. There was yet no evidence that resistance was intended. No enemy had been seen ; the troops marched on as to assured victory. So confident was their chief, that he refused to employ scouts, THE VALLEY OF THE OHIO. 77 and did not deign to inquire what enemy might be lurking near. The march was along a road twelve feet wide, in a ravine, with high ground in front and on both sides. Suddenly the Indian war-whoop burst from the woods. A murderous fire smote down the troops. The provincials, not unused to this description of warfare, sheltered themselves behind trees and fought with steady courage. Braddock, clinging to his old rules, strove to maintain liis order of battle on the open ground. A carnage, most grim and lamentable, was the result. His un- defended soldiers were shot down by an unseen foe. For tliree hours the struggle lasted ; then the men broke and fled in utter rout and panic. Braddock, vainly fighting, fell mortally wounded, and was carried otf the field by some of his soldiers. The poor pedantic man never got over his astonishment at a defeat so inconsistent with the established rules of war. " Who would have thought it 1 " he murmured, as they bore him from the field. He scarcely spoke again, and died in two or three days. Nearly eight hundred men, killed and wounded, were lost in this disastrous encounter — about one-half of the entire force engaged. All the while England and France were nominally at peace. But now war was declared. The other European powers fell into their accustomed places in the strife, and the flames of war spread far and wide. On land and on sea the European people strove to shed blood and destroy property, and thus produce human misery to the largest possible extent At the outset every fight brought defeat and shame to England. English armies under incapable leaders were sent out to America and ignominiously routed by the French. On the continent of Europe the uniform course of disaster was scarcely broken by a single victory. Even at sea, England seemed to have fallen from lier high estate, and her fleets turned back from the pres- ence of an enemy. 78 THE VALLEY OF THE OHIO. '. ^ ;i ; f I Si 1759 A.D. The rage of the people knew no bounds. The admiral who had not fought the enemy when he should have done so, was hanged. The Prime Minister began to tremble for his neck. One or two disasters more, and the public indignation might demand a greater victim than an unfortunate admiral. Tlie Ministry resigned, and William Pitt, afterwards Earl of Chat- ham, came into power. And then, all at onco, the scene changed, and there began a career of triumph more brilliant than even England had ever known. The French fleets were destroyed ; French possessions all over the world were seized ; French armies were defeated. Every post brought news of victory. For once the English people, greedy as they are of military glory, were satisfied. One of the most splendid successes of Pitt's administration was gained in America. The colonists had begun to lose respect for the English army and the English Govern- ment, but Pitt quickly regained their confidence. They raised an army of 50,000 men to help his schemes for the extinction of French power. A strong English force was sent out, and a formidable invasion of Canada was organized. Most prominent among the strong points held by the French was the city of Quebec. Thither in the month of June came a powerful English fleet, with an army under the command of General Wolfe. Captain James Cook, the famous navigator, who discovered so many of the sunny islands of the Pacific, was master of one of the ships. Quebec stands upon a peninsula formed by the junction of the St. Charles and the St Lawrence rivers. The lower town was upon the beach ; the upper was on the cliffs, which at that point rise precipitously to a height of two hundred feet. Wolfe tried the effect of a bombardment. He laid the lower town in ruins very easily, but the upper town was too remote from his batteries to sustain much injury. It seemed as if the enterprise would prove too much for the English, and the sensitive Wolfe was thrown by disappointment and THE VALLEY OF THE OHIO. 79 anxiety into a violent fever. But he was not the man to be baffled. The shore for miles above the town was carefully searched. An opening was found whence a path wound up the cliffs. Here Wolfe would land his men, and load them to the Heights of Abraham. Once there, they would defeat the French and take Quebec, or die where they stood. On a starlight night in September the soldiers were embarked in boats which dropped down the river to the chosen landing- place. As the boat which carried Wolfe floated silently down, lie recited to his officers Gray's " Elegy in a Country Church- yard," then newly received from England ; and he exclaimed at its close, " I would rather be the author of that poem than take Quebec to-morrow." He was a man of feeble bodily frame, but he wielded the power which genius in its higher forms confera Amid the excitements of impending battle he could walk, with the old delight, in the quiet paths of literature. The soldiers landed and clambered, as they best might, up the rugged pathway. All through the night armed men stepped silently from the boats and silently scaled those formidable cliffs. The sailors contrived to drag up a few guns. When morning came, the whole army stood upon the Heights of Abraham ready for the battle. Montcalm, the French commander, was so utterly taken by surprise that he refused at first to believe the presence of the English army. He lost no time in marching forth to meet his unexpected assailants. The conflict which followed was fierce but not prolonged. The French were soon defeated and put to flight ; Quebec surrendered. But Montcalm did not make that surrender, nor did Wolfe receive it. Both generals fell in the battle. Wolfe died happy that the victory was gained. Montcalm was thankful that death spared him the humiliation of giving up Quebec. They died as enemies ; but the men of a new generation, thinking less of the ac- cidents which made them foes than of the noble courage and 1759 A.D. 80 THE VALLKY OF THK OHIO. ! ! I 41 i ! ' devoteilness which united them, placed their names together upon the monument which marks out to posterity the scene of this decisive battle. Franco did not quietly accept her defeat. Next year she made an attempt to regain Quohec. It was all in vain. In due time the success of the English resulted in a treaty of peace, under which France ceded to England all her claims \i\wn Canada. Spain at the same time relinquished Florida. England had now undisputed possession of the western continent, from the region of perpetual winter to the Gulf of Mexico. 5 -i ■■' 'i: HI ill- C!TTAPTKR TV. AMKinCA ON TFIK KVR OF TriK RKVOLUTION. CENTURY and a half liad now passed since the first colony had hoon plant(>d on American soil. The colonists were fast ripening into fitness for inde- pendence. They had increased with marvellous rapidity. Europe never ceased to send forth her superfluous and needy thousands. America opened wide her hospitable arms and gave assurance of liberty and comfort to all who came. The thirteen colonies now contained a population of about three million. They were eminently a trading people, and their foreign com- merce was already large and lucrative. New England built ships with the timber of her boundless forests, and s( Id them to foreign countries. She caught fish and sent them to the "West Indies. She killed whales and sent the oil to England. New York and Pennsylvania produced wheat, which Spain and Por- tugal were willing to buy. Virginia clung to the tobacco-plant, which Europe was not then, any more than she is now, wise enough to dispense with. The swampy regions of Carolina and Georgia produced rice suflicient to supply the European demand. As yet cotton does not take any rank in the list of exports. But the time is near. Even now Richard Arkwright is brooding over improvements in the art of spinning cotton. When these are perfected the growing of cotton will rise quickly to a suprem- acy over all the industrial pursuits. (fiST) 6 82 AMERICA ON THK EVE OF THE REVOLUTION. !i I England liad not learned to recognize the equality of her colonists with her own people. The colonies were understood to exist not for their own good so much as for the good of the mother country. Even the chimney-sweepers, as Lord Chatham asserted, might be heard in the streets of London talking boast- fully of their subjects in America. Colonies were settlements "established in distant parts of the world for the benefit of trade." As such they weie most consistently treated. The Americans could not import direct any article of foreign pro- duction. Everything must be landed in England and re-shippod thence, that the English merchant might have profit. One ex- emption only was allowed from the operation of this law — the products of Africa, the unhappy negroes, were conveyed direct to America, saA every possible encouragement was given to that trafl[ic. Notwithstanding the illiberal restrictions cf the home government, the imports of America before the Revolution had risen almost to the value of three million sterling. New England had, very early, established her magnificent system of Common Schools. For two or three generations these had been in full operation. The people of New England were now probably the most carefully instructed people in the world. There could not be found a i)erson born in New England unable to read and write. It had always been the practice of the Northern people to settle in townships or villages where educa- tion was easily -carried to them. In the South it had not been so. There the Common Schools iiad taken no root. It was impossible among a po2:)ulation so scattered. The educational arrangements of the South have never been adequate to the necessities of the people. In the early years of America, the foundations were laid of those diff^ereuces in character and intere.^t which have since pro- duced results of such magnitude. The men who peopled the Eastern States had to contend with a somewhat severe climate and a comparatively sterile soil. These disadvantages imposed AMERir'A ON THE EVE OF THE REVOLUTIOX. upon them haV)its of industry and frugality. Skilled labour alone could be of use in their circumstances. They were thua mercifully rescued from the curse of slavery — by the absence of temptation, it may be, r ither than V)y superiority of virtue. Their simple ]»urity of manners remained long uncorrupted. The firm texture of mind which upheld them in their early difficulties remained unenferbled. Their love of liberty was not perverted into a passion for supremacy. Among them labour was not degraded by l)ecoming the function of a despised raca In New England lal)Our has always been honourable. A just- minded, self-relying, self-helping people, vigorous in acting, j)atient in enduring — it was evident from the outset tliat they, at least, would not disgrace their ancestry. The men of the South were very differently circumstanced Tlieir climate was delicious ; their soil was marvellously fertile; tlieir products were welcome in the markets of the world ; un- skilled labour was applicaV)le in the rearing of all their great staples. Slavery being exceedingly profita^ ie, struck deep roots very early. It was easy to grow rich. The colonists found themselves not the employers merely, but the ow ers of their labourers. They became aristocratic in feeling and in manners, resembling the picturesque chiefs of old Europe rather than mere prosaic growers of tobacco and rice. They had the virtues of chivalry, and also its vices. They were generous, open-handed, hospitable ; but they were haughty and iiassionate, improvident, devoted to pleasure and amusement more than to work of any description. Living apart, each on his own plantation, the edu- cation of cliildren was frequently imperfect, ai^l the planter himself was beret t of that wholesome discipline to mind and to temper which residence among ecjuals confers. The two great divisions of States — those in which slavery was profitable, and those in which it was unprofitable — were uneon England, For many years England had governed her American colonies liarshly, and in a spirit of undisguised selfishness. America was ruled, not for her own good, Ijut for the good of English com- merce. She was not allowed to export her ])roducts exce})t to England. No foreini ship might enter her ports. Woollen goods were not allowed to he sent from one colony to another. At one time the manufacture of hats was forbidden. In a liberal mood Parliament removed that prohibition, but dticreed that no maker of hats should employ any negro workman, or any larger number of api)rentices than two. Iron- works were forbidden. Up to the latest hour of English rule the Bible was not allowed to be printed in America. The Americans had long borne the cost of their own goverji- ment and defence. But in that age of small revenue and profuse expenditure on unmeaning continental wars, it liad been often suggested that America should be taxed for the purposes of the home Government. Some one pro})Osed that to Sir Robert Walpole in a time of need. TIurdens on to the national shoulder. The hungry eye of Jiord Gi-enville searched where a new tax might be laid. The Americans had begun visibly to pros})er. Already their growing wealth was the theme of envious discourse among English merchants. The English officers who had fought in America spoke in glowing terms of the magniticent hospitality which had been extended to them. No more need be said. The House of Commons passed a resolution asserting their right to tax the Amei'icans. No 1764 A.D. RRRHHH 86 AMEKICA ON THE EVE OF THE KEVOLUTION. ■I ■ 1 i Is I \f p hi '1 w\ solitary voice was raised against this fatal resolution. Immedi- ately after, an Act was passed imposing certain taxes upon silks, coffee, sugar, and other articles. The Americans remonstrated. They were willing, they said, to vote what moneys the King re- quired of them, but they ^ eheniently denied the right of any Assembly in which they were not represented to take from them any portion of their property. They were the subjects of the King, but they owed no obediexice to th«i English Parliament. Lord Grenville went on his course. He had been told the Americans wuuld complain but submit, and lie believed it. Next session an Act was passed imposing Stamp Duties on America. The measure awakened no interest. Edmund Burke said he had never been present at a more languid debate. In the House of Lords there was no debate at all. With so little trouble was a continent rent away from the British Empire. Benjamin Franklin told the House of Commons that America would never submit to the Stamp Act, and that no power on earth could enforce it. The Americans made it impossible for Govenmient to mistake their senti- ments. Riots, which swelled from day to day into dimensions more " eiiormcus and alarming," burst forth in the New England States. Everywhere the stamp distributers were compelled to resign their oftices. One unfortunate man was led forth to Boston Common, and made to sign his resignation in presence of a vast crowd. Another, in desperate health was visited in his sick-room and obliged to pledge that if he b'ved he would resign. A universal resolution was come to that no English goods v/ould be importeu till the Stamp Act was repealed. Tlie colonists would " eat nothing", dririk nothing, wear nothing that comes from England," while tl is great injustice endured. The Act was to come into force ou the 1st of November. That day the bells rang out funer val })eals, and the colonists wore the aspect of men on whom some heavy calamity has fallen. But the Act never came into force. Not one of Lord Grenville'a 1765 A.D. AMERICA ON THE EVE OF THE REVOLUTION. 87 r ■ 1766 A.D. stamps was ever bought or sold in America Some of the stamped paper was burned by the mob ; the rest was hidden away to save it from the same fate. Without stami)s, marriages were null ; mercantile transactions ceased to be binding ; suits at law were impossible. Nevertheless the business of human life went on. Men married ; they bought, they sold ; they went to law ; — illegally, because without stamps. But no harm came of it. England heard with amazement that America refused to obey the law. There were some who demanded that the Stamp Act should be enforced by the sword. But it greatly moved the English merchants that America should cease to import their goods. William Pitt — not yet Earl of Chatham — denounced the Act, and said he was glad America had resisted. Pitt and the merchants triumphed, and the Act was repealed. There was illumination in the city that night. The city bells rang for joy ; the ships in the Thames displayed all their colours. The saddest heart in all London was that of poor King George, who never ceased to lament " the fatal repeal of the Stamp Act." All America thrilled with joy and pride when news arrived of the great triumph. They voted Pitt a statue ; they set ai)art a day for jiublic re- joicing ; all prisoners for debt were set free. A great deliver- ance had been granted, and the delight of tiie gladdened people knew no bounds. The danger is over for the present ; but whosoever governs America now has need to walk warily. It was during the agitation arising out of the fStamp Act that the idea of a General Congress of the Stiites was suggested. A loud cry for union had arisen. "Join or die" was the prevailing sentiment. The Conjiress met in New York. It did little more than dis<.uss and petition. It is interesting merely as one of tlio first exhibitions of a tendency tow 'rds federal union in a country whose destiny, in all coming time, tliis tendiuicy was to fix. The repeal of the Stamp Act delayed only for a little tlio MM f ! 'V hi!' :l ■s ::i 4 ' .1. 88 AMEllK. A ON THE EVE OF THE REVOLUTION. fast-coiuiug crisis. A new ^Ministry was formed, with the Earl of Chatham at its liead. But soon the great Earl lay sick and helpless, and the burden of government rested on incapable shoulders. Charles Townshend, a clever, captivating, but most indiscreet man, became th(j virtual Prime Minister. The feeling in the public mind had now become more unfavourable to America. Townshend proposed to levy a variety of taxes from the Americans. The most famous of his taxes was one of three- pence per pound on tea. All his proi)Osals became law. This time the more thoughtful Americans began to despair of justice. The boldest scarcely ventured yet to suggest revoK against England, so powerful and so loved. But the grand final refuge of independence was silently brooded over by many. Tlie mob fell back on their customary solution. Great riots occurred. To quell these disorders English troops encamped on Boston Common. The town swarmed with red-coated men, every one of whom was a humiliation. Their drums beat on Sabbath, and troubled the orderly men of Boston, even in church. At intervals fresh transports dropped in, bearing additional soldiers, till n- great force occupied the town. The galled citizens could ill brook to be thus bridled. The ministers prayed to Heaven for deliver- ance from the i>rcsence <>f the soldiers. The General Court of •Massachusetts called liemently on the Governor to remove them. The Governor had no powers in that matter. He called upon the court to make suitable provision for the King's troops, — a request which it gave the court infinite pleasure to refuse. The universal irritation broke forth in frequent brawls be- tween soldiers and people. One wintry mooniighc night in March, when snow and ice lay about the streets of Boston, a more than usually determined attack was made upon a party of soldiers. The mob thought the soldiers dared not tire without the order of a magistrate, and were very boLl ii the strength of that belief. It proved a mistake. The soltliers did fire, and the blood of eleven slain or 1770 A.D. AMElllCA ON THE EVE OF THE DEVOLUTION. 89 f wounded persons stained tlu; frozen streets. Tliis was "the Boston Massacre," which greatly inflamed the patriot antipathy to the mother country. Two or three unquiet years passed, and no progress towards a settlement of differences had been made. From all the colonies there came, loud and unceasing, the voice of complaint and remonstrance. It fell upon unheeding ears, for England was committed. To her honour be it said, it was not in the end for money that she alienated her children. The tax on tea must be maintained to vindicate the authority of England. But when the tea was shipped, such a drawlmck was allowed that the price would actually have been lower in America than it was at home. The Americans had, upon the wliole, kept loyally to their purpose of importing no English goods, specially no goods on which duty could be levied. Occasionally, a jmtriot of the more worldly-minded sort yielded to temptation, and secretly de- spatched an order to Englantl. He was forgiven, if penitent. If obdurate, his name was published, and a resolution of the citizens to trade no more with a person so unworthy soon brought him to reason. But, in the main, the colonists were true to their bond, and when they could no longer smuggle they ceased to import. The East India Company accumulated vast (quantities of unsaleable tea, for which a market must be found. Several ships were freighted with tea, and sent out to America. Cheaper tea was never seen in America ; but it bore upon it the abhorred tax which asserted British control over the pro- perty of Americans. Will the Americans, long bereaved of the accustomed beverage, yield to the temptation, and barter their honour for cheap tea 1 The East India Company never doubted it ; but the Company knew nothing of the temper of the American people. The ships arrived at New York and Philadelphia. These cities stood firm. The ships were i>romptly 1773 A.D. sg 90 AMERICA ON THE EVE OF THE REVOLUTION. bunt home — tlioir hatchos unoptaicd — and duly bore their re- jected cargoes back to the Thames. When the ships destined for Boston showed their tall masts in the bay, the citizens ran together to hold council. It was Sabbath, and the men of Boston were strict. But here was an exigency, in presence of which all ordinary rules are suspended. The crisis has come at length. If that tea is landed it will be sold, it will be used, and American liberty will become a by-word upon the earth. Samuel Adams was the true King in Boston at that time. He was a man in middle life, of cultivated mind and stainless reputation — a powerful speaker and writer — a man in whose sagacity and moderation all men trusted. He resembled the old Puritans in his stern love of liberty — his reverence for the Sabbath — his sincere, if somewhat formal, observance of all religious ordinances. He was among the first to see that there was no resting-place in this struggle short of independence. "We are free," he said, "and want no King." The men of Boston felt the power of his resolute spirit, and manfully fol- lowed where Samuel Adams led. It was hoped that the agents of the East India Company would have consented to send the ships home ; but the agents refused. Several days of excitement and i) effectual negotiation ensued. People flocked in from the neighbouring towns. The time was spent mainly in public meeting tiie city resounded with im- passioned discourse. But meanwhile the ships lay peacefully at their moorings, and the tide of patriot talk seemed to flow in vain. Other measures were visibly necessary. One day a meeting was held, and the excited people continued in liot de- bate till the shades of evening fell. No progress was made. At length Samuel Adams stood up in the dimly-lighted church, and announced, " This meeting can do nothing more to save the country." With a stern shout the meeting broke up. Fifty men disguised as Indians hurried down to the wharf, each man t ■;, AMKKICA OX THE EVK OF THE IIEVOLL'TION. 91 with a hatchet in his hand. The crowd followed. The yhipb were boarded ; the chests of tea were brought on deck, broken up, and flung into the bay. The approving citizens looked on in silence. It was felt by all that the step was grave and eventful in the highest degree. 80 still was the crowd that no sound was heard but the stroke of the liatchet and the splash of the shattered chests as they fell into the sea. All ([uestions about the disposal of those cargoes of tea at all events are now solved. This is what Anni a has done ; it is for England to niako the next move. Lord North was now at the head of the British Government. It was his lordship's belief that the troubles in America sprang from a small number of ambitious persons, and could easily, by proper firmness, be supi)ressed. " The Americans will be lions while we are lambs," said General Gage. The King believed this, and Lord North believed it. In this deep igno- rance he proceeded to deal with the great emergency. He closed Boston as a port for the landing and shipping of goods. Ho imposed a fine to indemnify the East India Company for their lost teas. Lie withdrew the Charter of Massachusetts. He authorized the Governor to send political offenders to England for trial. Great voices were raised against these severities. Lord Chatham, old in constitution now, if not in years, and near the close of his career, pled for measures of conciliation. Edmund Burke justified the resistance of the Americans. Their opposition was fruitless. All Lord Noi'th's measures of repres- sion became law ; and General Gage, with an additional force of soldiers, was sent to Boston to carry them into elTect. Gage was an authority on American affairs. He had fought under Braddock. Among blind men the one-eyed man is king; among the profoundly ignoravit, the man with a little know- ledge is irresistibly persuasive. " Four regiments sent to Boston," said the hopeful Gage, " will prevent any disturbance. ' 02 AMElllCA ON THE EVE OF THE KEVOLUTKjy. He was Ijolievcd ; but, unhappily for liis own comfort, lio was sent to Boston to secure the fultihnent of his own ])ropliecy. Ife threw up some fortifications and lay as in a hostile city. The Americans a^jpointetl a day of fasting and humiliation. They did more. They formed themselves into military com- panies ; they occupied themselves with drill; they laid up stores of ammunition. Most of them hud muskets, and could use them. He who had no musket now got one. They hoped that civil war would be averted, but there was no harm in being ready. , I't M 1774 A.D. While General Gage was throwing up his fortifications at Boston, there met in Philadelphia a Congress of dele- ®P ' gates, sent by the States, to confer in i'{;gard to the troubles which were thickening round them. Twelve States were represented. Georgia as yet paused timidly on the brink of the perilous enterprise. They were notable men who met there, and their work is held in enduring honour. " For genuine sagacity, for singular moderation, for solid wisdom," said the great Earl of Chatham, " the Congress of Philadelphia shines unrivalled." The low-roofed quaint old room in which their meetings were held, became one of the shrines which Americans delight to visit. George Washington was there, and his massive sense and copious knowledge were a supreme guiding power. Patrick Henry, then a young man, brought to the council a wisdom beyond his years, and a fiery eloquence, which, to some of his hearers, seemed almost more than human. He had already proved his unfitness for farming and for shop-keeping. He was now to prove that he could utter words which swept over a continent, thrilling men's hearts like the voice of the trumpet, and rousing them to heroic deeds. John Routledge from South Carolina aided him with an eloquence little inferior to his own. Richard Henry Lee, with his Roman aspect, his bewitching voice, his ri}»e scholarship, his AMKHICA ON THE EVE OF THE REVOLUTION. 1)3 licli stores of liistorical and political knowledge, would have ^'raced the highest assemblies of the Old "World. John Dicken- son, the wise farmer from the banks of the Delaware, whose Letters had done so much to form the pu))lic sentiment — his enthusiastic love of England ovorl)orne by his sense of wrong — toolc regretful but resolute part in withstanding the tyranny of the English Government. We have the assurance of Washington that the members of this Congress did not aim at independence. As yet it was their wish to have wrongs redressed and to continue British subjects. Their proceedings give ample evidence of this desire. They drew up a narrative of their wrongs. As a means of ol)taining redress, they adopted a resolution that all commercial intercourse with Britain should cease. They addressed the King, imploring his majesty to remove those grievances v/hich endangered their relations with him. They addressed the people of Great Britain, with whom, they said, they deemed a union as their greatest glory and happiness ; adding, however, that they would not be hewers of wood and drawers of water to any nation in the world. They appealed to their brother colonists of Canada for support in their i)eaceful resistance to o}»pression. But Canada, newly conquered from France, was peo})led almost wholly by Frenchmen. A Frenchman of that time was contented to enjoy such an amount of liberty and property as his King was pleased to permit. And so from Canada there came no response of sympathy or help. Here Congress paused. Some members believed, with Washington, that their remonstrances would be effectual. Others, less sanguine, looked for no settlement but that which the sword might bring. They adjourned, to meet again next May. This is enough for the present. What further steps the new events of that coming summer may call for, we shall be prepared, with God's help, to take. England showed no relenting in her treatment of the Ameri- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 ^8 125 1^ U2 12.2 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREIT WEBSTH.N.Y. MStO (716) •73-4503 ^\ iV 6^ . o^ 04 AMERK'A ON THK EVE OF THE REVOLUTION. I If I) cRn& The King gave no reply to the addrems of Congress. Tlie HouneH of LordH and of ConimonR refused even to allow that nddrem to be read in their hearing. The King announced his firm purpose to reduce the refractory colonists to ol)edience. Parliament gave loyal assurancps of support to the blinded monarch. All trade with the colonies was forbidden. All American ships and cargoes might be seized by those who were strong enough to do so. The alternative presented to the American choice was without disguise — the Americans had to fight for their liberty, or forego it The peo})le of England had, in those days, no control ever the geen bound to a tree, and the f^avages were beginning to toss their tomahawks at his head, when unhoped-for rescue BUNKKR HILL. vt found him. Ah rugged old Israel ploughetl his field, some one told him of Lexington. That day he ploughed no more. Ho sent word home that he had gone to Boston. Unyoking his horse from the plough, in a few minutes he was mounted and hastening towards the camp. Boston and its suburbs stand on certain islets and peninsulas, access to which, from the mainland, is gained by one isthmus which is called Boston Neck, and another isthmus which is called Charlestown Neck. A city thus circumstanced is not difficult to blockade. Tlie AnuTican Yeomanry blockaded Boston. There were five thousand soldiers in the town ; but the retreat from Concord inclined General Gage to some mea- sure of patient endurance, and he made no attempt to raise the blockade. The month of May was wearing on, and still General Gage lay inactive. Still patriot Americans poured into the blockad- ing camp. They were utterly undisciplined, and wholly with- out uniform. The English scorned them as a rabble " with calico frocks and fowling-pieces." But they were Anglo-Saxons with arms in their hands, and a fixed purpose in their minds. It was very likely that the unwise contempt of their enemies would not be long unrebuked. On the 25th, several English shii>s of war dropped their anchors in Boston Bay. It was rumoured that they brought large reinforcements under Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton — the best generals England possessed. Shortly it became known that Gage now felt himself strong enough to break out upon his rustic besiegers. But the choice of time and place for the en- counter was not to be left with General Gage. On Charlestown peninsula, within easy gun-shot of Boston, there are two low hills, one of which, the higher, is called Bunker Hill, and the other Breed's Hill. In a council of war the Americans determined to seize and fortify one of those heights, and there abide the onslaught of the English. There (687) 7 liUNKEU HILL. I - was not a moment to lose. It was said that Gage intended to occupy the lieiglits on the night of the 18th June. But Gago was habitually too late. On the IGth, a little before sunset, twelve hundred AnKa'icans were mustered on Cambridge Com- mon for sjK^cial service. Colonel Prescott, a veteran who had fought against the French, was in command. Putnam was with him, to be useful where he could, although without speci- fied duties. Prayers were said ; and the men, knowing only that they went to battle, and perhaps to death, set forth upon their march. They marched in silence, for their way l(;d them under the guns of English ships, lliey reached the hill-top undiscovered by the supine foe. It was a lovely June night — warm and stilL Far down lay the Eng ish ships — awful, but as yet harmless. Across the Charles river, Boston and her garrison slept the sleep of the unsusjiecting. The " All's well " of the sentinel crept, from time to time, dreamily up the hill. Swift now with spado and mattock, for the hours of this mid- summer night are few and precious — swift, but cautious, too, for one ringing stroke of iron upon stone may ruin all 1 When General Gage looked out upon the heights next morn- ing, he saw a strong intrenchment and swarms of armed men where the untrodden grass had waved in the sunnner breeze a few hours l>efore. He looked long through his glass at this unwelcome a])}>arition. A tall figure j)ac(!d to and fro along the rude parapet. It was Prescott "Will he fight]" asked Gage eagerly. "Yes, sir," replied a bystander; "to the last drop of his blood." It was indispensable that the works should be taken, and a plan of attack was immediately formed. It was sufficiently simple. No one 8ui)i)osed that the Americans would stand the .shock of regular troops. The English were therefore to march straight up the hill and drive the Americans away. Meanwhile reinforcements were sent to the Americans, and supplies of ammunition were distributed. A gill of powder, to be carried BUNKKR HILL. in a powder-horn or looso in tho pocket, two flintH and fifteen balls, were served out to each man. To obtain even the fifteen balls, they had to melt down the organ-pipes of an Episcopal church at Cambridge. At noon English soldiers to the number of two thousand crossed over from Boston. Tl»e men on the hill-top looked out from their intrenchments ui)on a splendid vision of bright unifonns and bayonets and field-pieces flashing in the sun. They looked with quickened pulso but unsliaken purpose. To nien of their race it is not given to know fear on the verge of battle. Tho English soldit^rs paused for refreshments when they landed on the Charlestown peninsula. The Americans could hear the murmur of their noisy talk and lau,"hter. They saw the pitchers of grog jmss along the ranks. And then they saw the Englishmen rise and stretch themselves to their grim morn- ing's work. From the steeples and liouse-tops of Boston — from all the heights which stand round about tlio city — thousands of Americans watched tho i)rogres8 of the fight. llie soldiers had no easy task before them. The day was *' exceeding hot," the grass was long and thick, the up-hill march was toilsome, tho enemy watchful and resolute. As if to render tho difficulty greater, the men carried three days' provision with them in their knapsacks. Each man had a burden which weighed one hundred and twenty pounds in knapsack, musket, and other equipments. Thus laden they began their perilous ascent While yet a long way from the enemy they opened a harm- less tire of musketry. Thorn was no reply from tho American Unes. Putnam had directed the men to withhold their fire till they could see the white of the Englishmen's eyes, and then to aim low. The Englishmen were very near the works when tho word was given. Like the left-handed slingers of tho tribe of Benjamin, the Americans could shoot to a hairbreadth. Every 100 BUNKER HILL. I man took his steady aim, and when thny gave fortli their volley few bullets sped in vain. The slaughter was enormous. The English recoiled, and ahiiost without ammunition. Their stock of powder wouhl atlbrd oidy nine rounds to each man. 'Hiey couM thus liave made no use of th«'ir artiUery. Their rude intrench- ments stretclied a distance of eight or nine mih's. At any mo- ment the Englisli might hurst upon tliem, piiTcing their weak lines, and rolling them back in liopeless rout But th<; stuh- liorn ])rovincials were, as yet, scarcely soldiers (»nough to know their danger. Taking counsel only of their own courage, they stn-ngtluMU'd their intrenchment, and tenaciously maintained their hold on lioston. From a convenient hill-top "Washington looked at his foe. II (^ saw a British army of ten thousand men, ])erfect in disci- pliiH! and e(juipment. It was a noble engin(% but, happily for th(^ world, it was guided by incompetent hands, (ieneml (jrage tamolv endured siei;e without darinjj to strike a single blow at tlu^ audacious j>atriots. Tt was no easy winter in «uther army. The English suffered from small-pox. Their fle(!t failed to secure for them an adecjuatt! supply of food. Tlu^y had to pull down houses to obtain wood for fuel, at the risk of being hanged if they were discovered. They were (lisj)irited by long inaction. They knew tlutt in England the feeling entt;rtained about them was one of bitter disappointment. Poor (J.age was recalleil by an angry Ministry, and (piitted in disgrace that Boston where lui had hoped for such success. CJinieral Howi^ succeeded to his command, and to his policy of inactivity. 102 ItUNKKK HILL. Washington on liis nide was often in despair. His troops wore mainly enlisttnl for thn^e months only. Their love of country gave way under the hardships of a soldier's lifa Wash- ington ^ as a strict disciplinarian, and many a free-l)om back was scored by the lash. Patriotism proved a harder service than the men counted for. Fast as their time of service ex- pired they set their faces homeward. Washington plied them with patriotic appeals, and evtui caused patriot songs to be sung about the camp. Not thus, however, could the self-indulgent men of Massachusfitts and Connecticut be taught to scorn de- lights and live laborious days. " Such dearth of public spirit," Washington writes, " and such want of virtue, such fertility in all the low arts, I never saw before." When January came he had a new army, much Hmaller than the old, and the same weary process of drilling began afresh. He knew that Howe was aware of his i)OHition. The inactivity of the English general astonished Washington. He could ex- l)lain it no otherwise than by believing that Providence watched over the liberties of the American people. In February liberal su)>plies of arms and ammunition reached him. There came also ten regiments of militia. Washington was now strong enough to take a step. To the south of Boston city lie the Heights of Dorchester. If the Americans can S(uze and hold these heights, the English must (juit Boston. The night of the 4th of March was fixed for the enterprise. A heavy tire of artilU^ry occupied the attention of the enemy. By the light of an unclouded moon a strong work- ing-party took their way to Dorchester Heighta A long train of waggons accompanied them, laden with hard-pressed bales of hay. These were needed to form a breastwork, as a hard frost bound the earth, and digging alone could not be relied upon. The men worked with such spirit, that by dawn the bales of hay had been fashioned into various redoubts and other defences of most formidable aspect. A thick fog lay along the heights, and BUNKER HILL. 108 Iho now fortrcHH lof>kod masHivo and irnpOHinj,' in the hazo. " Tho relu'lH," Haiti llowt', " havo done more work in ono night than my whole army wouKl have done in a month." And now the English muHt Hght, or yield up Boston. The English chose to figlit. They were in the act of i-mliarking to get at the enemy when a furious east wind hegan to l>low, scattering their transports and compelling the delay of tlie attack. All next day the storm continuetain(Hl by remonstrance. Some, who deei>ly rt'sentcd the oppressions of the home Government, wen! slow to relinijuish the privilege of British citizenshij). Some would willingly have fought had there been hoi)e of success, but could not be convinced that America was able to defend herself against the colossal strength of England. The subject was dis- cussed long and keenly. Tlie intelligence of America was in favour of separation. All the writers of the colonies urged incessantly that to this it must come. Endless pamphlets and gazette articles set forth the oppressions of the old country, and the need of indej)endence in order to the welfare of the colonies. Conspicuous among those whose writings aided in convincing the public mind stands the unhonounnl name of Tliomas Paine the infid(!l. Paine had been only a few months in the colonies, but his restless mind took a ready interest in the great question INDKPKNhKNCF:. 105 of the (lay. Ho had a nurpriniiig |K)W«t of direct, forciblo argu- ment lUi wrote a painphh.'t Htylcd '' C'oiiinion Scnw," in which ho urged the AuiericanH to he inch'^M^ndent HiH treatise had, for those days, a vast circulation, and an extraordinary influ- ence. The time was now ri]>e for the eonHideration hy CongresH of the great (juestion of Inde|)(>nd(>nce. It was a gravr and 1776 A.U. most eventful step, which no thinking man would lightly take, hut it could no longer he Khunneared for a measure so decisive. Many members still pausenemy's victory would cost him dear. After a time it was seen that a nK)vement was in progress among tlu^ English. One by one the Umtn disappeared. One by one tlie ships shook their canvas out to the wind, and moved across the bay. Then the Americans knew that their hour of trial was at hand. Putnam marched his men out from their lines to meet the English. At daybreak the enemy made his appearance. ^«Frrt ^^^^^' right wing of the American army was attacked, and troops were withdrawn from other points to resist what seemed the main attack Meanwhile a strong English force made its way unseen round the American left, and established itself betw(;en the Americans and their intrench- ments. This d(?cided the fate of the battle. The Americans 1776 A.D. ,1 I AT WAR. 109 ad just l)e freo. 3(1 with decitlo a f<'w isputcd )oiut of d upon ooklyn. narrow I ruins. 1 throw am was md lies h amiy, »e, were lown to ceess in hat the _)rogress On(i moved hour of leet the arance. tacked, ,0 resist strong eft, and itrencli- lericans made a brave but vain defence. They were driven within their lines after sustaining heavy loss. Lord Howe could easily have stormed tlie works, and taken or destroyed the American army. But his lordshij) felt that his enemy was in his power, and he wished to spare his soldiers the bloodshed which an assault would have caused. He was to reduce the enemy's works by regular siege. It was no part of Washington's intention to wait for the issue of these oi)erations. During the night of the 29th he silently withdrew his broken troops, and landed them safely in New York. So skilfully was this movement executed, that the last boat had pushed off from the shore before the British discovered that their enemies liad departed But now New York had to be abandoned. Washington's army was utterly demoralized by the defeat at Brooklyn. The men went home, in some instances, by entire regiments, Wash- ington confessed to t\w Presitlent of Congress with deep concern that he had no confidence *' in the generality of the troops." To tight the well-disciplined and victorious British with such men was worse than useless. He marched northwards, and took up a strong position at Haerlem, a village nine miles from New York. But the English ships, sweeping up the Hudson river, showed themselves on his flank and in his rear ; the English army approached him in front. There was no choice but retreat. Washington crosscid his soldiers over to the Jersey side of the river. The English followed him, aft<'r storming a fort in which nearly three thousand men had been left, the whole of whom were made prisoners. The fortunes of the revolteil colonies wen; now at the very lowest ebb. Washington had only four thousand men under his immediate jommand. They were in mis«>ra)»le condition — imperfectly armed, poorly fed and clothed, without blankets, or tents, or shoes. An English oihcer said of them, without ex- treme exaggeration, " In a whole r(;giment tlun-e is scarce one t~ |7l I 110 AT WAR. pair of breeches." This was the army which was to snatch a continent from the grasp of England ! As they marched to- wards Philadelphia the people looked with derision upon their ragged defenders, and with fear upon the brilliant host of pursuers. Lord Howe renewed his offer of pardon to all who would submit. This time his lordship's offers commanded some attention. Many of the wealthier patriots took the oath, and made their peace with a Government whose authority there was no longer any hope of throwing off. "Washington made good his retreat to Philadelphia, so hotly pursued that his rear-guard, engaged in pulling down bridges, were often in sight of the British pioneers sent to build them up. When he crossed the Delaware he secured all the boats for a distance of seventy miles along the river-course. Lord Howe was brought to a pause, and he decided to wait upon the eastern bank till the river should be frozen. Washington knew well the desperate odds against him. He expected to be driven from the Eastern States. It was his thought, in that case, to retire beyond the Alleghanies, and in the wilderness to maintain undying resistance to the English yoke. Meantime he strove like a brave strong man to win back success to the patriot cause. It was only now that he was able to rid himself of the evil of short enlistments. Con- gress resolved that henceforth men should be enlisted to serve out the war. Winter came, but Lord Howe remained inactive. He him- self was in New York ; his army was scattered about among the villages of New Jersey, fearing no evil from the despised Americans. All the time Washington was increasing the num- ber of his troops, and improving their condition. But something was needed to chase away the gloom which paralyzed the country. Ten miles from Philadelphia was the village of Trenton, held by a considerable force of British and Hessians. At sunset on Christmas evening Washington marched out from AT WAR. Ill Philadelphia, having prepared a surprise for the careless garrison of Trenton. The night was dark and tempestuous, and the weather was so intensely cold that two of the soldiers were frozen to death. The march of the barefooted host could be tracked by the blood-marks which they left upon the snow. At daybreak they burst upon the astonished Royalists. Tlie Hes- sians had drunk deep on the previous day, and they were ill prepared to fight. Their commander was slain as he attempted to bring his men up to the enemy. After his fall the soldiers laid down their arms, and surrendered at discretion. A week after this encounter three British regiments spent a night at Princeton, on their way to Trenton to retrieve the disaster which had there befallen their Hessian allies. Washington made another night march, attacked the Englishmen in the early morning, and after a stubborn resistance defeated them, inflicting severe loss. These exploits, inconsiderable as they seem, raised incal- culably the spirits of the American people. When triumphs like these were possible under circumstances so discouraging, there was no need to despair of the Commonwealth. Confidence in Washington had been somewhat shaken by the defeats which he had sustained. Henceforth it was unbounded. Congress invested him with absolute military authority for a period of six months, and public opinion confirmed the trust. Tlie infant Republic was delivered from its most imminent jeopardy by the apparently trivial successes of Treuton and Princeton. 1777 A.D. I : CHAPTER VIII. SYMPATHY BKYOND THE SEA. RANGE still felt, with all the bitterness of the van- quished, her defeat at Quebec and her loss of Can- ada. She had always entertained the hope that the Americans would avenge her by throwing off the English yoke. To help forward its fulfilment, she sent occasionally a secret agent among them, to cultivate their good- will to the utmost. When the troubles began she sent secret assurances of sympathy, and secret offers of commercial advan- tages. She was not prepared as yet openly to espouse the American cause. But it was always safe to encourage the American dislike to England, and to connive at the fitting out of American privateers, to prey upon English connnerce. The Marquis de Lafayette was at this time serving in the French army. He was a lad of nineteen, of immense wealth, and enjoying a foremost place among the nobility of France. The American revolt had now become a topic at French diniu^r- tables. Lafayette heard of it first from the Duke of Gloucester, who told the story at a dinner given to him by some French officers. That conversation changed the destiny of the young Frenchman. " He was a man of no ability," said Napoleon. "There is nothing in his head but the United States," said Marie Antoinette. These judgments are perhaps not unduly severe. But Lafayette had the deejjest sympathies with the cause of human liberty. They may not have been always wise. SYMPATHY BKYOND THE SEA. 118 but tlioy wore always <,'('iH'rous and truo. No sooner had he satisHcd liiuiKclf tliat th(( Aniorican cause was the cause of lilwrty tlian he hastened to ally himself with it. He left his voung wife and his great i)osition, and lie offered himself to Washington. His military value may not have been great ; but his presence was a vast encouragement to a despomling people. He was a visible assurance of sympathy beyond the sea. America is the; most grateful of nations ; and this good, iinj)ulsive, vain man has ever deservedly held a high place in her love. Washington once, with tears of joy in his eyes, pre- sented Lafayette to his troops. Counties are named after him, and cities and strcjets. Statues and paintings hand down to successive generations of Americans the image of their first and most faithful ally. Lafayette was the lightning-rod by which the current of republican .sentiments was flashed from America to France. H'j came liomc when the war was over and America free. Ho was the hero of the hour. A man who had lielped to set up a licpublic in America was an unquiet element for old France to r«'C'»'ive l)ack into her ])Osom. With the charm of a great name and boundless jiopularity to aid liim, ho everywhere urged that men should be free and self-governing. Before he had been long in France he was busily stirring up tlie oppressed Protes- tants of the .south to revolt. Ha})])ily the advice of Washington, with whom he continued to correspond, arrested a course which might liave led the enthusia.stic Marquis to the scaflbld. Few men of capacity so moderate have been .so con.spicuous, or have so powerfully influenced the course of human affairs. (087) I CHAPTER IX. THE WAU CONTINUES. PRING-TIME came— "the time when Kings go out to battle " — but General Howe was not ready. Washington was contented to wait, for he gained by delay. Congress sent him word that he was to lose no time in totally subduing the enemy. Washington could now afford to smile at the vain confidence which had 1777 so quickly taken the place of despair. Recruits flowed in upon him in a steady, if not a very copious stream. The old soldiers whose terms expired were induced, by bounties and patriotic appeals, to re-enlist for the war. By the middle of June, when Howe opened the campaign, Washington had eight thousand men under his command, tolerably armed and disci- plined, and in good fighting spirit. The patriotic sentiment was powerfully reinforced by a thirst to avenge private wrongs. Howe's German mercenaries had behaved very brutally in New Jersey — plundering and burning witliout stint. Many of the Americans had witnessed outrages such as turn the coward's blood to flame. Howe wished to take Philadelphia, then the political capital of the States. But Washington lay across his path, in a strong position, from which he could not be enticed to descend. Howe marched towards him, but shunned to attack him where he lay. Then he turned back to New York, and embarking his troops, sailed with them to Philadelphia. The army was landed on the THE WAR CONTINUES. 116 25th August, and Howe was at length ready to begin the sum- mer's work. The American army waited for him on the banks of a small river called the Brandy wine. The British superiority in num- bers enabled them to attack the Americans in front and in Hank. The Americans say that their right wing, on which the British attack fell with crushing weight, was badly led. One of the generals of that division was a certain William Alexander — known to himself and the country of his adoi)tion as Lord Stirling — a warrior bravo but foolish ; " aged, and a little deaf." The Americans were driven from the field ; but they had fought bravely, and were undismayed by their defeat. A fortnight later a British force, with Lord CornwalHs at its head, marched into Philadelphia. The Royalists were strong in that city of Quakers — specially strong among the Quakers themselves. The city was moved to unwonted cheerfulness. On that September morning, as the loyal inhaliitants looked upon the bright uniforms and flashing arms of the King's troops, and listened to the long-forbidden strains of " God isave the King," they felt as if a great and final deliverance had been vouchsafed to them. The })atriots estimated the fall of the city more justly. It was seen that if Howe meant to hold Philadelphia, he had not force enough to do much else. Said the sagacious Benjamin Franklin, — "It is not General Howe that has taken Philadelphia ; it is Philadelphia that has taken General Howe." The main body of the British were encamped at Germantown, guarding their new conquest. So little were the Americans daunted by their late reverses, that, wdthin a week from the capture of Philadelphia, Washington resolved to attack the enemy. At sunrise on the 4th October the English were unexpectedly greeted by a bayonet-charge from a strong Ameri- can force. It was a complete surprise, and at first the success was complete. But a dense fog, which had rendered the sur- n« THE WAR CONTINUES. l! i i priso poHsililo, ultiniatoly frustrated tlio purpose of the assailants. The oiiHot of th(^ eufjcr Aiiioricans carriotl all before it. But as the (larknoKH, (enhanced by tlm firing, (leejMiuul over the com- batants, confusion began to arise. Regiments got astray from their officers. Home regiments mistook each otlier for enemies, and acted on that belief. Confusion swelled to panic, and the Americans fled from the field. Winter was now at hand, and the British army returned to quarters in Philadelphia. Howe would have fought again, but Washington declined to come down from the strong position to which he had retired. His army had again been suffered to fall into straits which tlircatcned its very existence. A patriot Congress urged him to defeat the English, but could not be per- suaded to supply his soldiers with shoes or blankets, or even with food. He was advised to fall back on some convenient town where his soldiers would find the comforts they needed so much. But Washington was resolute to keep near the enemy. He fixed on a position at Valley Forge, among the hills, twenty miles from Philadelphia. Thither through the snow marched liis half-naked army. Log-huts were erected with a rapidity of which no soldiers are so capable as Americans. There Wash- ington fixed himself. The enemy was within reach, and he knew that his own strength would grow. The campaign which had now closed had given much encouragement to the patriots. It is true they had been often defeated, but thi^y had learned to place implicit confidence in their commander. They had learned also that in courage they were equal, in activity greatly superior, to their enemies. All they required was discipline and experience, which another campaign would give. There was no longer any reason to look with alarm upon the future. CHAPTER X. THE SLURENDEU AT SAUATOOA. 1777 A.l». territory. N tlu' luoutli of June, when ILowc whh l)egiimiuy to win his lingerin}^ way to Piiiludelphiu, a JJritish army w^t out from Oanaila to con- quer the north(;rn })arts of th(? revolted Cieneral liur«,'oyne was in command. He Mas reso- lute to succeed. *' This army must not retreat," he said, when they were ahout to embark. The army did not retn-at. On a fair fii'ld general and soldiers wouid have playc^d a }>art of which their country would have had no cause to be ashamed. But this was a work beyond their strength. Burgoyne marched deep into the New England States. But he had to do with men of a different temper from those of New York and Philadelphia. At his approach every man took down his musket from the wall and hurried to the front Little dis- cipline had tlu;y, but a resolute purpose and a sure aim. Diffi- culties thickened around the fated army. At length Burgoyne found himself at Saratoga. It was now October. Heavy rains fell ; provisions were growing scanty ; the enemy was in great force, and nmcli emboldened by success. Gradually it became evident that the British were surrounded, and that no hope of lighting their way out remained. Night and day a circh^ of tire encomj)assed them. Burgoyne called his officers together. TIm^v could tind no place for their sorrowful connnuning beyond reach of the enemy's musketry, so closely was the net already drawn. 118 SURRENDEFl AT HATIATOGA. Tluin* wiiH but ono thing to do, and it woh dont^ Tlu; BritiHh army Hurrcnderod. Nearly six tliouHand bravo men, in sorrow and in Hlianic, laid down their arms. The men who took tlu'm wer(5 nuiro peaHants, no two of whom were drcHsed alike. The officers wore uncouth wigs, and most of them carried muskets and largo powder-horns slung around their shoulders. No liumiliation like this liad ever befallen the British amia These grotesque American warriors behaved to their conquered enemies with true nobility. General Gates, the American com- mander, kept his men strictly within their lines, that they might not witness the piling of the British arms. No taunt was offered, no look of disrespect was directed against the fallen. " All were mute in astonishment and pity." England felt acutely the shame of this great disaster. Her people were used to victory. For many years she had been fighting in Euroi)e, in India, in Canada, and always with brill- iant success. Her defeat in America was contrary to all expec- tation. It was a bitttir thing for a high-spirited people to hear that their veteran troops had surrendered to a crowd of half- armed i)ea8antry. Under the depressing influence of this ca- lamity it was determined to redress the wrongs of America. Parliament abandoned all claim to tax the colonies. Every vexatious enactment would be repealed ; all would be forgiven, if America would return to her allegiance. Commissioners were sent bearing the olive-branch to Congress. Too late — altogether too late ! Never more can America be a dependency of England. "With few words Congress peremptorily declined the English overtures. America had chosen her course; for good or for evil she would follow it to the end. Tlu; BritiHh CHAPTER XI. IIKLP FUOM KUUOPK. 1778 A.I). GREAT war may bo very glorious, but it iw also very iniHorable. Twenty tliou^and Engli.sli- incu had aln^ady perished in this war. Tnulo hmguished, and among the working-classes there was want of employment and consequent want of food. American cruisers swarmed upon the sea, and inflicted enor- mous losses upon English commerce. The debt of the country increased. And for all these evils there was no compensation. There was not even tlie poor satisfaction of success in our un- profitable undertaking. If it was any comfort to inflict even greater miseries than she endured, England did not figlit in vain. The sufferings of America were very lamentable. The loss of life in battle and by disease, resulting from want and exposure, had been great. The fields in many districts were unsown. Trade was extinct ; the trading classes were bankrupt. Englisli cruisers had annihilated the fisheries and seized the greater part of the American merchant ships. Money had well-nigh disappeared from the country. Congress issued pai)er-money, which proved a very indifferent substitute. The public had so little confidence in the new currency, that Washington declared, "A waggon-load of money will scarcely jmrchase a waggon-load of provisions." But the war went on. It was not for England, with her high place among the nations, to retire defeated from an enterprise t; ,1 f ■> 120 HELP FIIUM EUROPE. oil which yho had (Ujliberately entered. As for the Ahujricans, after they had declared their resolution to bo independent, they cc>nld die, hut they could not yield. The surrender of Burgoyne brought an important ally to the American side. The gods help those who help themselves. So soon as America provetl that she wjus likely to conquer in the struggle. France offered to come to her aid. France had always looked with interest on the war ; partly because she hated England, and partly because her pulses already throbbed with that new life, whose misdirected energies produced, a few years afterwards, results so lamentable. Even now a people contend- ing for their liberties awakened the sympathies of France. America had sent three Commissioners — one of whom was Benjamin Franklin — to Paris, to cultivate as opportunity offereil the friendship of the French Government. For a time they laboured without visible results. But when news came that Burgoyne and his army had surrendered, hesitation was at an end. A treaty was signed by which France and America engaged to make common cause against England. The King opposed this treaty so long as he dared, but he was forced to give way. England, of course, accepted it as a declaration of war. Spain could not miss the opportunity of avenging herself upon England. Her King desired to live at peace, he said, and to see his neighbours do the same. But he was profoundly in- terested in the liberties of the young Republic, and lie was bound by strong ties to his good brother of France. Above all, Eng- laiul had in various quarters of the world grievously wronged him, by violating his territory and interfering with the trade of his subjects. And so he deemed it proper that he should waste tlie scanty substance of his people in equip[)ing fleets and armies. When his preparations were comjilete he joined France and America in the league, and declared war against England. The fleets of France and Spain ajjpeared in the English HELP FKOM EUROPE. 121 Channel, and England had to face the i)erils of invasion. Tho spirit of her peojile rose noV)ly to meet the inii)ending trial The southern counties were one great camp. Voluntary contri Lutions from all j)arts of the country aided Government to eijuip ships and soldiers. The King was to heatl his warlike people, should the enemy land, and share their danger ami their glory. But the black cloud rolled harmlessly away, and the abounding heroism of the peoi)le was not further evoked. The invading admirals quarrelled. One of them wished to land at once ; the other wished first to dispose of the English fleet. They could not agree upon a course, and therefore they sailed away home each to his own country, having effected nothing. The war spread itself over a very wide surface. In the north, Paul Jones with three American ships alarmed the Scotch coast and destroyed much shipping. Spain besieged Gibraltar, but failed to regain that much-coveted prize. On the African coast, the French took Senegal from the English, and the English took Goree from the French. In the West Indies, the French took St. Vincent and Granada. On the American Continent, from New York to Savannah, the same wasteful and bloody labour was ruthlessly pursued. The remaining years of the war were distinguished by few striking or decisive enterprises. The fleet sent by France sailed hither and thither in a feeble manner, accomplishing nothing. When General Howe was made aware of its approach, he aban- doned Philadelphia and retired to New York. Washington followed him on his retreat, but neither then nor for some time afterwards could effect much. Congress and tlu; American people formed sanguine expectations of the French alliance, and ceased to put forth the great efforts which distinguished the earlier period of the war. The English overran Georgia and tho Carolinas. Tlie Americans capturem which he i reach her ! must ride to limself as he jry doubtful row escapes, I, He was now be con- nely journey, is right hand Three armed ordered him e thought he m he was a must not be not friends ; o-iven to the the English, in place of a better garment of which his captors had stripped him. Andre was searched ; but at first nothing was found. It seemed as if he might yet be allowed to proceed, when one of the three men exclaimed, " Boys, I am not satisfied. His boots must come off." Andre's countenance fell. His boots were searched, and Arnold's drawings of West Point were discovered. The men knew then that he was a spy. He vainly offered them money ; they were incorruptible. He was taken to the nearest military station, and the tidings were at once sent to Washington, who chanced to be then at West Point. Arnold had timely intimation of the disaster, and fled for refuge to a British ship of war. Andr6 was tried by a court formed of officers of the Ameri- can army. He gave a frank and truthful account of his part in the unhappy transaction — bringing into due prominence the circumstance that he was brought, without intention or know- ledge on his part, within the American lines. The court judged him on his own statement, and condemned him to be hanged as a spy. His capture and sentence caused deep sensation in the Eng- lish army, and every effort was made to save him. But Wash- ington was resolute that he should die. The danger to the patriot cause had been too great to leave any place for relent- ing. Tliere were dark intimations of other treasons yet unre- vealed. It was needful to give emphatic warning of the perils which waited on such unlawful neijotiations. Andr6 beirued that he might be allowed to die a soldier's death. Even this poor boon was refused to the unhappy young man. Since the awful lesson must be given, Washington considered that no cir- cumstance fitted to enhance its terrors should be withheld. But this was mercifully concealed from Andre to the very last. Ten days after his arrest, Andre was led forth to die. He was under the impression that his last request had been gi'anted, I; ^ k ! ■ •!:!! iiij ;:;:ir - f i < it 129 MAJOR ANDRE. and that he would die by the bullet. It was a fresh pang when the gibbet, with its ghastly preparations, stood before him. "How hard is my fate," he said; "but it will soon be over." He bandaged his own eyes ; with his own hands adjusted the noose to his neck. The cart on which he stood moved away, and poor Major Andre was no longer in the world of living men. Forty years afterwards his remains were brought home to England and laid in Westminster Abbey. IK CHAPTER XIII. THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. URING the later years of the war the English kept possession of the Southern States, which, as we have seen, they had gained so easily. ^*^^ When the last campaign opened, Lord Cornwallis with a strong force represented British authority in the South, and did all that he found possible for the suppression of the patriots. But the time was past when any real progress in that direction could be made. A certain vigorous and judicious General Greene, with such rough semblance of an army as he could draw together, gave Lord Cornwallis many rude shocks. The English gained little victories occasionally, but they suffered heavy losses, and the territory over which they held dominion was upon the whole becoming smaller. About midsummer, the joyous news reached Washington that a powerful French fleet, with an army on board, was about to sail for America. With this reinforcement, Wash- ington had it in his power to deliver a blow which would break the strength of the enemy, and hasten the close of the war. Clinton held New York, and Cornwallis was fortifying himself in Yorktown. The French fleet sailed for the Chesai)eake, and Washington decided in consequence that his attack should be made on Lord Cornwallis. With all possible secrecy and speed the American troops were moved southwards to Virginia. They were joined by the French, and they stood before York- IT 128 THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. lii' Hi i! town a force twolvo thousanfl strong. Cornwallis had not expected them, and lie called on Clinton to aid him. But it was too late. He was already in a grasp from which there was no escaping. Throughout the war, the weakness of his force often obliged Washington to adopt a cautious and defensive policy, which grievously disappointed the expectations of his impatient countrymen. It is not therefore to he imagined, that his leader- ship was wanting in vigour. Within his calm and well-halanced mind there lurked a iiery en(Tgy, ready to l)urst forth Avhen occasion required. The siege of Yorktown was pushed on with extraordinary vehemence. The English, as their wont is, made a stout defence, and strove by desperate sallies to drive the assailants from their works. But in a few days the defences of Yorktown lay in utter ruin, beaten to the ground by the powerful artillery of the Americans. The English guns were silenced ; the English shipping was fired by red-hot shot from the French batteries. Ammunition began to grow scarce. The place could not be held much longer, and Clinton still delayed his coming. Lord Cornwallis must either force his way out and escaj)e to the North, or sui'render. One night he began to embark his men in order to cross the York river and set out on his desperate march to New York ; but a violent storm arose and scattered his boats. Tlie men who had embarked got back with difficulty, under fire from the American batteries. All hope was now at an end. In about a fortnight from the open- ing of the siege, the British army, eight thousand strong, laid down its arms. The joy of America over this great crow^ning success knew no bounds. One highly emotional patriot was said to have expired from mere excess of rapture. Some others lost their reason. In the army, all who were under arrest were at once set at liberty. A day of solemn thanksgiving was proclaimed and devoutly observed throughout the rejoicing States. THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 120 His had not lim. But it .ch there was often obliged lolicy, which is impatient at his leader- w('ll-l)alanced t forth when islied on with wont is, made to drive the the defences round by the ish guns were lot shot from T scarce. The 1 still delayed his way out t he began to md set out on it storm arose rked got back atteries. All com the open- id strong, laid success knew said to have hers lost their b were at once ras proclaimed tates. 1782 A.l). Well might the c(jh)nists rejoice, for their long and bitter slruggl*! was now about to close. Stubborn King (iatioiico to inflict crushing defeat upon the foe. Tlio deplorable in.su (Hcii'ucy of his resource's was overlooked, and tho lihmie of every disaster fell on him. And when at length tho (•aus(! began to ])rosj)(!r, and hopo brightened into triunipli, tindd people were apt to fear that Washington was growing too powerful. He had become tlic idol of a great army. He had but to signify liis readiness to accept a throne, and his soldiers would have crowned him King. It was usual in the revolutions of the world that a military chivi should gi'asp at supremo pow(!r ; and so it was feared that Washington was to furnish one oxami)le more of that lawless and vulgar lust of power by which human history has been ho largely dishonoured. ]jut Washington sheathed his sword, and returned gladly to his home on the lianks of the Potomac. He proposed to spend his days " in cultivating the affections of good men, and in tho j)ractice of the domestic virtues." He hoped " to glide gently down the stream which no human effort can ascend." IFo occupied himself with the care of his farm, and had no deeper feeling than thankfulness that he was at hnigth eased of a load of })ublic care. The simple grandeur of his character was now revealed beyond possibility of misconception. The measure di American veneration for this greatest of all Americans was full. Henceforth Mount Yernon was a shrine to which pilgrim feet were ever turned — evoking such boundless love and reverence as never were elsewhere exhibited on American soil. [1 i ■ \ i ■'':| !'i:l CHAPTER XIV. TIIK THIHTKKX STATKS UKCOME A NATION'. ASHINGTON saw from the beginning that his (•ountry was without a government. Congress was a mere name. There were still thirteen sovereign States — in league for the moment, but liable to be placed at variance by the tlifler(!nc(!S which time would surely bring. Washington "was satisfied that without a central govern- ment tlu^y could nciver be powerful or respected. Such a government, indeed, was necessary in order even to their existenc(\ European powers would, in its absence, introduce dissensions among them. Men's minds would revert to that form of government with which they were familiar. Some ambitious statesman or soldier would make himself King, and the great experiment, l>ased upon the equality of rights, would prove an ignominious failure. The moi-e sagacious Americans shared Washington's belief on this question. Conspicuous among these was Alexander Hamil- ton — perhaps, next to Washington, the greatest American of that age. Hamilton was a brave and skilful soldier, a brilliant debater, a persuasive writer, a wise statesman. In his nine- teenth year he entered the army, at the very beginning of the war. The r, gipsy-looking man, with an eye whoso wondrous depth and power impressed all who came into his presence. Calhoun taught the people of the South that slavery was good for the slave. It was a benign, civilizing agency. The African at- tained to a measure of intelligence in slavery greatly in ad- vance of that which he had ever reached as a free man. To him, visibly, it was a blessing to be enslaved. From all this it was easy to infer that Providence had appointed slavery for the advantage of both races ; that opposition to this Heaven- ordained institution was profane ; that abolition was merely an aspect of infidelity. So Calhoun taught ; so the South learned to believe. Calhoun's last speech in Congress warned the North that opposition to slavery would destroy the Union. His latest conversation was on this absorbing theme. A few hours after, he had passed where all dimness of vision is removed, and errors of judgment become impossible ! It was very pleasant for the slave-owners to be taught that slavery enjoyed divine sanction. The doctrine had other apostles than Mr. Calhoun. Unhappily it came to form part of the regular pulpit teaching of the Southern churches. It was gravely argued out from the Old Testament that slavery was the proper condition of the negro. Ham was to be the servant of his brethren ; hence all the descendants of Hani were the rightful property of white men. The slave who fled from his master was guilty of the crime of theft in one of its I st heinous forms. So taught the Southern pulpit. Many 1 'ks, written by grave divines for the enforcement of these , >etrines, remain to awaken the amazement of posterity. (687) 11 1850 A.D. i i'l H 362 SLAVERY. The slave-owners inclined a willing ear to these pleasing as- surances. They knew slavery to be profitable ; their leaders in Church and State told them it was right. It was little wonder that a fanatical love to slavery possessed their hearts. In the passionate, ill-regulated minds of the slave-owning class it became in course of years almost a madness, which was shared, unhappily, by the great mass of the white population. Discussion could no longer be permitted. It became a fearful risk to express in the South an opinion hostile to slavery. It was a familiar boast that no man who opposed slavery would be suffered to live in a Slave State ; and the slave- owners made their word good. Many who were suspected of hostile opinions were tarred and feathered, and turned out of the State. Many were shot ; many were hanged ; some were burned. The Southern mobs were singularly brutal, and the slave-owners found willing hands to do their fiendish work. The law did not interfere to pre /ent or punish such atrocities. The churches looked on and held their pjace. As slave property increased in value, a strangely horrible system of laws gathered around it. The slave was regarded, not as a person, but as a thing. He had no civil rights ; nay, it was declared by the highest legal authority that a slave had no rights at all which a white man was bound to respect. The most sacred laws of nature were defied. Marriage was a tie which bound the slave only during the master's pleasure. A sl«ve had no more legal authority over his child " than a cow has over her calf." It was a grave offence to teach a slave to read. A white man might expiate that offence by fine or im- prisonment ; to a black man it involved flogging. The owner might not without challenge murder an unoffending slave ; but a slave resisting his master's will might lawfully be slain. A slave who would not stand to be flogged, might be shot as he ran off. The master was blpmeless if his slave died under the administration of reasonable correction — in other words, if he ■f ' 1 SLAVERY. 163 flogged a slave to death. A fugitive slave might be killed by any means which his owner chose to employ. On the other hand, there was a slender pretext of laws for the protection of the slave. Any master, for instance, who wantonly cut out the tongue or put out the eyes of his slave, was liable to a small fine. But as no slave could give evidence affecting a white man in a court of law, the law had no terrors for the slave- owner. The practice of the South in regard to her slaves was not unworthy of her laws. Children were habitually torn away from their mothers. Husbands and wives were habitually separated, and forced to contract new marriages. Public whip- ping-houses became an institution. The hunting of escaped slaves became a regular profession, and dogs were bred and trained for that special work. Slaves who were suspected of an intention to escape were branded with red-hot irons. When the Northerr. armies forced their way into the South, many of the slaves who fled to them were found to be scarred or muti- lated. The burning of a negro who was accused of crime was a familiar occurrence. It was a debated question whether it was more profitable to work the slaves moderately, and so make them last, or to take the greatest possible amount of work from them, even although that would quickly destroy them. Some favoured the plan of overworking, and acted upon it without scruple. These things were done, and th' Christian churches of the South wore not ashamed to say that the system out of which they flowed enjoyed the sanction of God ! It appeared that men who had spent their lives in the South were themselves so brutalized by their familiarity with the atrocities of slavery, that the standard by which they judged it was no higher than that of the lowest savages ■ f ;;:> II f CHAPTER III MISSOURI. HEN the State of Louisiana was received into the Union in 1812, there was left out a large propor- tion of the original purchase from Napoleon. As yet this region was unpeopled. It lay silent and unprofitable — a vast reserve prepared for the wants of unborn generations. It was traversed by the Missouri river. The great Mississippi was its boundary on the east. It possessed, in all, a navigable river-line of two thousand miles. Enor- mous mineral wealth was treasured up to enrich the world for centuries to come. Tliere were coal-fields greater than those of all Euroi)e. There was iron piled up in mountains, one of which contained two hundred million tons of ore. There wrs profusion of copper, of zinc, of lead. There were boundless forests. There was a soil unsurpassed in fertility. The climate was kindly and genial, marred by neither the stern winters of the North nor the fierce heats of the South. The scenery was often of rare beauty and grandeur. This was the Territory of Missouri. Gradually settlers from the neighbouring States dropped in. Slave-holders came, bring- ing their chattels with them. They were first in the field, and they took secure possession. The free emigrant turned aside, and the slave-power reigned supreme in Missouri. The wealth and beauty of this glorious land were wedded to the most gigantic system of evil which ever established itself upon the earth. buite |rs of was Ifrom Iriiig- ancl |,side, mlth mtic MISSOURI. 165 By the year 1818 there were sixty thousand persons residing in Missouri. The time had come for the admission of this Terri- tory into tlie Union as a State. It was the first gi-eat contest between the Free and the Slave States. The cotton-gin, the acquisition of Louisiana, the teaching of Calhoun, had done their work. The slave-owners w ere now a great political power — resolute, unscrupulous, intolerant of opposition. Tlie next half century of American histoiy takes its tone very much from their fierce and restless energy. Their policy never wavered. To gain predominance for slavery, with room for its indefinite expansion, these were their aims. American history is filled with their violence on to a certain April morning in 18G5, when the slave-power and all its lawless pretensions lay crushed among the ruins of Richmond. When the application ^f Missouri for admission into the Union came to be considered in Congress, an attempt was made to shut slavery wholly out of the new State. A struggle ensued which lasted for nearly three years. The question was one of vital importance. At that time the number of Free States and the number of Slave States were exactly equal. Whosoever gained Missouri gained a majority in the Senate. Tlie North was deeply in earnest in desiring to prevent the extension of slavery. The South was equally resolute that no limitation should be imposed. TIkj result was a compromise, proposed by the South. Missouri was to be given over to slavery. But it was agreed that, excepting within the limits of Missouri herself, slavery should not be permitted in any part of the territory purchased from France, nort.h of a line drawn eastward and westward from the southern boundary of that State. Thus far might the waves of this foul tide flow, but no further. So ended the great controversy, in the decisive victory of the South. CHAPTER IV. HOPE FOR THE NEGRO. HE North participated in the gains of slavery. The cotton-planter borrowed money at high interest from the Northern capitalist. He bought his goods in Northern markets ; he sent hia cotton to the North for sale. The Northern merchants made money at his hands, and were in no haste to overthrow the peculiar institu- tion out of which results so pleasant flowed. They had no occasion, as the planter had, to persuade themselves that slavery enjoyed special divine sanction. But it did become a very general belief in the North that without slave-labour the culti- vation of Southern lands was impossible. It was also very generally alleged that the condition of the slave was preferable to that of the free European labourer. All looked very hopeless for the poor negro. The South claimed to hold him by divine right She looked to a future of indefinite expansion. Tlie boundless regions which stretched away from her border, untrodden by man, were marked out for slave territory. A powerful sentiment in the North supported her claims. She was able to exercise a controlling influence over the Federal Government. It seemed as if all authority in the Union was pledged to uphold slavery, and assert for ever the right of the white man to hold the black man as an article of merchandise. But even then the awakening of the Northern conscience HOPE FOR THE NEGRO. 167 had begun. On the 1st of January 1831, a journeyman printer, William Lloyd Garrison, published in Boston the first number of a paper devoted to the abolition of slavery. This is perhaps the earliest prominent incident in the history of Eman- cipation. It was indeed a humble opening of a noble career. Garrison was young and penniless. He wrote the articles, and he also, with the help of a friend, set the types. He lived mainly on bread and water. Only when a number of the papei sold particularly well, he and his companion indulged in a bowl of milk. The Mayor of Boston was asked by a Southern magistrate to suppress the paper. He replied that it was not worth the trouble. The office of the editor was " an obscure hole ; his only visible auxiliary a negro boy ; his supporters a few insignificant persons of all colours." The lordly Southerners need not be uneasy about this obscure editor and his paltry newspaper. But the fulness of time had come, and every word spoken against slavery found now some willing listener. In the year after Garrison began his paper the American Anti-slavery Society was formed. It was composed of twelve members. Busy hands were scattering the seed abroad, and it sprang quickly. Within three years there were two hundred anti- slavery societies in America ; in seven years more these had increased to two thousand. The war against slavery was now begun in earnest. The slave-owners and their allies in the North regarded with rage unutterable this formidable invasion. Everywhere they opposed violence to the arguments of their opponents. Large rewards were ofiered for the capture of prominent abolitionists. Many Northern men, who unwarily strayed into Southern States, were murdered on the mere suspicion that they were opposed to slavery. President Jackson recom- mended Congress to forbid the conveyance to the South, by the mails, of anti-slavery publications. In Boston a mob 168 HOPE FOR THE NEGUO. 1833 A.D. of well-dressed and respectable citizens suppressed a meeting of female abolitionists. While busied about that enterprise, they were fortunate enough to lay hold of Garrison, whose murder they designed, and would have accomplished, had not a timely sally of the constables rescued him from their grasp. In Con'^ecticut a young woman was imprisoned for teach- ing negro children to read. Philadelphia was disgraced by riots in which negroes were killed and their houses burned down. Throughout the Northern States anti-slavery meetings were habitually invaded and broken up by the allies of the slave-owners. The abolitionists were devoured by a zeal which knew no bounds and permitted no rest. The slave- owners met them with a deep, remorseless, murderous hatred, which gradually possessed and corroded their whole nature. In this war, as it soon became evident, there could be no compro- mise. Peace was impossible otherwise than by the destruction of one or other of the contending parties. The spirit in which the South defended her cherished institu- tion was fairly exemplified in her treatment of a young clergy- man, Mr. Lovejoy, who offended her by his antipathy to slavery. Mr. Lovejoy established himself in Alton, a little town of Illinois, where he conducted a newspaper. Illinois was itself a Free State j but Missouri was near, and the slave-power was supreme in all that region. Mr. Lovejoy declared himself in his newspaper against slavery. He was requested to withdraw from that neighbourhood ; but he maintained his right of free speech, and chose to remain. The mob sacked his printing- office, and flung his press into the river. Mr. Lovejoy bought another press. The arrival of this new machine highly displeased the ruffianism of the little town of Alton. It was stored for safety in a well -secured building, and two or three well-disposed citizens kept armed watch over it The mob attacked the warehouse. Shots were exchanged, and some of the rioters were slain. At len^cth the mob sue* 1837 A.D. 1 sry. of a ras 111 raw tree Ing- joy line of |ng, rer led, luc- HOPE FOR THE NEGRO. lt)9 ceedecl in setting fire to the building. When Mr. Lovejoy showed himself to the crowd he was fired at, and fell pierced l>y five bullets. The printing-press was broken; the newspaper was silenced; the hostile editor was slaughtered. The offended majesty of the slave-power was becomingly vindicated. If'!' h i 1 ' 1 i 1 V 1 i CHAPTER V. TEXAS. HE decaying energies of Spain were sorel} wasted by the wars which Napoleon forced upon her. In- vaded, conquered, occupied, fought for during years by great armies, Spain issued from tlie struggle in a state of utter exhaustion. It was impossible that a country so enfeebled could maintain a great colonial dominion. Not long after the Battle of Waterloo all her American depen- dencies chose to be independent, and Spain could do nothing to l)revent it. Among the rest, Mexico won for herself the privi- lege of self-government, of which she has thus far proved herself so incapable. Lying between the Mississippi and the Rio Grande was a vast wilderness of undefined extent and uncertain ownership, which America, with some hesitation, recognized as belonging to Mexico. It was called Texas. The climate was genial; the soil was of wondrous fertility. America coveted this fair region, and offered to buy it from Mexico. Her offer was declined. The great natural wealth of Texas, combined with the almost total absence of government, were powerful attractions to the lawless adventurers who abounded in the South-Western States. A tide of vagrant blackguardism streamed into Texas. Safe from the grasp of justice, the murderer, the thief, the fraudu- lent debtor, opened in Texas a new and more hopeful career. 1829 A.D, TEXAS. 171 1836 A.D. 1836 A.D. Founded by these conscript fathers, Texan society grew apace. In a few years Texas felt herself strong enough to be independent. Her connection with Mexico was declared to be at an end. The leader in this revolution was Sam Houston, a Virginian of massive frame — energetic, audacious, unscrupulous — in no mean degree fitted to direct the storm he had helped to raise. For Houston was a Southerner, and it was his ambition to gain Texas for the purposes of the slave-owners. Mexico had abolished slavery. Texas could be no home for the possessor of slaves till she was severed from Mexico. When independence was declared, Texas had to defend her newly-claimed liberties by the sword. General Houston headed the patriot forces, not quite four hundred in number, and imperfectly armed. Santa Anna came against them with an army of five thousand. The Texana retreated, and having nothing to carry, easily distanced their pursuers. At the San Jacinto, Houston was strengthened by the arrival of two field-pieces. He turned like a lion upon the unexpectant Mexicans, whom he caught in the very act of cross- ing the river. He fired grape-shot into their quaking ranks. His unconquerable Texans clubbed their muskets — they had no bayonets — and rushed upon the foe. The Mexicans fled in helpless rout, and Texas was free. The grateful Texans elected General Houston President of the republic which he had thus saved. No sooner was Texas independent than she oftered to join herself to the United States. Her proposals were at first declined. But the South warmly espoused her cause and urged her claims. Once more North and South met in fiery debate. Slavery had already a sure footing in Texas. If Texas entered the Union, it was as a Slave State. On that ground avowedly the South urged the annexation ; on that ground tl e North resisted it. " We all see," said Daniel 1837 A.D. 172 TEXAS. Webster, '* that Texas will be a blave-liolding country ; and I frankly avow my unwillingness to do anything which shall extend the slavery of the African race on this continent, or add another Slave-holding State to the Union." "The South," said the Legislature of Mississippi, speaking of slavery, " does not possess a blessing with which the affections of her people are so closely entwined, and whose value is more highly appreciated. By the annexation of Texas an equipoise of influence in the halls of Congress will be secured, which will furnish us a per- manent guarantee of protection." It was the battle-ground on which all the recent great battles of American political history have been fought. It ended, as such battles at that time usually did, in Southern victory. In March 1845 Texas was received into the Union. The slave- power gained new votes in Congress, and room for a vast exten- sion of the slave-system. ' CHAPTER VI. THE WAR WITH MEXICO. 1846 A.D. EXICO was displeased with the annexation of Texas, but did not manifest so quickly as it was hoped she would any disposition to avenge herself. Mr. Polk, a Southern man, was now President, and he gov- erned in the interest of the South. A war with Mexico was a thing to be desired, because Mexico must be beaten, and could then be plundered of territory which the slave-owners would appropriate. To provoke Mexico the Unready, an army of four thousand men was sent to the extreme south- western confines of Texas. A Mexican army of six thousand lay near. The Americans, with marvellous audacity, erected a fort within easy range of Matamoras, a city of the Mexicans, and thus the place was in their power. After much hesitation the Mexican army attacked the Americans, and received, as they miglit well have anticipated, a severe defeat. Thus, without the formality of any declaration, the war was begun. President Polk hastened to announce to Congress that the Mexicans had " invaded our territory, and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens." Congress voted men and money for the prose- cution of the war, and volunteers offered themselves in multi- tudes. Their brave little army was in peril — far from help, and surrounded by enemies. The people were eager to support the heroes, of whose victory they were so proud. And yet 174 THE WAR WITH MEXICO. opinion was much divided. Many deemed the war unjust and disgraceful. Among these was a young lawyer of Illinois, destined in later years to fill a place in the hearts of liis coun- trymen second only to that of Washington. Abraham Lincoln entered Congress while the war was in progress, and his first speech was in condenmation of the course pursued by the Government. The war was pushed with vigour at first under the command of General Taylor, who was to become the next President ; and finally under General Scott, who, as a very young man, had fought against the British at Niagara, and, as a very old man, was Commander-in-Chief of the American Army when the great war between North and South began. Many officers were there whose names became famous in after years. General Lee and General Grant gained here their first experience of war. They were not then known to each other. Tliey met for the first time, twenty years after, in a Virginian cottage, to arrange terms of surrender for the defeated army of the Southern Confederacy ! The Americans resolved to fight their way to the enemy's capital, and there compel such a peace as would be agreeable to themselves. Tlie task was not without difficulty. The Mexican army was greatly more numerous. They had a splendid cavalry force and an efficient artillery. Their commander, Santa Anna, unscrupulous even for a Mexican, was yet a soldier of some ability. The Americans were mainly volunteers who had never seen war till now. The fighting was severe. At Buena- Vista the American army was attacked by a force which outnumbered it in the proportion of five to one. The battle lasted for ten hours, and the invaders were saved from ruin by their superior artillery. The mountain passes were strongly fortified, and General Scott had to convey his army across chasms and ravines which the Mexicans, deeming them impracticable, had neglected to defend. Strong in the consciousness of their superiority to THK WAR WITH MKXICO. 175 the people they invaded — the same consciousneHfl which sup- ported Cortes and his Spaniards three centuries l^fore — the Americans pressed on. At length they came in sight of Mexico, at the same spot where Cortes had viewed it. Once more they routed a Mexican army of greatly superior 10^7' force ; and then General Scott marched his little army A.D. The of six thousand men quietly into the capital. war was closed, and a treaty of peace was with little delay negotiated. CHAPTER VII. CALIFORNIA. MERICA exacted mercilessly the penalty wliicli usu- ally attends defeat. Mexico was to receive fifteen million dollars ; but she ceded an enormous terri- tory stretching westward from Texas to the Pacific. One oi' the provinces which composed this magnificent prize was California. The slave-owners had gone to war with Mexico that they might gain territory which slavery should possess for ever. They sought to introduce California into the Union as a Slave State. But Providence interposed to shield her from a destiny so unhappy. Just about the time that California became an American possession, it was discovered that her soil was richly endowed with gold. On one of the tributaries of the Sacramento river an old settler was peacefully digging a trench — caring little, it may be supposed, about the change of citizenship which he had undergone — not dreaming that the next strol:e of his spade was to influence the history, not merely of California, but of the world. Among the sand which he lifted were certain shining particles. His wondering eye coiisidered them with attention. They were Gold ! Gold was everywhere — in the soil, in the river-sand, in the mountain-rock ; gold in dust, gokl in pellets, gold in lumps ! It was the land of old fairy tale, where wealth could be had by him who chose to stoop down and gather ! 1848 A.D. CALIFORNIA. 177 rv n Fast as the mails could carry it the bewildering news thrilled the heart of America. To the energetic youth of the Northern States the charm was irresistible. It was now, indeed, a reproacli to be poor, when it was so easy to be rich. The journey to the land of promise was full of toil and danger. There were over two thousand miles of unexplored wilderness to traverse. There were mountain ranges to surmount, lofty and rugged as the Alps themselves. There were great desolate l)lains, unwatered and without vegetation. Indians, whose dis- positions there was reason to question, beset the path. But danger was unconsidered. That season thirty thousand Ameri- cans crossed the plains, climbed the mountains, forded the streams, bore without shrinking all that want, exposure, and fatigue could inflict. Cholera broke out among them, and four thousand left their bones in the wilderness. The rest plodded on undismayed. Fifty thousand came by sea. From all countries they came — from quiet English villages, from the crowded cities of China. Before the year was out Cailifornia had gained an addition of eighty thousand to her populcition. These came mainly from the Northern States. They had no thought of suffering in their new home the vil institution of the South. They settled easily the constitution of their State, aiid California was received into the Union free from the taint of slavery. It was no slight disappointiient to the men of the South. They had urged on the war with Mexico in order to gain now Slave States, new votes in Congress, addiiional room for tlie spread of slavery. They had gained all the territory they hoped for ; but this strange revolaticn of gold had peopled it from the North, and slavery was shut out for ever. To sooiho their irritation, Henry C^ay proposed a very black concession, under the disgrace of which America suffered for years in tho <>;itiniation of all Christian nations. The South was angry, and hinted even then at secession. Tlio North was prosperous. Kcr (C87) 1 2 1850 A.D. m CALIFORNIA. f I': i merchants were growing rich ; her farmers were rapidly over- spreading the country and subduing waste lands to the service of man. Every year saw vast accessions to her wealth ; and her supremo desire was for quietness. In this frame of mind she assented to the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law. Here- tofore it had been lawful for the slave-owner to reclaim his slave who had escaped into a Free State ; but although lawful, it was in practice almost impossible. Now the officers of the Govern- ment, and all good citizens, were commanded to give to the pursuer all needful help. In certain cases Government was to defray the expense of restoring the slave to the plantation from which he had fled. In any trial arising under this law, the evidence of the slave himself was not to be received ; the oath of his pursuer was almost decisive against him. Hundreds of Southern ruffians hastened to take vile advantage of this shame- ful law. They searched out coloured men in the Free States, and swore that they were escaped slaves. In too many instances they were successful, and many free negroes as well as escaped slaves were borne back to the miseries of slavery. The North erred grievously in consenting to a measure so base. It is just, however, to say, that although Northern politicians upheld it as a wise and necessary compromise, the Northern people in their hearts abhorred it. The law was so unpopular that its execu- tion was resisted in several Northern cities, and it quickly passed into disuse. ■'I CHAPTER Vlll. KANSAS. jjHE great Louisiana purchase from Napoleon whh not yet wholly portioned off into States. West- ward and northward of Missouri was an enormous ex})anse of the richest land in the Union, having as yet few occupants more profitable than the Indians. Two great routes of travel — to the west and to the south-west — ti'aversed it. The eager searcher for gold passed that way on his long walk to California. The Mormon looked Avith indif- ference on its luxuriant vegetation as he toiled on to his NeM' Jerusalem hy the Gre'at Salt Lake. In the year 1853 it was proposed to organize this region into two Territories, under the names of Kansas and Nebraska. Here once more arose the old question — Shall the Territories be Slave or Free ? The Missouri Compromise had settled that slavery should ne\'er come here. But the slave-owners were able to cancel this settlement. A law was enacted under which the A.l). inhabitants v/ere left to choose between slavery and freedom. The vote of a majority would decide the destiny of these magnificent ]>rovinces. And now both parti(>s had to bestir themselves. The early inhabitants of the infant States were to fix for all time whethei- thev would admit or exclude the slave-owner with his victims. Everything flepended, therefore, on taking eai'ly possession. The South was first in tlie fiel ^.*: ^\ 0^ ^^^ 33 WIST MAIN STRiET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SS0 (716) 872-4503 ^^ \ ' I 188 JOHN BROWN. I : 1859 A.D. laid u:) enormouH storeH of arms and anununition. Hrown rn- solved to Heize the arHenal. It was liiu hope that the KJaveu would hasten to hiu standard when the news of his succesH went abroad. And he seems to have reckoned that he wouUl become strong enough to make terms with the Govennnent, or, at the worst, to secure the escape to Canada of his armed followers. One Sunday evening in October he marched into Harper's Ferry with a little army of twenty-two men — black anon the head of the unsuspecting Suninor, till his victim fell bleeding and senseless to the floor. For this outrage a trifling fine was im- posed on Brooks. His admiring constituents eagerly pairaliam levliil(» yet a hoy, what liaril work meant. Like all hoyn who come to anything great, ho had a devouring thirst for knowledge. He borrowed all tho books in his neighbourhood, aiid read them by tho blaze of tho logs which his own axe had split. Tliis was his upbringing. When lie entered lifo for himself, it was as clerk in a small store. Ho served nearly a year there, conarty, who raised liim to the presidential chair, as a true and capable n^presentativ*! f their principles in regard to th(? great slavery question. (» it e, some- I uncom- lumour, ifficulty His dressed spread at even sewhere, that he etrating, ry, his light be sabom |l himself )rtion of all the ■f li li 1! CIIAPTER XII. SKCI-«SSIOX. 1832 A.D. OTJTH CAROLINA was tlin kast loyal to tho Union of all the States. She estimated very highly her own dignity as a sovereign State. She held in small account the allegiance which she owed to tho Federal Government. Twenty -eight years ago Congress had enacted a highly j)rotective tariff. South Carolina, disapproving of this measure, d(^creed that it WHS not hinding upon her. Should the Federal Govern- ment attempt to enforce it, South Carolina announced her j)ur- poso of quitting the Union and becoming independent. General Jackson, who was then President, made ready to hold South Carolina to her duty by force ; but Congress modified the tariff, and so averted the danger. Jackson believed fimdy that the men who then held the de.stiny of South Carolina in their hands wished to secede. " Tho tariff," he said, " was but a pretext. The next will be the slavery question." The time predicted had now come, and South Carolina led lier sister States into the dark and blootly path. A con- vention of her people was promi)tly called, and on tho 20th of December an Ordinance was passed dissolving the Union, and declaring South Carolina a free and independent republic. When the Ordinance was passed the bells of Charles- ton rang for joy, and the streets of the city resounded with the wild exulting shouts of an excited people. Dearly had the joy 1860 A.D. SEtl-^SSlON. 197 of those tumultuous hours to ho paimained loyal to the Union. Their j)opulation amounted to twenty-two million. It is not to be supposed that the free population of the seced- ing States were unanimous in their desin? to break up the Union. On the contrary, there is good reason to believe that a majority of the people in most of the seceding States were all the time opposed to secc jsion. In North Carolina the attempt to carry secession was at first defeated by the j)eople. In the end that State left the Union reluctantly, under the beli<'f that not otherwise could it escape becoming tlie battle-ground of the rv 198 SKCESSION. I 1 •! V-' it! 1 ^■\ contending ]>oworH. Thus, too, Virginia rc*fu8oinion that any State could leave the Union at her pleasure. That belief was general in the South. The seceding States did not doubt that they had full legal right to take the step which they had taken, and they stated with perfect frankness what SKCKSSloN. 109 WHM thoir rcuHon for rxiTciHin^' Uhh ri^ht Tlu'y l)«'Ii«'vi'nHU(>d waH thcrcfon' rrally a war in dcfcnw? of slavi-ry. But for tim Soutliern lovo and tho Northern antipathy to slavery, no war rould have occurret«'d to hreuk up the Union heeaune thi'y thought slavery would 1m' safer if tho Hlave-owning States stood ahine. The men of the North refused to allow tho Union to be broken up. Tlu'y did not go to war to ])Ut down Hlav(Ty. They ha h: If'i n m ■ i • I if 1 i ; -i t ■ ■ I": J i : 1 h CHAPTER XIII. THE TWO PUKSIDKNTS. R. LINCOLN was elected, according to usage, early in Noveinl)er, but did not take possession of his office till March. In the interval Pn^sident Buchanan remained in ])ower. This gentleman was Southern by birth, and, as it has always been believed, by sym})athy. He laid no arrest upon the movements of th(! seceding States ; nay, it has been alleged that he rather sought to remove obstacles from their path. During all these winter months the Southern leaders were suffered to push forward their preparations for the approaching conHict. The North still hoped for peace, and Congress busied itself with vain schemes of con- ciliation. Meetings were held all over the country, at which an anxious desire was expreosed to remove causes of otfence. The self-willed Southerners would listen to no compromise. They would go apart, peacefully if they might ; in storm and blood- shed if they must. Early in February Mr. Lincoln left his home in Illinois on his way to Washington. His neighbours accompanied him to the railroad depot, where he spoke a few parting words to them. *' I know not," he said, " how soon I shall see you again. A duty devolves upon me, which is, per- haps, greater than that which lias devolved upon any other man since the davs of Washington. He never would have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which 1861 A.D. THH TWO PinsiDKNTS. 201 he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeetl without the same divine aid which sustained him, and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support ; and I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that divine assistance without which I cannot succeed, but with which success is certain." With these grave, devout words, he took his leave, and passed on to the fulfilment of his heavy task. His inauguration took j)lace as usual on the 4th of March. A huge crowd assembled around the Capitol. Mr. Lincoln had thus far kept silence as to the course he meditated in regard to the seceding States. Seldom had a revelation involving issues so momentous Ik'cu waited for at the lips of any man. The anxious crowd stood so still, that to its utmost verge the words of the speaker were distinctly heard. He a.ssured the Southerners that their fears were unfounded. He had no lawful right to interfere with slav(>ry in the Stjit<'s where it existed ; he had ;- ) purpose and no inclination to inter- fere. He would, on the contrary, maintain them in the enjoy- ment of all the rights which the Constitution bestowed upon them. But he held that no State could cjuit the Union at ])leasure. In view of the Constitution and the laws, the; Union was unbroken. His policy would b(; framed upon that b I M HEN his Inaugural Address ^vas dclivored, Mr. Lincoln was escorted l»y his predeco.ssor in ofHco back to the White lIous(;, where they parted — Buchanan to retire, not with honour, into a kindly oblivion ; Lincoln to begin that gn\at work which had devolved upon him. During all that month of March and on to the middle of April the world heard very little of the new Presi- dent. He was seldom seen in Washington. It was rumounnl that intense meditation ufmn the great problem had made him ill. It was asserted that he endured the pains of indecision. In the Senate attempts were made to draw forth from him a confession of his purposes — if indeed he had any j)urposes. But the grim silence was unbroken. The South jiersuaded herself that ho was afraid — that the peace-loving, money-making North had no heart for light. She was (;ven able to believe, in her vain pride, that most of the Northern Statco would ultimately adopt her doctrines and join themselves to her Government. Evcni in the North there was a party which wished union with the seceding States, on their own principles. There was a general indisposition to believe in war. The South liad so often threatened, and been so often soothed by THE FIRST BLOW STRUCK. 206 frosh concessions, it was difficult to beliovo now that she meant Hiiytliinj,' nioro than to establish a position for advantajjcious nof^otiation. All over the world men waited in anxious susjx'nsti for tlui revelation of Presid(?nt Lincoln's ])olicy. Mercantile enterprise languished. Till the occujjant of the White House chose to open his lips and say whether it was peace or war, the business of the world must be content to stand still. INIr. Lincoln's silence was not the result of irresolution. He had douV)t as to what the South would do ; he had no doubt as to what h(^ himself wouhl do. Ho would maintain the Union ; — by friendly arrangement and concession, if that were possible; if not, by war fought out to the bitter end. He nominat(Hl tlu; mend)ers of his Cabinet — most prominent among whom was William H. Seward, his Secretary of State. Mr. Seward had been during all his public life a det(Tmincd enemy to slavery. He was in full sympathy with the Presi- dent as to the course which had to be i)ursued. His acute and vigorous intellect and gi'eat experience in public aH'airs fitted him for the high duties which he was called to discharg(\ So soon as Mr. Lincoln entered upon his office the Southern Government sent ambassadors to him as to a foreign jiower. These gentlemen formally intimated that the six States had withdrawn from the Union, and now formed an independent nation. They desired to solve j)eaceably all the (juestions grow- ing out of this separation, and they desired an interview with the President, that they might enter ui)on tin; business to whicli they had been appointed. Mr. Seward replied to the communicat'on of the Southein envoys. His letter was framed with much care, as its high importance demanded. It was calm and gentle in its tone, })ut most clear and decisive. He could not recognize the events which had recently occurred as a rightful and accomplished n 1^ f '■i i lli ! ■< l^ 206 TlIK FIRST IJF.OW STIIUCK. revolution, but ratlu-r a.s n sori^'H of unjustitiaWo R^jjroHsionH. He could not rocof^niz«^ tho new (fovrrnmcnt as a ^'overnnitnt at all. He could not recoj»niz(5 or liohl oilicial intorcourHO with its agents. The President could not receiver them or axhnit them to any comnmnication. Within the unim passioned words of Mr. Seward there breathed tlu^ fix(^d, unalttTabU^ purjioso of the Northern people, aj^ainst which, as many jiersons even tlien felt, the inij)etuous South nii<^ht indeed dash herself to pieces, but could by no possibility ])revail. Thv, ballled ambassadors went liome, and the angry South quickened lier ] (reparations for war. Within the bav of Charleston, anromi)tly summoned to surrender. Mujor Anderson ^ ' offered to go in three days, if not relieved. In reply he received intimation that in one hour the bombard- ment would open. About daybreak on the 12th the stillness of Charleston bay ^\'as disturbed by the firing of a large mortar and the shriek of a shell as it rushed through the air. The shell burst over Fort Sumpter, and the war of the Great Rebellion was begun. The other batteries by which the doomed fcrtress was surrounded 1861 A.D. THE FIUST hWW STRUCK. 107 quickly followed, ami in a f«'w iiiinuteH fifty ;;unH of tlio largest si/o Hunj; shot and kIioH into tli<; works. Tiio ^un.s were admir- ably sorvod, and every sliot told. Tho garrison had neither provisions nor an adequate supply of ammunition. They wero s(5venty, and their assailants wore seven thousand. All they could do was to oiVov sucli resistance as honour demanded. ITopo of success tlu^nj was none. The garrison did not reply at first to the hostile iire. They quietly break fa.st(!tl in tlu; security of the boTnl)-j)roof casematout (•(jual in Htrength. It waH early Sunday morning when the army set out from its quarters at Ctuitroville. The lofl-i* march wiw not over ten miles, hut the day was hot, ^j^ and the n>en not yet inured to hurdslii]>. It was t(>n o'clock when the battle fairly ojiened. From the heights on the northern bank of the stream the Federal artillery played upon the enemy. The Southern line stretched well nigh ten miles, and M'Dowell hoped, by striking with an overwhelming force at a point on the enemy's right, to roll Iwick his entire line in confusioiL Heavy ma.sses of infantry forded the stream and began the attack. The Southerners fought bravely and skil- fully, but at the point of attack they W(!re inferior in number, .iiid they were driven back. The battle spread away far among the woods, and soon every copse held its group of slain and wounded men. By three o'clock the B\'dcrals reckoned the battle as good as won, for the enemy, though still fighting, was falling back. But at that hour railway trains ran close up to the lield of battle with fifteen thousand Southerners fresh and eager for the frav. This new force was hurried into action. The wearied Federals could not endure the vehemence of the attack ; they broke, and tied down the hill-side. With inexperienced troops a mea.sured and orderly retreat is impossible ; defeat is quickly followed by })anic. The men who had fought so bravely all the day now hurried in wild confusion from the field. The road was choked with a tangled mass of baggage-waggons, artillery, soldiers and civilians frenzied by fear, and cavalry riding wildly through the quaking mob. But the Southerners attempted no pursuit, and the panic passed away. Scarcely an attempt, however, was made to stop the flight. Order was not re.stored till the worn-out men made their way back to \Va.shington. 214 THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN. This was the first great battle of the war, and its results were of prodigious importance. By the sanguine men of the South it was hailed as decisive of their final success. President Davis counted upon the immediate recognition of the Con- federacy by the Great Powers of Europe as now certain. The newspapers accepted it as a settled truth that " one Southerner was equal to five Yankees." Intrigues began for the succession to the presidential chair — six years hence. A controversy arose among the States as to the location of the Capital. Tlie success of the Confederacy was regarded as a thing beyond doubt. Enlistment languished ; it was scarcely worth while to undergo the inconvenience of fighting for a cause which was already triumj^^hant. lilv ;"'i; ii! I The defeat at Manassas taught the people of the North that the task they had undertaken was a heavier task than they supposed, but it did not shake their steady purpose to perform it. On the day after the battle — while the routed army was swarming into Washington — Congress voted five hundred million dollars, and called for half a million of volunteers. A few days later, Congress unanimously resolved that the sup- pression of the rebellion was a sacred duty, from the perform- ance of which no disaster should discourage; to which they pledged the employment of every resource, national and in- dividual. " Having chosen our course," said Mr. Lincoln, " without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear and with manly hearts." The spirit of the North rose as the greatness of the enterprise became apparent. No thought was there of any other issue from the national agony than the overthrow of the national foe. The youth of the country crowded into the ranks. The patri- otic impulse possessed rich and poor alike, and the sons of wealthy men shouldered a musket side by side with the penni- less children of toil. Once, by some accident, the money which THE BATTLE OB^ BULL RUN. *215 Khould liave paid a New England regiment failed to airive in time. A i)rivate in the regiment gave his cheque for a hundred thousand dollars, and the men were paid. TIk^ Christian churches yielded an earnest support to the war. In some western cliurches the men enlisted almost without exception. Occasionally their ministers accompanied them. Sabbath-school teachers and members of young men's Christian associations were remarkable for the eagerness with which they obeyed the call of their country. It was no longer a short war and an easy victory which the North anticipated. The gigantic charac- ter of the struggle was at length recognized ; and the North, chastened, but undismayed, made j)rej)arations for a contest on the issue of which her existence depended. !» ' '. U I I Hi CHAPTER III. "on to RICHMOND." ENERAL M'DOWELL liad led the Nortlicrn army to a defeat which naturally shook public confidence in his ability to command. A new general was indispensable. When the war broke out, a young man — George B. M'Clellan by name — was resident in Cincin- nati, peacefully occupied with the management of a railroad. He was trained at West Point, and had a high, reputation for soldiership. Several years before, Mr. Cobden was told by Jefferson Davis that M'Clellan was one of the best generals the country possessed. He was skilful to construct and organize, but his power to direct successfully the movements of great armies engaged in actual warfare was still unproved. General M'Clellan was appointed to the command of the army a few days after the defeat at Bull Run, and sanguine hopes were entertained that he was about to give the people victory over their enemies. He addressed himself at once to his task. From every State in the North men hastened to his standard. He disciplined them and perfected tlieir equipment for the field. In October he was at the head of two liundred thousand men — the largest army ever yet seen on the American continent. The rebel Government, which at first chose for its home the city of JMoutgoiaery in Alabama, mo\<'d to Richmond so soon " ON TO RICHMOND.' 217 as Virginia gave in her reluctant adherence to the secession cause. Richmond, the gay capital of the Old Dominion, sits queen-like upon a lofty plateau, with deep valleys flanking her on east and west, and th(! James river rushing past far below upon the south — not many miles from the point where the *' dissolute" fathers of the colony had established themselves two centuries and a half ago. To Washington the distance is only one hundred and thirty miles. The warring Governments were within a few hours' journey of each other. The supreme command of the rebel forces was committed to General Robert E. Lee — one of the greatest of modern soldiers. He was a calm, thoughtful, unpretending man, whose goodness gained for him universal love. He was oi)posed to secession, but believing, like the rest, that he owed allegiance wholly to his own State, he seceded with Virginia. It was his difficult task to contend nearly always with forces stronger than his own, and to eke out by his own skill and genius the scanty resources of the Confederacy. His consummate ability main- tained the war long after all hope of success was gone ; and when at length he laid down liis arms, even the country against which he had fought was i)roud of her erring ))ut noble son. Thomas Jackson — better known as "Stonewall Jackson" — was the most famous of Lee's generals. In him we have a strange evidence of the influence which slavery exerts upon the best of men. He was of truly heroic mould — brave, generous, devout. His military perception was unerring ; his decision swift as lightning. He rose early in the morning to read the Scriptures and pray. He gave a tenth part of his income for religious uses ; he taught a Sunday class of negro children ; he delivered lectures on the authenticity of Scripture ; when he dropj)ed a letter into the post-office, he prayed for a blessing on the person to whom it was dressed. As his soldiers marched past his erect, unmoving flg re, to meet the enemy, they saw his lips move, and knew that their leader was jtraying for them 218 ON TO IIICHMOND. P « to Him who "covereth the head in the day of battle." And yet this good man caused his negroes — male and female — to bo flogged when he judged that severity needful. And yet he recommended that the South should " take no prisoners" — in other words, that enemies who had ceased to resist should be massacred. To the end of his life he remained of opinion that the rejection of this policy was a mistake. So fatally do the noblest minds become tainted by the associations of slave society. During the autumn and early winter of 1861 the weather was unusually fine, and the roads were consequently in ex- cellent condition for the march of an army. The rebel forces were scattered about Virginia — some of them within sight of Washington. Around Richmond it was understood there were few troops. It seemed easy for M'Clellan, with his magnificent army, to trample down any slight resistance which could be offered, and march into the rebel capital. For many weeks the people and the Government waited patiently. They had been too hasty before ; they would not again urge their general prematurely into battle. But the months of autumn passed, and no blow was struck. Winter was upon them, and still "all was quiet on the Potomac." M'Clellan, in a series of brilliant reviews, presented his splendid army to the admiration of his countrymen; but he was not yet ready to fight. The country bore the delay for six months. Then it could be endured no longer, and in January Mr. Lincoln issued a peremptory order that a movement against the enemy should be made. M'Clellan now formed a plan of operations, and by the end of March was ready to begin his work. South-eastward from Richmond the James and the York rivers fall into Chesapeake bay at a distance from each other of some twenty uiiles. The course of the rivers is nearly parallel, UN TO RICHMOND. 119 and the region Ijotweon them is known as the Peninsula. M'Clellan conveyed his army down the Potomac, landed at Fortress Monroe, and prepared to march upon Richmond by way of the Peninsula. Before him lay the little town of Yorktown — where, eighty years before, the War of Independence was closed by the surrender of the English army. Yorktown was held by eleven thousand rebels. M'Clellan had over one hundred thousand well -disciplined men eager for battle. But he deemed it in- judicious to assault the place, and preferred to operate in the way of a formal siege. The rebels waited till he was ready to open his batteries — and then quietly marched away. M'Clellan moved slowly up the Peninsula. In six weeks he was within a few miles of Richmond, and in front of the forces which the rebels had been actively collecting for the defence of their capital. These forces were now so strong that M'Clellan deemed himself outnumbered, and sought the protection of his gunboats on the James river. The emboldened rebels dashed at his retreating ranks. His march to the James river occupied seven days, and on every day there was a battle. Nearly always the Federals had the advantage in the fight. Always after the tight they resumed their retreat. Once they drove back the enemy, inflicting upon him a crushing defeat. Tlieir hopes rose with success, and they demanded to be led back to Richmond. M'Clellan shunned the great enterprise which opened before him, and never rested from his march till he lay in safety, sheltered by the gunboats on the James river. He had lost fifteen thousand men ; but the rebels had suffered even more. It was said that the retreat was skilfully conducted, but the American people were in no humour to appreciate the merits of a chief who was great only in flight. Tlieir dis- appointment was intense. The Southern leaders devoutly announced " undying gratitude to God " for their great success, and looked forward with increasing confidence to their final 220 " ON TO RICHMOND." M triumph over an enemy whose assaults it seemed so easy to repulse. Nor was this the only success which crowned the rc^ol arma The most remarkable battle of the war was fought while M'Clellan was preparing for his advance ; and it ended in a rebel victory. At the very beginning of the war the Confederates be- thought them of an iron-clad ship of war. They took hold of an old frigate which the Federals had sunk in the James river. Th(5y sheathed her in iron plates ; they roofed her with iron rails. At her prow, beneath the water-line, they fitted an iron- clad projection, which might be driven into the side of an adversary. They armed her with ten guns of large size. The mechanical resources of the Confederacy were defective, and this novel structure was eight months in preparation. One morning in March she steamed slowly down the James river, attended by five small vessels of the ordinary sort. A powerful Northern fleet lay guarding the mouth of the river. The Virginia — as the iron-clad had been named — came straight towards the hostile ships. She fired no shot ; no man showed himself upon her deck. The Federals assailed her with well-aimed discharges ; but the shot bounded harmless from her sides. She steered for the Cumber- land, into whose timbers she struck her armed prow. A huge cleft opened in the CumherlamTs side, and the gallant ship went down with a hundred men of her crew on board. Tlie Virginia next attacked the Federal ship Congress. At a distance of two hundred yards she opened her guns upon this ill-fated vessel. The Congress was aground, and could offer no "ff'^.-tlve resistance. After sustaining heavy loss, she was - i ^ec! to surrender. Night approached, and the Virginia drew Oi^ iu^*>ndl.lg to resume her work on the morrow. v'*! ~\y next morning — a bright Sunday morning — she steamed out, and made for the Minnesota — a Federal ship which had 1862 A.D. " ON TO RICHMOND." S91 been grounded to get beyond her reach. The Minnesota was still aground, and helpless. Beside her, liowever, as the men on board the Virginia observed, lay a mysterious structure, resembling nothing they had ever seen before. Her deck was scarcely visible above the water, and it sui)j)orted nothing but an iron turret nine feet high. This was the Monitor^ designed by Captain Ericcson; — the first of the class of iron-clad turret- ships. By a singular chance she had arrived thus oi)portunely. The two iron-clads measunsd their str(>ngth in combat, but their shot produced no impression, and after two hours of heavy but ineffective firing, thoy separated, and the Viryinia retired up the James river. This fight opened a new era in naval warfare. The Washing- ton Government hastened to build turret-ships. All European Governments, perceiving the worthlessness of ships of the old type, proceeded to reconstruct their navies according to the light which the action of the Virginia and tlie Monitor afforded them. The efforts of the North to crush the rebel forces in Virginia had signally failed. But military operations were not confined to Virginia : in this war the battle-field was the continent. Many hundreds of miles from the scene of M'Clellan's un- successful efforts, the banner of the Union was advancing into the revolted territory. The North sought to occupy the Border States, and to repossess the line of the Mississippi, thus sever- ing Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas from the other members of the secession enterprise, and perfecting the blockade which was now effectively maintained on the Atlantic coast. There were troops enough for these vast operations. By the 1st of December 1861, six hundred and forty thousand men had en- rolled themselves for the war. The North, thoroughly aroused now, had armed and drilled these enormous hosts. Her foun- dries worked night and day, moulding cannon and mortars. Her own resources could not produce with sufficient rapidity I p: I 222 ON TO IIICHMONI). 1861 A.D. the gunboats which nho needed to assort her supremacy on the western waters, hut she obtained help from the buikling- yards of Euroi)e. All that wealth and energy could do was done. While the Confederates were supinely trusting to the difficulties of the country and the personal prowess of their soldiers, the North massed forces which nothing on the continent could long resist. In the south and west results were achieved not unworthy of these vast preparations. During the autumn a strong fleet was sent southward to the Carolina coast. Overcoming with ease the slight resistance which the rebel forts were able to offer, the expedition possessed itself of Port lloyal, and thus commanded a large tract of reljel territory. It was a cotton- growing district, worked wholly by slaves. The owners fled, but the slaves remained. The flrst experiment was made here to prove whether the negro would labour when the lash did not compel, and the results were most encouraging. The negroes worked cheerfully and patiently, and many of them became rich from the easy gains of labour on that rich soil. In the west the war was pushed vigorously and with success. To General Grant — a strong, tenacious, silent man, destined ere long to be Commander-in-Chief and President — was assigned the work of driving the rebels out of Kentucky and Tennessee. His gunboats ran up the great rivers of these States and took effective part in the battles which were fought. The rebels were forced southward, till in the spring of 1862 the frontier line of rebel territory no longer enclosed Kentucky. Even Tennessee was held with a loosened and uncertain grasp. In Arkansas, beyond the Mississippi, was fought the Battle of Pea Ridge, which stretched over three days, and in which the rebels received a sharp defeat. Hence- forth the rebels had no footing in Missouri or in Arkansas. New Orleans fell in April. Admiral Farragut with a power- ful fleet forced his way past the forts and gunboats which com- Maxch 1862 A.D. "ON TO RICHMOND.' 223 posetl tho insufficient defence of tlie city. There was no army to resist him. Ho landed a small party of marines, who pulled down tlui Secc^ssion flag antl restored that of tlm Union. The peojjle looked on silently, while the city passed thus easily away for ever from Confederate rule. There was gloom in the rebel capital as tho tidings of these disasters came in. But the spirit of the people was unbroken, and the Government was encouraged to adopt measures equal to the emergency. A law was enacted which placed at tho disposal of the Government every man b(;twcen eighteen and thirty-five years of age. Enlistment for short terms was dis- continued. Henc(!forth tho business of Southern men must be war, and every man must hold himself at his country's call. This law yielded for a time an adequate supi)ly of soldiers, and ushered in those splendid successes which cherished the delusive hope that the Slave-power was to establish itself as one of tho Great Powers of the world. 7r CHAPTER IV. LIBERTY TO THE CArTIVE. qfi! I HE slave question, out of which tho rebellion sprang, j)rcsente(l for some time grave difllculties to tho Northern Government. As tho Northern armies forced their way southwards, escaped slaves flocked to them. These slaves were loyal subjects ; their owners were rebels in arms against the Government. Could the Govern- ment recognize the right of the rebel to own the loyal man? Again : the labour of the slaves contributed to the support of the rebellion. Was it not a clear necessity of war that Govern- ment should deprive the rebellion of this sujjport by freeing all the slaves whom its authority could reach 1 But, on the other hand, some of the Slave States remained loyal. Over their slaves Government had no power, and much care was needed that no measure should be adopted of which they could justly complain. The President had been all his life a steady foe to slavery, but he never forgot that, whatever his own feelings might be, he was strictly bound by law. His duty as President was, not to destroy slavery, but to save the Union. When the time came to overthrow this accursed system, he would do it with gladdened heart. Meanwhile he said, " If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it ; if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it ; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would do it." LIHKUTY TO THK C'APTIVK. 225 From tlio very l)oginninj[5 of tho war osca^trd slaves crowdod ■svitliin tho Federal liue.s. They were willing to jjerfonii any labour, or to light in a cause which they all know to he their own. ]Jut the North waS not y«'t free<'rfectly had Earl Russell yet been able to coun)rehond this uiuniorablo payo of modern history. ill '11 CHAPTER V. CONFEDERATE SUCCESSES. 'CLELLAN'S ignominious failure disappointed but did not dishearten the Northern people. While M'Clellan was hasting away from Richmond, the Governors of seventeen States assured the Presi- dent of the readiness of their people to furnish troops. The President issued a call for an additional three liundred thousand men ; and his call was promptly obeyed. M'Clellan lay for two months, secure but inglorious, beside his gunboats on the James river. General Lee, rightly deem- ing that there was little to fear from an army so feebly led, ranged northwards with a strong force and threatened Wash- ington. The Federal troops around the capital were greatly inferior in number. President Lincoln summoned M'Clellan northwards. M'Clellan was, as usual, unready ; and a small Federal army under General Pope was left to cope unaided wnth the enemy. Pope received a severe defeat at Manassas, and retired to the fortifications of Washington. General Lee was strong enough now to carry the war into Northern territory. He captured Harper's Ferry, and passed into Maryland. M'Clellan was at length stimulated to Sept. 17, . ' . . . 18fi2 ^^^^on, and having carried his troops northwards, he A.D. attacked Lee at Antietam. The Northern army far outnumbered the enemy. The battle was long and blootly. When darkness sank down upon the wearied com- U H l,> CON FEDERATE SUCCESSES. 229 nted but While jond, the lie Presi- is. The thousand IS, beside \y deem- ebly led, cl Wash- ! greatly I'Clellan a small unaided [anassas, war into passed ilated to ards, he rniy far png and ed com- batants no decisive advoiitago had been gained. M'Clellan's generals urged a renewal of tire attack next niornin^r But this was not done, and General Lee crossed the Potomac and retired unmolested into Virginia. M'Clellan resumed his cus- tomary inactivity. The President ordered him to pursue the enemy and give battle. He even wished him to move on Richmond, which he was able to reach before Lee could possibly be there. In vain. M'Clellan could not move. His horses had sore tongues and sore backs ; they were lame ; they were broken down by fatigue. Lincoln had already Nov. 6, been unduly patient. But the country would endure -ynnn no more. General M'Clellan was removed from com- ^ jj mand of that army whose power he had so long been able to neutralize ; and his place was taken by General Burnside. Burnside at once moved his army southwards, for it was not yet too late for a Virginian campaign. He reached the banks of the Rappahannock, beside the little town of Fredericksburg. He had to wait there for many weary days till he obtained means to cross the river. While he lay, inipatient, Gv'ueral Lee concentrated all the forces under his connnand upon the heights which rose steeply from the opposite bank of the stream. He threw up earth-works and strongly intrenched his l)osition. There he waited in calmness for the assault which he knew he could repel. When Burnside was able to cross the Rappahannock, he lost no time in making his attack. One portion of his force would strike the enemy on his right flank ; the rest would push straight up the heights and assault him in front. A slight success in the flanking movement cheered General Burnside, But in the centre his troops advanced to the attack under a heavy fire of artillerv which laid manv brave men low. The Northern soldiers fought their way with steady courage up the height. They were superior in numbers, but the rebels fought 230 CONFEDERATE SUCCESSES. f I: I: i> ■i I ii ( 1 I ! in safety within a position which was impregnable. The battle was no fair trial of skill and courage, but a useless waste of brave lives. Burnsicle drew off his troops and re-crossed the llappahannock, with a loss of twelve thousand men — vainly sacrificed in the attempt to perform an impossibility. In the west there had been no great success to counter- balance the long train of Confederate victories in the east. The year closed darkly upon the hopes of those who strove to preserve the Union. The South counted with certainty that her independence was secure. The prevailing opinion of Europe regarded the enterj^rise which the North pursued so resolutely, as a wild impossibility. But the Northern ])eople and Govern- ment never despaired of the Commonwealth. At the gloomiest period of the contest a Bill was passed for the construction of a railroad to the Pacific. The Homestead Act offered a welcome to immigrants in the form of a free grant of one hundred and sixty acres of land to each. And the Government, as with a quiet and unburdened mind, began to enlarge and adorn its Capitol on a scale worthy of the expected greatness of the reunited country. Jii le battle vaste of jsed the —vainly counter- lie east, trove to nty that f Europe isolutely, Govern- jloomiest ition of a welcome dred and as Avith a idorn its iB of the CHAPTER VI. THE WAR CONTINUES. 1863 A.D. ITHERTO the men who had fought for the North had been volunteers. They had come when the President called, willing to lay down their lives for their country. Already volunteers had been enrolled to the number of one million and a quarter. But that number had been sadly reduced by wounds, sickness, and captivity, and the Northern armies had not proved themselves strong enough to crush the rebellion. A Bill was now passed which subjected the entire male popula- tion, between eighteen and forty-five, to military duty when their service was required. Any man of suitable age could now be forced into the ranks. The blockade of the Southern ports had effected for many months an almost complete isolation of the Confederates from the world outside. Now and then a shij), laden with arms and clothing and medicine, ran past the blockading squadron, and discharged her precious wares in a Southern port. Now and then a ship laden with cotton stole out and got safely to sea. But this perilous and scanty commerce afforded no appreciable relief to the want which had already bpgun to brood over this doomed people. The Government could find soldiers enough ; but it could not find for them arms and clothing. The rail- roads could not be kept in working condition in the absence of foreign iron. Worst of all, a scarcity of food began to threaten. P; li <: 1 u 28a THE WAR CONTINUES. AprU 10, 1863 A.D. Jefferson Davis begged his people to lay aside all thought of gain, and devote themselves to the raising of supplies for the army. Even now the army was frequently on half supply of bread. The South could look back with just pride upon a long train of brilliant victories, gained with scanty means, by her own valour and genius. But, even in this hour of triumph, it was evident that her position was desperate. The North had not yet completely established her supremacy upon the Mississippi. Two rebel strongholds — Vicksburg and Port Hudson — had successfully resisted Federal attack, and maintained communication between the revolted provinces on either side the great river. The reduction of these was indis- pensable. General Grant was charged with the important en- terprise, and proceeded in February to begin his work. Grant found himself with his army on the wrong side of the city. He was up stream from Vicksburg, and he could not hope to win the place by attacks on that side. Nor could he easily convey his army and siege appliances through the swamps and lakes which stretched away behind the city. It seemed too hazardous to run his transports past the guns of Vicksburg. He attempted to cut a new channel for the river, along which he might convey his army safely. Weeks were spent in the vain attempt, and the country, which had not yet learned to trust in Grant, became impatie u. of the unproductive toil. Grant, undismayed by the failure of his project, adopted a new and more hopeful scheme. He conveyed his soldiers across to the western bank of the Mississippi, and marched them southward till they were below Vicksburg. There they were ferried across the river ; and then they stood within reach of the weakest side of the city. The tiansports were ordered to run th- batteries of Vicksburg and take the chances of that enterprise. When Grant reached the position he sought, he had a difficult THK WAlt CONTINUES. 233 task before liiin. One large army lield Vicksburg ; another large army was gathering for the relief of the endangered fortress. Soon Grant lay between two armies which, united, greatly outnumbered his. But he had no intention that they should unite. He attacked them in detail, and in every action lie was successful. The Confederates were driven back upon the city, which was then closely invested. For six weeks Grant pressed the siege with a fiery energy which allowed no rest to the besieged. General Johnston was not far off, mustering an army for the relief of Vicksburg, and there was not an hour to lose. Grant kept a strict blockade upon the scantily-provisioned city. From his gun-boats and from his own lines he maintained an almost ceaseless bombard- ment. The inhabitants crept into caves in the hill to find shelter from the intolerable fire. They slaughtered their mules for food. Tliey patiently endured the inevitable hardships of their position ; and their daily newspaper, printed on scraps of Kuch paper as men cover their walls with, continued to the end to make light of their sufTerings, and to breathe defiance against General Grant. But all was vain. On the 4th of July — the anniversary of Independence — Vicksburg was surrendered with her garrison of twenty-three thousand men much enfeebled by liunger and fatigue. The fall of Vicksburg was the heaviest blow which the Con- federacy had yet sustained. Nearly rne-half of the rebel terri- tory lay beyond the Mississippi. That riv( r was now firmly held by the Federals. The rebel States were cut in two, and no help could pass from one section to the other. There was deep joy in the Northern heart. The President thanked General Grant for " the almost inestimable service " which ho had done to the country. But long before Grant's triumph at Vicksburg anothex' humiliation had fallen upon the Federal arms in Virginia. i i 234 THE WAR CONTINUES. Soon after the disaster at Fredericksburg, the modest Bum- side had asked to be relieved of his command. General Hooker took his place. The new chief was familiarly known to his countrymen as "fighting Joe Hooker," — a title which suf- ficiently indicated his dashing, reckless character. Hooker entered on his command with high hopes. " By the blessing of God," he said to the army, " we will contribute something to the reno^'' '. Oi. .> r arms and the success of our cause." After three months of preparation. General Hooker an- nounced that his army was irresistible. The Northern cry was still, " On to Richmond ; " the dearest wish of the Northern p*^ v* ■'.■ to possess the rebel capital. Hooker inarched south wt,.' ^^hing doubting that he was to fulfil iJho long frustrated desire of his countrymen. His confidence seemed iiot to b ; r iwarit; "^ ; for he had under his command a magnificent fsrmy, • IioIj ."hf outnumbered that opposed to him. But, unhappily for ilooker, the hostile forces were led by General Lee and Stonewall Jackson. On the 1st of May, Hooker was in presence of the enemy on the line of the Rappahannock. Lee was too weak to give or accept battle ; but he was able to occupy Hooker with a series of sham attacks. All the while Jackson was hasting to assail his flank. His march was through the Wilderness — a wild country thick with ill-grown oaks and a dense undergrowth — where surprise was easy. Towards evening, on the 2nd, Jackson's soldiers burst upon the unexpectant Federals. Tlie fury of the attack bore all before it. The Federal line fell back in confusion and with heavy loss. In the twilight Jackson rode forward with his staff to examine the enemy's position. As he returned, a North Carolina regiment, seeing a party of horsemen approach, pre- sumed it was a charge of Federal cavalry. They fired, and Jackson fell from his horse, with two bullets in his left arm and one through his right hand. They placed him on a litter THE WAR CONTINUES. 235 es were to carry him from the field. One of the bearers was shot clown by the enemy, and the wounded general fell heavily to the ground. The sound of musketry wakened the Federal artillery, and for some time Jackson lay hel})less on ground swept by the cannon of the enemy. "When his men learned the situation of their beloved commander, they rushed in and carried him from the danger. Jackson sunk under his wounds. He bore patiently his great suffering. " If I live, it will be for the best," he said ; " and if I die, it will be for the best. God knows and directs all things for the best." He died eight days after the battle, to the deep sorrow of his countrymen. He was a great soldier ; and although he died fighting for an evil cause, he was a true- hearted Christian man. During two days after Jackson fell the battle continued at Chancellorsville. Lee's superior skill in command more than compensated for his inferior numbers. He attacked Hooker, and always at the point of conflict he was found to be stronger. Hooker discovered that he nmst retreat, lest a worse thing should befall him. After three days' fighting he crossed the river in a tempest of wind and rain, and along the muddy Virginian roads carried his disheartened troops back to their old positions. He had been baffled by a force certainly not more than one-half his own. The splendid military genius of Lee was perhaps never more conspicuous than in the defeat of that great army which General Hooker himself regarded as invincible. itt CHAPTER VII. GETTYSBURG. 1 t ! I i \ I I i: ' i- i in I' ■I MB ' if 1^ 1 HE Confederate Government had always been eager to carry the contest into Northern territory. It was satisfying to the natural pride of the South, and it was thought that some experience of the evils of war might incline the Northern mind to peace. Leo was ordered to march into Pennsylvania. He gathered all the troops at his disposal, and with seventy-five thousand men ho crossed the Potomac, and was once more prepared to face the enemy on his own soil. Tlie ricli cities of the North trembled. It was not unlikely that he should possess himself of Baltimore and Philadelphia. Could he dice again defeat Hooker's army, as he had often done before, no further resistance was possible. Pennsylvania and New York were at his mercy. Lee advanced to the little Pennsylvanian town of Gettysburg. Hooker, after marching his army northwards, had been relieved of the command. A battle was near ; and in face of the enemy a new commander had to be chosen. Two days before the hostile armies met. General Meade was appointed. Meade was an experienced soldier, who had filled with honour the various positions assigned to him ; but it was seemingly a hopeless task which he was now asked to perform. With an oft-defeated army of sixty thousand to seventy tliousand men, to whom he was a stranger, he had to meet Lee with his victorious seventy- five thousand. Meade quietly undertook the work appointed GETTYSBURG. 237 to him, and did it, too, like a hrave, prudent, unpretending man. July 1, 1863 A.D. July 2. The battle lasted for three days. On the first day the Con- federates had some advantage. Their attack broke and scattered a Federal division with considerable loss. But that night the careful Meade took up a strong position on a crescent-shaped line of heights near the little town. Here he would lie, and the Confederates might drive him from it if they could. Next day Lee attempted to dislodge the enemy. The key of the Federal position was Cemetery Hill, and there the utmost strength of the Confederate attack was put forth. Nor was it in vain ; for i)art of the Federal line was broken, and at one j)oint an important position had been taken by the Confederates. Lee might fairly hope that another day's fighting would' complete his success and give him undisputed possession of the wealthiest Northern States. His loss had been small, while the Federals had been seriously weakened. Perhaps no hours of deeper gloom were ever passed in the North than the hours of that summer evening when the tele- graph flashed over the country the news of Lee's success. The lavish sacrifice of blood and treasure seemed in vain. A million of men were in arms to defend the Union, and yet the north- ward progress of the rebels could not be withstood. Should Lee be victorious on the morrow, the most hopeful must de- spond. The day on which so much of tlie destiny of America hung opened bright and warm and still. The morning was . . . . July 3. occupied by Lee in preparations for a crushing attack upon the centre of the Federal position ; by Meade, in carefully strengthening his power of resistance at the point where he was to ^vin or to lose this decisive battle. About noon all was com- pleted. Over both armies there fell a marvellous stillness — the silence of anxious and awful expectation. It was broken by a \ ^ ¥r ^^1 15 ;1 I' ti 238 GETTYSBURQ. solitary cannon-shot, and the shriek of a Whitworth shell as it rushed through the air. That was the signal at which one hun- dred and fifty Confederate guns opened their tire. The Federal artillery replied, and for three hours a prodigious hail of shells fell upon either army. No decisive supremacy was, however, established by the guns on either side, although heavy loss was sustained by both. While the cannonade still continued, L(!0 sent forth the colunms whose errand it was to break the Federal centre. They marched down the low range of heights on which they had stood, and across the little intervening valley. As they moved, up the opposite height the friendly shelter of Con- federate fire ceased. Terrific discharges of grape and shell smote but did not shake their steady ranks. As tlie men f(^ll, their comrades stepped into their places, and the undismayed lines moved swiftly on. Up to the low stone wall which sheltered the Federals, up to the very muzzles of guns whose rapid fire cut every instant deep lines in their ranks, the heroic advance was continued. General Lee from the opposite height watched, as Napoleon did at Waterloo, the progress of his attack. Once the smoke of battle was for a moment blown aside, and the Confederate flag was seen to wave within the enemy's position. Lee's generals congratulate him that the victory is gained. Again the cloud gathers around the combatants. When it lifts next, the Con- federates are seen broken and fleeing down that fatal slope, where a man can walk now without once putting his foot upon the grass, so thick lie the bodies of the slain. The attack had failed ; the battle was lost ; the Union was saved. General Lee's business was now to save his army. "This has been a sad day for us," he said to a friend, " a sad day ; but we can't expect always to gain victories." He rallied his broken troops, expecting to be attacked by the victorious Federals ; but Meade did not follow up his success. Next day Lee began his retreat. In perfect order he moved towards ill! I aETTYSBURO. 2sn " This ,d clay ; the Potomac, and safely crossed the swollen river back into Virginia. The losses sustained in this battle wei-e teri'ible. Forty-eight thousand men l?v dead or wounded on the field. Lee's army was weakened by over forty thousand men killed, wounded, and prisoners. Meade lost twenty-three thousand. For mih\s around, every barn, every cottage contained wounded men. The streets of the little town were all dabbled with blood. ]\Ien were for many days engaged in burying the dead, of whom there were nearly eight thousand. The wounded of both armies, who were able to be removed, were at once carried into hospitals and tenderly cared for. There W(^ro many so mangled that tht^ir removal was impossible. These were ministered to on the iield till death relieved them from their pain. The tidings of the victory at Gettysburg came to the Northern ]>('opio on the 4th of July, side by side with the tidings of the fall of Vicksburg. The proud old anniversary had perhaps never before been celebrated by the American people witli hearts so thankful and so glad. Mr. Lincoln, who had become grave and humble and reverential under the influence of those awful circumstances amid which he lived, proclaimed a solemn day of thanksgiving for the deliverance granted to the nation, and of prayer that God would lead them all, "through the paths of repentance and submission to the divine will, to unity and fraternal peace." The deep enthusiasm which, in those anxious days, thrilled the American heart, sought in song that fulness of exprtission which speech could not afford. Foremost among the favourite l>oetic utterances of the people was this : — BATTLE-HYMN OF THE KEPUBLIC. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coining of tlie Lord ; He is trampling out the vintage where the grape.s of wrath are stored ; He hath h)osed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword ; His Tnitli is marching on. ! P IT I ■1 \'' ' 240 OKTTYSnURf}. I have Been Iliiii in tlio watch-fires of a Inindred circling campH ; They have builded Ifini an altar in the evening dews and daiiipH ; I have read His riKhtcouH Hontence liy the dim and flaring' lampH ; 1 [iH Day Ih nuirching on. I have read a fiery goHi)el writ in IturniHhed rows (<£ steel — " As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My yrace shall deal ; " Let the Hero born of woman crush the serpent with His heel, Since God is marching on. He has sounded forth tlie trumpet that shall never call retreat ; He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat ; Oh I be swift, my soul, to answer Him ; be juljilant, my feet, — Our (lod is marching on. In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea. With a glory in His Ijosom that transfigures you and me ; As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, While God is marching on. Thes(3 strangely musical verses were sung at all public meet- ings in the North, the audience ordinarily starting to their feet and joining in the strain, often interrupted by emotion too deeply stirred to be concealed. President Lincoln has been Been listening to the hymn with tears rolling down his face. When the Battle of Gettysburg was fought there were many hundreds of Northern oflicers captive in the Libby prison — a huge, shapeless structure, once a tobacco factory, standing by the wayside in a suburb of Richmond. A false report was brought to them that the rebels had gained. There were many sleepless eyes and sorrowing hearts that night among the prisoners. But next morning an old negro brought them the true account of the battle. The sudden joy was too deep for words. By one universal impulse the gladdened captives burst into song. Midst weeping and midst laughter the Battle-Hymn of the Republic was caught up until five hundred voices were joining in the strain. There as elsewhere it was felt with un- utterable joy and thankfulness that the country was saved. The victory at Gettysburg lifted a great load from the liearts GETTYSIiUUO. %il c mect- leir feet lion too as been lis face, e many 'ison — a ding by lort was re many ong the lem the deep for '^es burst e-Hymn ces were with un- od. \f, hearts of the Northern people. There was yet a wfk -vast and i^'riiii — to bo accompliHlicd b(>fore a solid peace cou. I )e attained, but there was now a sure hope of final Kuccess. It was remarked by President Lincoln's fritsnds that his appeunincts underwent a noticeable change after Gettysburg. His eye grew brighter ; his bowed-down form was once more erect. In the winter after the battle part of the battle-ground was consecrated as a ceme- tery, into which were gatln^red the remains of the bravo men who fell. Lincoln took part in the ceremony, and spoke these uiemorablo words : *' It is for us the living to be dedicated hero to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is for us to be hero dedicated to tlio great task remaining before us ; that from these honoured dea Leo roclo qui(!tly 1)ark to liis army, vlicro tho Hurrciidor was cxjM'ctcd. Wlu'ii its (U'tails Itccaino known, oHiccis and nion crowded arounarting grasp of his hand, Loe wan too do(;ply moved to say much. *' Men," he said, with liis habitual simplicity, " wo have fou<;ht through the war to- geth(>r, and I have done the best I could for you." A day or two later the men stacked their arms and went to their homes. Tho history of tho once splendid Army of Northern Virginia had closed. Lee's surrender led the way to the surrender of all tho Con- federate armies. Within a few days there was no organi/c^d force of any importance in arms against the Union. The War of the Great Rebellion was at an end. . hM.I 1 ■1 ■■!■ I It is ]l :'- I ' CHAPTER IX. THE MURDER OF THE PRESIDENT. HEN the closing operations against Kiclimond were Ijoing arranged, President Lincoln went down to General Grant's head-quarters at City Point, and remained there till Lee's surrender. He visited llichmond on the day it was taken, and walked through the streets with his little boy in his hand. The freed slaves crowded to welcome their deliverer, ''^hey expressed in a thou- sand grotesque ways their gratitude to the good " Father Abra- ham." There had been dark hints for some time that there were those among the Confederates who would avenge their defeat by the murder of the President. Mr. Lincoln was urged to be on his guard, and his friends were unwilling that he should visit Richmond. He himself cared little, now that tlie national cause had triumphed. He returned unharmed to Washington on the evening of Lee's surrender. The next few days were perhaps the brightest in his whole life. He had guided the nation through the heaviest trial which had ever assailed it. On every side were joy and gladness. Flags waved, bells rang, guns were fired, houses were lighted up ; the thanks of innumeraljle grateful hearts went up to God for this great deliverance. No heart in all the country was more joyful and more thankful than Mr. Lincoln's. He occupied himself with plans for healing the wounds of his bleeding country, and April 9, 1865 A.D. THE MURDER OF THE PRESIDENT. 257 a,ps the nation iled it. waved, thanks great "ul and bringing back the revolted States to a contented occupation of their appointed place.s in the Union. No thought of severity was in his mind. Now that armed resistance to the Govern- ment was crushed, the gentlest measures which would give security in the future were the measures most agreeable to the good President. On the 14th he held a meeting of his Cabinet, at which General Grant was present. The quiet cheerfulness and hope- fulness of the President imparted to the proceedings of the council a tone long remembered by those who were present. After the meeting he drove out with Mrs. Lincoln, to whom he talked of the good days in store. They had had a hard time, he said, since they came to "Washington ; but now, by God's blessing, they might hope for quieter and happier years. In the evening he drove, with Mrs. Lincoln and two or three friends, to a theatre where he knew the people expected his coming. As the play went on the audience were startled by a pistol-shot in the President's box. A man brandishing a dagger was seen to leap from the box on to the stage, and with a wild cry — " The South is avenged ! " — disappeared behind the scenes. The President sat motionless, his head sunk down upon his breast. He was evidently unconscious. When the surgeon came, it was found that a bulh^t had pierced the brain, inflicting a deadly wound. He was carried to a house close by. His family and the great officers of State, by whom he was dearly loved, sat around the bed of the dying President. He lingered till morning, breathing heavily, but in entire unconsciousness, and then he passed away. At the same hour the President was murdered a rufhan broke into the sick-room of Mr. Seward, who was suffering from a recent accident, and stabbed him almost to death as he lay in bed. His bloody work was happily interrupted, and ]Mr. Seward recovered. Tlie assassin of Mr. Lincoln was an actor called Booth, a (Ii87) 1 7 II f' 258 THE MURDER OF THE PRESIDENT. fanatical adherent of the fallen Confederacy. His leg was broken in the leap on to the stage, but he was able to reach a horse which stood ready at the theatre door. He rode through the city, crossed the Potomac by a bridge, in the face of the sentinels posted there, and passed safely beyond present pursuit. A week later he was found hid in a barn, and well armed. He refused to surrender, and was preparing to fire, when a soldier ended his miserable existence by a bullet. The grief of the American people for their murdered President was beyond example deep and bitter. Perhaps for no man were there ever shed so profusely the tears of sorrow. Not in America alone, but in Europe also — where President Lin- coln was at length understood and honoured — his loss was deeply mourned. It was resolved that he should be buried beside his old home in Illinois. The embalmed remains were to be conveyed to their distant resting-place by a route which would give to the people of the chief Northern cities a last opportunity to look upon the features of the man they loved so well. The sad procession moved on its long journey of nearly two thousand miles, traversing the States of Maryland, Penn- sylvania, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Everywhere, as the funeral train passed, the weeping people sought to give expression to their reverential sorrow. At the great cities the body lay in state, and all business was suspended. At length Springfield was reached. The body was taken to the State House. His neighbours looked once more upon that well-remembered face, wasted, indeed, by years of anxious toil, but wearing still, as of old, its kind and placid expression. Four years before, Idncoln said to his neighbours, when he was leaving them, " I know not how soon I shall see you again. I go to assume a task more difficult than that which has de- volved upon any other man since the days of Washington." He had nobly accomplished his task ; and this was the manner of his home-cominff. ; I Br |- m 4] CHAPTER X. THE LOSSES AND THE GAINS OF THE WAR. HE Great Rebellion was at an end. It was not closed by untimely concessions which left a dis- contented party, with its strength unbroken, ready to renew the contest at a more fitting time. It was fought out to the bitter end. The slave-power might be erring, but it was not weak. The conflict was closed by the utter exhaustion of one of the combatants. Lee did not sur- render till his army was surrounded by the enemy and had been two days without food. The groat questions which had been appealed to the sword were answered conclusively and for ever. The cost had been very terrible. On the Northern side, two million seven hundred thousand men bore arms at some period of the war. Of these there died in battle, or in hospital of wounds received in battle, ninety-six thousand men. There died in hospital of disease, one hundred and eighty-four thousand. Many went home wounded, to die among the scenes of their infancy. Many went home stricken with lingering and mortal disease. Of these there is no record but in the sad memories which haunt nearly every Northern home. The losses on the Southern side have not been accurately ascertained. The white population of the revolted States num- bered about a fourth of the loyal Northern population. At the close of the war the North had a full million of men under arms. The Southern armies which surrendered numbered one M^ '■f!| 2G0 THE LOSSES AND THE GAINS OF THE WAR. I lit t i '"\\f'l 1 \^M 1 ; -* i ■ ' 1 > !.' .1 .'1 pt 1 ■ Hij.) ' fl ■ i ,'' I' ■ 1 1 i'' 1 ; i , i"- '! ■' !'- ;■■■ ■; iv 1 t'*' • f li' ■ • 1 .1 1^ 11,1 !!• hundred and seventy-five thousand. When to this is addied the number who went home without awaiting the formality of surrender, it appears probable that the Southern armies bore to the Northern the same proportion that the population did. Presumably the loss bore a larger proportion, as the deaths from disease, owing to the greater hardshii)s to be endured, must have been excessive in the rebel army. It must be under the truth to say that one hundred and fifty thousand Southerners perished in the field or in the hospital. The war cost the North in money seven hundred million sterling. It is impossible to state what was the cost to the South. The Confederate debt was supposed to amount at the close to thirty-five hundred million dollars ; but the dollar was of so uncertain value that no one can tell the equivalent in any sound currency. Besides this, there was the destruction of railroads, the burning of houses, the wasting of lands, and, above all, the emancipation of four million slaves, who had been purchased by tlieir owners for three or four hundred million sterling. It has been estimated that the entire cost of the war, on both sides, was not less than eighteen hundred million pounds sterling. Great wars ordinarily cost much and produce little. What results had the American people to show for their huge expendi- ture of blood and treasure ? They had freed themselves from the curse of slavery. That unhappy system made them a byword among Christian nations. It hindered the progress of the fairest section of the country. It implanted among the people hat. mIs which kept them con tinually on the verge of civil war. ^jiavery was now extinct. For three-quarters of a century the belief })OSsessod Southern minds that they owed allegiance to tlieir State rather than to the Union. Each State was sovereign. Having to-day united itself with certain sister .sovereignties, it was free to-morrow to withdraw and enter into new combinations. America was in THE LOSSES AND THE GAINS OF THE WAR. 261 this view no nation, but a mere incoherent concourse of inde- l)endent powers. This question had been raised when the Constitution was framed, and it had been debated ever since. It was settled now. The blood shed in a hundred battles, from Manassas to Petersburg, expressed the esteem in which the Northern people held their national life. The doctrine of States' Rights was conclusively refuted by the surrender of Lee's army, and the right of America to be deemed a nation was established for ever. It was often said during the war that republican institutions were upon their trial. It was possible for the war to have resulted so that government by the people would ever after have been deemed a failure. It has not been so. The Ameri- cans have proved conspicuously the capacity of a free people to guide their own destinies in war as well as in peace. They have shown that the dependence of the many upon the few is as unnecessary as it is humiliating. They have rung the knell of personal government, and given the world encouragement to hope that not the Anglo-Saxon race alone, but all other races of men will yet be found worthy to govern themselves. Terrible as the cost of the war has been, have not its gains been greater 1 The men who gave their lives so willingly have not died in vain. America and the world will ri^ap advantage?, through many generations, by the blood so freely shed in the great war against the Southern slave-owners. m If 11 1 CHAPTER XI. AFTER THE W A. R. N all civil strifes, until now, the woe which waits upon the vanquished has been mercilessly inflicted. After resistance has ceased, the grim scaffold is set up, and brave men who have escaped the sword stoop to the fatal axe. It was assumed by many that tlie Americans would avenge themselves according to the ancient usage. Here, again, it was the privilege of America to present a noble example to other nations. Nearly every Northern man had lost relative or friend, but there was no cry for vengeance ; there was no feeling of bitterness. Excepting in battle, no drop of blood was shed by the Northern people. Tlie Great Republic had been not merely strong, resolute, enduring — it was also singularly and nobly humane. Jefferson Davis fled southward on that memorable Sunday when the sexton of St. Paul's Church handed to him General Lee's message. He had need to be diligent, for a party of American cavalry were quickly upon his track. They followed him through gaunt pine wildernesses, across rivers and -Q«_' dreary swamps, past the huts of wondering settlers, ^ J) until at length they came upon him near a little town in Georgia. They quietly surrounded his party. Davis assumed the garments of his wife, and the soldiers saw at first nothing more formidable than an elderly and not very well- dressed female. But the unfeminine boots which he wore led ABTER THE WAR. '2B.3 to closer inspection, and quickly the fallen President stood disclosed to his deriding enemies. There was at first suspicion that Davis encouraged the assas- sination of the President. Could that have been proved, he would have died, as reason was, by the hand of the hangman. But it became evident, on due examination being made, that he was not guilty of that crime. For a time the American people regarded Davis with just indignation, as the chief cause of all the bloodshed which had taken place. Gradually their anger relaxed into a kind of grim, contemptuous playfulness. He was to be put upon his \Aal for treason. Frequently a time was named when the trial would begin; but the time never came. Ultimately Davis was set at liberty. What were the Americans to do with the million of armed men now in their employment ? It was believed in Europe that these men would never return to peaceful labour. Government could not venture to turn them loose upon the country. Military employment must be found for them, and would pi'obably be found in foreign wars. While yet public writers in Europe occupied themselves with these dark anticipations, the American Government, all un- aware of difficulty, ordered its armies to march on Washington. During two days the bronzed veterans who had followed Grant and Sherman in so many bloody fights passed through the city. Vast multi- tudes from all parts of the Union looked on with a proud but chastened joy. And then, just as quickly as the men could be paid the sums which were due to them, they gave back the arms they had used so bravely, and returned to their homes. It was only six weeks since Richmond fell, and already the work of disbanding was well advanced. The men who had fought this war were, for the most part, citizens who had freely taken up arms to defend the national life. They did not love May 23, 24, 1865 A.D. 26i AJ^TER THE WAR. war, und when their work was done they thankfully resumed their ordinary employments. Very 8i)eedily the American army numbered only forty thousand men. Europe, when she grows a little wiser, will follow the American example. The wasteful folly of maintaining huge standing armies in time of peace is not destined to disgrace us for ever. m What was the position of the rebel States when the war closed 1 Were they provinces conquered by the Union armies, to be dealt with as the conquerors might deem necessary ; or were they, in spite of all they had done, still members of the Union, as of old 1 The rebels themselves had no doubt on the subject. They had tried their utmost to leave the Union. It was im- possible to conceal that. But they had not been permitted to leave it, and they had never left it. As they were not out of the Union, it was obvious they were in it. And so they claimed to resume their old rights, and re-occupy their places in Con- gress, as if no rebellion had occurred. Mr. Lincoln's successor was Andrew Johnson, a man whose rough vigour had raised him from the lowly position of tailor to the highest office in the country. He was imperfectly educated, of defective judgment, blindly and violently obstinate. He supported the rebels in their extravagant pretensions. He clung to the strictly logical view that there could be no such thing as secession ; that the rebel States had never been out of the Union ; that now there was nothing required but that the rebels, having accepted their defeat, should resume their old positions, as if "the late unpleasantness" had not occurred. The American people were too wise to give heed to the logic of the President and the baffled slave-owners. They had pre- served the life of their nation through sacrifices which filled their homes with sorrow and privation, and they would not be tricked out of the advantages which they had bought with so great a price. The slave-owners had imposed upon them a AFTER THE WAR. 266 He such of the old pre- Ued great national peril, which it cost them infinite toil to avert. They would take what securities it was possible to obtain tluit no such invasion of the national tranquillity should occur again. It was out of the position so wrongfully assigned to the negro race that this huge disorder had arisen. The North, looking at this with eyes which long and sad experience had enlightened, resolved that the negro should never again divide the sisterhood of States. No root of bitterness should be left in the soil. Citizenship was no longer to be dej)endent upon colour. The long dishonour oflfered to the Fathers of Indepen- dence was to be cancelled ; henceforth American law would present no contradiction to the doctrine that " all men are born equal." All men now, born or naturalized in America, were to be citizens of the Union and of the State in which they resided. No State might henceforth pass any law which should abridge the privileges of any class of American citizens. An Amendment of the Constitution was proposed by Con- gress to give effect to these principles. It was agreed to by the States — not without reluctance on the part of some. Tlie Revolution — so vast and so benign — was i.ow March 30, 1870 A.D. complete. The negro, who so lately had no rights at all whicli a white man was bound to respect, was now in full possession of every right which the white man himself enjoyed. The successor of Jefierson Davis in the Senate of the United States was a negro ! The task of the North was now to " bind up the nation's wounds" — the task to which Mr. Lincoln looked forward so joyfully, and which he would have performed so well. Not a momejit was lost in entering upon it. No feeling of resentment survived in the Northern mind. The South was utterly ex- hausted and helpless — without food, without clothing, without resources of any description. The land alone remained. Government provided food — without which provision there 206 AFTKU THE VVAll. would have been in many parts of the country a great mortality from utter want. The proud Southerners, tamed by hunger, were fain to come as suppliants for their daily bread to the Government they had so long striven to overthrow. With little delay nearly all the rebels received the pardon of the Government, and applied themselves to the work of restor- ing their broken fortunes. Happily for them the means lay close at hand. Cotton bore still an extravagantly high price. The negroes remained, although no longer as slaves. They had now to be dealt with as free labourers, whose services could not be obtained otherwise than by the inducement of adequate wages. In a revolution so vast, difficulties were in- evitable ; but, upon the whole, the black men played their part well. It had been said they would not consent to labour when they were free to choose. That prediction was not ful- filled. When kindly treated and justly paid, they showed themselves anxious to work. Very soon it began to dawn ui)on the planters that slavery had been a mistake. Those of their number who were able to command the use of capital found themselves growing rich with a rapidity unknown before. Under the old and wasteful system, the growing crop of cotton was generally sold to the Northern merchant and paid for to the planter before it was gathered. Now it had become possible to carry on the business of the plantation without being in debt at all. Five years after the close of the war, it is perhaps not too much to say that the men of the South would have undergone the miseries of another war rather than permit the re-imposition of that system which they, erringly, endured so much to preserve. ,. CHAPTER XII. now THE AMERICANS CARED FOR THEIR SOLDIERS. erbaps have it the ed so ARS have been, in general, made by Kings to serve the purposes of their own ambition or revenge. This war was made by the American people, and willingly fought out by their own hands. The men who fought were nearly all Americans, and mainly volunteers. They were regarded with the deepest interest by those who remained at home. Ordinarily, the number of soldiers who die of diseases caused by the hardships they endure is greater than the number of those who die of wounds. The Americans were eager to save their soldiers from the privations which waste so many brave lives. They erected two great societies, called the Sanitary Commission and the Christian Commission. Into the coffers of these societies they poured money and other contribu- tions to the amount of four million sterling. The Sanitary Commission sent medical officers of experience into the armies to guide them in the choice of healthy situations for camps ; to see that drainage was not neglected ; to watch over the food of the soldiers, and also their clothing ; to direct the attention of the Government to every circumstance which threatened evil to the health of the army. Its agents followed the armies with a line of waggons containing all manner of stores. Everything the soldier could desire issued in profusion from those inex- haustible waggons. There were blankets and great-coats and every variety of underclothing. Tliere were crutches for the nr I [ ill ;i|l 268 HOW TIIK AMERICANS CARED FOR THEIR SOLDIERS. lame, fans to soothe the wouudecl in tluj burning hoat of summer, bandages, and sponges, and ice, and even mosquito-netting for the protection of the poor sufferers in hospital. Huge wheeled- caldrons rolled along in the rear, and ever, at the close of battle or toilsome march, dispensed welcome refreshment to the wearied soldiers. The Christian Commission undertook to watch over the spiritual wants of the soldiers. Its president was George H. Stuart, a merchant of Philadelphia, whose name is held in enduring honour as a symbol of all that is wise and energetic in Christian beneficence. Under the auspices of this society thousands of clergymen left their congregations and went to minister to the soldiers. A copious supply of Bibles, tracts, hymn-books, and similar reading matter was furnished. The agents of the Commission preached to the soldiers, conversed with them, supplied them with books, aided them in communi- cating with friends at home. But they had sterner duties than these to discharge. They had to seek the wounded on the field and in the hospital ; to bind up their wounds ; to prepare for them such food or drink as they could use ; — in every way pos- sible to soothe the agony of the brave men who were giving their lives that the nation might be saved. Hundreds of ladies were thus engaged tending the wounded and sick, speaking to them about their spiritual interests, cooking for them such dishes as might tempt the languid appetite. The dying soldier was ten- derly cared for. The last loving message was conveyed to the friends in the far-off home. Nothing was left undone which could express to the men who gave this costly evidence of their patriotism the gratitude with which the country regarded them. It resulted from the watchful care of the American Govern- ment and people, that the loss of life by. disease was singularly small in the Northern army. There never was a war in which the health of the army was so good, and the waste of life by disease so small. HOW THE AMERICANS CARED FOR THEIR SOLDIERS. 209 )0S- •mg Wlien the war wns over, the Americans addressed themselves, sadly and reverently, to the work of gathering into national cemeteries the bones of those who had fallen. The search was long and toilsome, for the battle-ground had been a continent, and men were buried where they died. Every battle-field was searched. Every lino by which an army had advanced, or by which the wounded had been removed, was searched. Sometimes a long train of ambulances had carried the woundtnl to hospitals many miles away. At short intervals, during that sad journey, it was told that a man had died. The train was stopped ; the dead man was lifted from beside his dying com- panions ; a shallow grave was dug, and the body, still warm, was laid in it. A soldier cut a branch from a tree, flattened its end with his knife, and wrote upon it the dead man's name. This was all that marked his lowly resting-place. Tlie honoured dead, scattered thus over the continent, were now piously gathered up. For many miles around Petersburg the ground was full of graves. During several years men were employed in the melancholy search among the ruins of the wide-stretch- ing lines. In some cemeteries lie ten thousand, in others twenty thousand of the men who died for the nation. An iron tablet records the name of the soldier and the battle in which he died. Often, alas ! the record is merely that of " Unknown Soldier." Over the graves floats the flag which those who sleep below loved so well. Nothing in America is more touching than her national cemeteries. So much brave young life given freely, that the nation might be saved ! So much grateful remembrance of those who gave this supreme evidence of their devotion ! larly rhich e by j: ill ook Mfth. liA CHAPTER I. REUNITED AMERICA. m. ONG ago thoughtful men had foreseen that a per- manent union between slave communities and free communities was impossible. Wise Americans knew that their country could not continue "half slave and half free." Slavery was a fountain out of which strife flowed perpetual. There was an incessant conflict of interests. There was a still more formidable conflict of feeling. The North was humiliated by the censure which she had to share with her erring sisters. Tlie South was imbittered by the knowledge that the Christian world abhorred her most cherished institution. The Southern character became ever more fierce, domineering, unreasoning. Some vast change was known to be near. Slavery must cease in the South, or extend itself into the North. There was no resting- [)lace for the country between that universal liberty which was established in the North, and the favourite doctrine of the South that the capitalist should own the labourpr. The South appealed to the sword, and the decision was against her. She frankly and wisely acce])ted it. She acknowledged that the labouring-man was novjf finally |)roved to be no article of merchandise, but a free and responsible citizen. That i:r REUNITED AMERICA. 271 acknowledgment closed the era of strife between North and South. There was no longer anything to strive about. There was no longer North oi South, in the old hostile sense, but a united nation, with interests and sympathies rapidly becoming identical. It has been foretold that Am(;rica will yet break up into several nations. "What developments may await America in future ages we do not know. But we do know that the only circumstance which threatened disruption among the sisterhood of States has been removed, and that the national existence of America rests upon foundations at least as assured as those which support any nation in the world. The South had laid aside all thought of armed resistance, and in perfect good faith had acquiesced in the overthrow of slavery. Iler leaders did not, however, consent readily to those guarantees of future tranquillity which the North demanded. At the close of the war eleven States were without legal State government ; and the North would not permit the restoration of the forfeited privilege until those constitutional changes were accepted by which the political equality of the negro was secured. It had become an easy thing to consent that the negro should be free; it was verv hard to consent that he should sit in the State Leirislatures, and exercise an influential voice in framing laws for thos(^ who had lately owned him. Several States withheld their concurrence from arrangements which humiliated them so deeply, desperntely choosing rather to deny themselves for the time the privilege of self-government and to live under a govern- ment in whose creation they had v.^ part. Very grave evils resulted from their pertinacious adherence to this unwi"" '^lioice. Their affairs were necessarily taken charge of by the Federal executive, and President Grant sent thorn rulers from Wash- inL'ton. Unworthy persons were able by dexterous intrigue to gain positions of control, and hastened southwards, with no purpose to heal the wounds of the war ; intent merely to plunder for their own advantage the imjjoverished and suffering States. ™fl .a 272 RErNITED AMKUIC'A. I-' i The finances of the South were in extreme disorder. Public debt had increased enormously during the war ; but the North averted the difficulty which this increase might have caused by insisting that no debt incurred for the purposes of the rebellion should be recognized as a pul)lic obligation. The temporary rulers of the South gave prompt attention to the possibility of obtaining loans, ostensibly for the restoration of railroads and other necessary works. It was not yet realized how fa' illy wasted the South had been, and men hastilv concluded that her advantages of soil and climate must secure for her a rapid financial recovery. Cherishing such expectations, capitalists on both sides of the Atlantic were found willing to make loans on the credit of various Southern States. These moneys were applied only in very small measure to the uses of the States in whose name they were obtained ; the larger portion was feloni- ously appropriated by the unscrupulous persons whose position gave them the opportunity of doing so. Afterwards, when the fraud was fully exposed, the defrauded States repudiated the obligation to repay moneys which they had not received, and which, as thoy avenad, had been borrowed by persons who were in no sense their servants. The good name of the South suflfered deeply and her recovery was seriously hindered by th(se unhappy transactions. The inevitable difficulties of reconstruction were seriously aggravated by thv> violent conflict of opinion which raged between President Johnson and Congress. The President would not sanction the conditions which Congress considered it neces- sary to make with the South, and he steadily vetoed all measures which were at variance with his theory that the rebels were entitled to be received without stipulation. His resistance was not practically important, for the country was united, and Con- gress was able to pass all its measures over the veto of the President. Tlie irritation caused by his opposition to the public wisli grew, liowever, so intense, that it led to his impeachment 1{E[7NITED AMERICA. 273 isly ^ged juld fcces- ires r^ere lAvas pon- tile Ihlic lent and trial before the Senato. with a view to his forcible removal from office. His enemies failed to secure a conviction, althougli they came .so near that one additional hostile vote would have )»rou,i^ht Mr. Johnson's presidency to an abrupt close. So smoothly does the constitutional machinery of America now move, that the trial and expected deposition of the head of the government were not feV either by the commercial interests of the country or in the carrying on of public business. For five years after th.? end of the war some of the Southern States continued to refuse the terms insisted upon by the inflox- il)le North, and continued to rndure the evils of military rule. Gradually, however, as time sootlied the })itternes8 of defeat, they withdrew their refusal and consented to resume their position in the Union on the conditions which were offered to lien! In 1870 President Grant was able to announce the i^ ii/iileted restoration of the Union which hir^ own leadership had done so much to save. The industrial recovery of the South was unexpectedly slow. The industrial arrangements of the country were utterly over- thrown. Population had diminished , capital had disappeared ; cultivation, excepting of articles necessary for food, had ceased ; many of the coloured labourers had fled northwards, and the labour of those who remained had to be arranged for on condi- tions altogether new and unknown. The reconstruction of the shattered fragments of an industrial system was inevitably a tedi- ous and difficult work. But the wholesome pressure of necessity, — laid equally on white men and on black, — obliged both to adapt themselves to the circumstances in which tiiey were placed. The planters drew together as mar.y labourers as thc^y could obtain and were able to pay for, and cultivated such portions of their lands as they could thus overtake. Tlie negroids were always ready t*^ serve any man who paid regular wages ; but it very often happened, at the outset, that there was no man with moniy enough to do that. (ed-time witnessed a larger area under cultivation, until at length the quantity of cotton produced is as large as it had ever been before the war, and promises steadily to increase. A new and better industrial system gradually arose — less picturesque than th^it which had been destroyed, but no longer founded in wrong, and therefore more enduring and more beneficial to master as well as to servant. The rebellion had drawn forth into energetic exorcise among the Northern people a patriotic sentiment which nerved them for every measure of self-devotion. But war cherishes also into excejitional .strength the evil that is in humanity, and this patriot war exerted an influence not less unhallowed than other wars have done. The fluctuating value of the currency and consequently of ?.ll commodities, the unprecedented opportunities of acquiring sudden wealth, fostered widespread corruption in the cities. Reckless personal extravagance, a frantic haste to become rich by whatever mean.«^ and a general decay of com- mercial morality, characterized the years which followed tho restoration of peace. Political society, at no time distinguished by its elevation of moral tone, was deeply tainted. Even among the men whom President Grant had chosen as worthy of his fullest confidencfi there were some who yielded to the pre- vailing influence, and the Presi lent had the mortification of finding that several members of his Cabinet had incurred the shame of corrupt transactions. Habitual embezzh'ment was praetiscd in the management of tlu; finances of large cities. The municipal governm( nt of New York had fallen into hands exceptionally rapacious and base, and the career of the })lun- UI'JUNJTblD AMEUICA. 275 nities 3n in ;e to coni- tho ishcd ^veii lyof pre- n of I the was ities. aiuls )lun- derors was not arrested till the city had been robbed of many million dollars. For several years after the close of the war the industrial in- terests of America s(!emed to prosper exceedingly. Her foreign trade increased rapidly. The thriving people purchased freely of the costly luxuries imported from Europe, and the gains of mer- chants were liberal. New factories arose; villag(!S swelled into towns ; emigrants to the number of three hundred and fifty thou- sand annually hastened to exchange the poverty of Europe for the phnity of this land of j)romise ; a million p(;rsons were added every year to the population. New railways were laid down at the rate of five to six thousand miles annually, involv- ing an annual expenditure of thirty to forty million ster- ling. The confiding capitalists of Europe furnished the means i'('(iuisito to sustain this perilously rapid increase. TIk; census of 1870 reported that during ten years the wealth of the jieople had nearly doubled, and that their annual earnings now amounted to two thousand million sterling. It seenKsd as if, for the first time in history, a prolonged and costly war had been waged without pecuniary disadvantage to the combatants. But the inevitable retribution was not a])andoned ; it was only delayed. While the currents of commercial activity still ilow(>d with unwonted swiftness and smoothness, the failure of a large financial house in New York gave the signal for a panic, which speedily assumed an aspect of un- JL "' precedentcd severity. liusincss stood still ; the ex- . _ changes were clos(!d ; the banks ceased to give out nioney ; tlte ])ayment of debts became impossible. In a short time the intensity of the excitement passed away, leaving a deep-seated de[>ressi()n, which continued for six years. It was now discovered that n)en had been delu ling thenjselves with a merely visionary prosperity — that all values had been wildly the sad and surprising experience of i)ecan «{ •11 ni.\'\ \,' ■ 276 REUNITED AMERICA. very many that their fancied wealth had, in part or wholly, disappeared. Factories were closed ; artisans were unable to obtain employment ; wages fell, step by step, till in many industries they had undergone reductions which were not less than forty per cent. All stocks and every description of property sank lamentably in value ; railway companies and other borrowers of foreign capital discontinued payment of the promised interest ; immigration almost ceased — for who would now seek a home in this afflicted and impoverished land ? America emerged from those miserable years with her vitality undiminished ; with her financial position improved ; with her industrial system organized, for the first time, upon a basis of rigorous economy ; with the views of her people corrected, and their character braced by adversity. The operatives who were unable to find employment in the cities of the east had made their way westward, and were now contributing to the greatness of the nation by cultivating the soil. Personal extravagance ceased, and the imports of foreign commodities fell one-third. On the other hand, the exports increased largely. America had for many years been accustomed to use an amount of foreign goods very much larger than she was able to pay for by her own surplus productions. In settlement of the excess, she endured a drain upon her stoi\ of the precious metals, or she neutralized it for the time by the loans which her people obtained a))road. Now all this was changed. America ex})orted so largely of lior manufactures and of the products of her soil, and restricted so carefully her purchase of foreign commodities, that now she has to receive from foreigners an annual balance which <=xceeds fifty million sterling. And during the painful years through which she passed, while nearly all European countries continued to add to their public indebtedness, America continued to reduce hers. Her debt, which at the close of the war amounted to six hundred million sterling, thirteea years later was only four REUNIIED AMERICA. mt hundred million.* And whereas at one period an amount equal to one-half of her present debt was owing to foreigners, it is now, to the extent of five-sixths, owing to her own citizens. Her currency, which had been long at a discount, rose in value, step by step, till it stood at par. After seventeen years of an inconvertible currency specie payments were resumed, without the slightest inconvenience to the commerce of the country. * The local indebtedness of Ami rlca has increased largely since the war, and is now equal to one-half of the Federal debt. In many of the States the Constitution now prohibits the State Legislature from contracting debt excepting for war and other urgent purposes. There is a growing opinion that this wise restriction .should be universally adopted. ii! 1 CHAPTER II. ENGLAND AND AMERICA. I ! k MEIIICA looked to England for sympathy when the rebellion began. England had often reproached her, oitcn admonished her, in regard to the question of Slavery. The war which threatened her exist- ence was a war waged by persons who desired to perpetuate slavery, and who feared the grov.-ing Northern dislike to the institution. The North expected the countenance of England in her time of trial. It was reasonable to expect that the dee}) abhorrence of slavery which had long ruled in the mind of the English people would suffice to decide that people against the eftbrt to establish a great independent slave-empire. Most unfortunately, that expectation was not wholly fulfilled. The working-men of England perceived, as by intuition, the merits of the dispute, and gave -heir sympathy unhesitatingly to the North. In the cotton-spinning districts grievous suffering was endured, because the Nor Jiern ships shut in the cotton of the Soutli and deprived the mills of their accustomed supply. It was often urged that the English Government should take measures to raise the Northern blockade. Hunger ])ersuadeH men to unwise and evil courses ; but hunger itself could never persuade the men of Lancashire to take any part against the North. So genuine and so deep was their conviction that the Northern cause was right. But among the aristocratic and middle classes of England it jring in of n>V- I take Lades tever the the lul it ENOLANn AND AMERICA. 279 was (lifFereiit. Their sympathy was in large measure given to the South. They were misled by certain newspapers, in which they erringly trusted. They were misled by their admiration of a brave people struggling against an enemy of overwhelming strength. They were misled by an unworthy jealousy of the greatness of America. Thus unhappily influenced, they gave their good wishes to the defenders of the slave-system. The North felt deeply the unlooked-for repulse ; and a painful alienation of feeling resulted. A variety of circumstances occurred which strengthened this feeling. A few weeks aft«r the fall of Fort Sumpter, England, having in view that thi-re had been set up in the South a new Government which was exercising the functions of a Govern- ment, whether rightfully or otherwise, acknowledged in haste the undoubted fact, and recognized the South as a belligerent i)Ower. This the North highly resented ; asserting that the action of the South was merely a rebellion, with which foreign countries had nothing to do. A few months later the British mail-steamer Trent was stopped by a rash American captain, and two gentle- men, _ commissioners to England from the rebel Government, were made prisoners. The captives were released, but the in- dignity offered to the British flag awakened a strong sentiment of indignation which did not soon pass away. Yet further : there was built in a Liverpool dockyard a steam-ship which it was understood was destined to serve the Confederacy by de- stroying the merchant shipping of the North. The American Ambassador requested the British Government to detain the vessel. So hesitating was the action of Government, that the vessel sailed before the order for her detention was issued. For two years the Alabama, and some other ships also fitted in English ports, scoured the seas, burning and sinking American ships, and inflicting enormous loss upon American connuerce. These circumstances increased the bitter feeling which prevailed. The American Government held that England had failed to 280 ENGLAND AM) AMKHICA. ; 9* H " ■ in 1869 A.D. pcrfonu tho duty imposed upon her by international law, and had therefore made herself responsible for the depredations of the Alabama. English lawyers of eminence expressed the same unacceptable opinion ; and a few years after the war closed the English Government wisely determined to seek the settlement of the question. There was arranged by the Foreign Secretary and the American Minister a treaty, in terms of which the subject was disposed of by a reference to the arbitration of impartial persons. This treaty was sent to Washington for confirmation, according to the judicious American rule that treaties with foreign powers must receive the sanction of the Senate. But American feeling was not yet prepared for any adjustment of differences whicli had wounded the nation so deeply. It was not that the terms of the proposed settlement were objected to ; it was rather that no immediate settlement was desired. The American people chose that the question should, for the time, remain an open question. Their irritation had not yet subsided, and many of them solaced their angry minds with the purpose that, when England was again involved in some one of those European embarrassments which habitually beset her, this matter of the Alabama should be pressed to a settlement. The Senate gave effect to the general wish by withholding sanction from the treaty, and President Grant instructed his minister at the English Court to abstain from fuither negotiation. But the passage of a little time calmed the irritation of the not implacable Americans. England renewed her pro- posal to refer the dispute to arbitration, coupling the offer with an expression of regret that injuries so grave had been inflicted upon the shipping of America. She fur- ther consented that the arbitrators should guide themselves by a definition of neutral duties so framed that, in effect, it condemned her conduct, and made an adverse decision inevi- table. America accepted the proposal, and a dispute which at 1871 A.D. ENOLAXD AND AMKIIICA. 981 VI- at ail earlier period would have brought upon two nations the niiseries of a great war was found to come easily within the Hcoi)e of a peaceful arbitration. The transaction is of high importance, for it is the largest advance which has yet been made towards the settlement of national ditlerences by reason ratlier than by brute force. The arbitrators were live persons, named by the Queen, the President, the King of Italy, the President of Switzerland, and the Emperor of Brazil. Their deliberations were conducted in the tranquil city of Geneva, remote from the influence of the disputants. America presented a statement of her wrongs, and of the compensation to which she deemed herself entitled. Her case was stated with much ability, and it produced numerous and i)ainful evidences that the neutrality with which England regarded the conflict had been a neutrality very full of syn)pathy with the slave-holders. But the claim tabled was extravagantlv large. America argued that England should indemnify her for the expenses of the war-ships which were employed to pursue the piratical cruisers. She argued that, since her ship-owners had been compelled to sell their ships to foreigners, England should bear the losses arising from these enforced sales. Above all, she alleged that the prolongation of the war after the battle of Gettysburg was traceable to the influence of the pirate-ships ; and she made the huge demand that England should refund to her the cost of nearly two years of fighting. The arbitrators gave judgment that England was responsible for the property destroyed by the Alabama and the other cruisers, and ordained that she should repair the wrong by a payment of three million sterling. The claim for losses arising indirectly out of these unhappy transactions was rejected. When the claims of sutt"erers by the piratical vessels were investigated it was found that the arbitrators had o^•er-esti- mated them. The American Government, having satisfied every authenticated demand, found itself still in possession of * ' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I l^|2£ |2.5 |iO ■^~ ■■■ Uj Ki |2.2 ■■■^^^^^^^^ III ^^^^SESS IIIIISSSBSS ' ^ 6" ► Hiotographic Sdences Corporation as WIST MAIN STRUT WEBSTIR.N.Y. 14SS0 (716) S72-4S03 ^> ^^ \ \ 4!^ ^. ^. «1> \ ^ ■<^ 282 ENOLAND AND AMKRICA. alx>ut one million of the EngliHh money. It was the wIhIi of many Americans that this sum should be restored to England, but Congress did not rise to the height of this generosity. When the Alahanui dispute was clo8essible for England, by bestowing upon the North that sympathy which we now recognize to have been due, to have bound the two countries inalienably to each other. Unhap{)iiy the opportunity was missed, and a needless estrangement was caused. But this was not destined to endui«, and it has long ago passed wholly away. England and America now understand each other as they have never done before. The constant intercourse of their citizens is a bond of union already so strong that no folly of Govern- ments could break it. It may fairly be hoped that the irrita- tions which arose during the war have been succeeded by an enduring concord between the two great sections of the Anglo- Saxon family. CHAPTER III. INDUSTRIAL AMEKICA. HE chosen career of the American people is a career of peaceful industry. Wisely shunning the glories and calamities of war, they have devoted them- selves to the worthier labour of developing the resources of the continent which is their magnificent heritage. During four years they had been obliged to give their energies to a war, on tlie successful issue of which the national existence depended. When those satl years were over, and the conflict ceased, they turned with renewed vigour to their accustomed pursuits. The industrial greatness of America is still, in large measure, agricultural. Nearly one-half of her i)eople live by the cultivation of the soil. Upwards of three-fourths of the connnoilities which she sells to foreigners are agricultural products The total value of the crops which she gathered in 1878 was not less than jB400,000,000. The strangers who help to build up her power are drawn to her shores by the hope of obtaining easy possession of fertile land. Her progress in the manuftu:turing arts has been very rapid, but it cannot rival the giant growth of her agriculture. The agricultural system of America is eminently favourable to cheap production. Unoccupied lands are the property of the nation, and are made over to cultivators on easy terms, and in many cases gratuitously. A rent-paying farmer is practically 284 INDUSTRIAL AMERICA. unknown ; the farmer owns the land which he tilla His farm has cost him little, anil as the invariable improvement in value cancels even that, it may be said that it has cost him nothing. The average farm of the Western States is one hundred and sixty acres. It is cultivated almost without outlay of money. The farmer and his family perform the work of the farm, with the help of a neighbour at the great eras of sowing and reap- ing. This help is requited in kind, and therefore costs nothing in money. The rich, deep, virgin soil asks for no manure during many years. The sole burden upon the farm is the maintenance of the farmer and his family, and of the four oxen or mules which share his toila His local taxation is trivial. His national taxation is less than one-half of that m'IucIi the English farmer bears.* The evil of distance from the great markets of the world is neutralized by the low charge for which his grain is carried on railway or canal, f His husbandry is careless, insomuch that two acres of land in the valley of the Mississippi yield no more than one acre yields in England. | But if his agriculture is rude it is constantly improving ; and, meanwhile, it is so inexpensive that he can send its products to England, four thousand miles away, and undersell the farmer there. A vast revolution, whose results we as yet imperfectly appreciate, is in progress around us. The antiquated, semi- feudal land-system of England totters to its fall, unable to sus- tain itself in presence of the more free and natural system of the West. Immigration languished during the earlier years of the war. The distracted condition of the country, and the fears in regartl to its future so widely entertained in Europe, formed sufficient * state and county taxation in t>ie west ranges from five to twenty-five cents per acre — 2.i(I. to 12^(1. National tax^ttion is in America 20s., and in Britain 47s. 2d., for eacli of the iiopulation. t Wlieat is now caiTied from Chicago to New York by lalie and canal for 28. 6d. per quarter, and by rail for 4s. From the northern parts of Minnesota carriage to New York is 8s. per quarter. t The American average is fourteen bushels of wheat per acre ; the Englisli average !« twenty-eight bushel* ; the Scotch average, under high fanning, is thirty-four bushels. INDUSTRIAL AMERICA. 285 lUb- I per lork reason why men who were in search of a home should avoid America. But when success crowned the efforts of the North, her old attractiveness to the emigrating class resumed its power. It came then to bo pressed upon tlie public mind that the pro- gross of the West was frustrated by want of adequate com- munication. Tliero was no railway beyond the Missouri river. From that point westward to the Pacific communication de- l^ended \i\)on a rude system of stage-coaches, or the waggon of an adventurous pioneer. It was a journey of nearly two thousand miles, across an unpeopled wilderness. The hardship was ex- treme, and the dangers not inconsiderable ; for the way was besot by hostile Indians, and the traveller must be in constant readiness to fight This vast region, composed mainly of rich prairie land, was practically closed against progress. The re- sources of the country, as it seemed, could not be developed excepting near the margins of the continent, or by the borders of her great navigable rivers. It was now dotermineti to construct a railway which should connect the Atlantic with the Pacific, and open for the use of man the vast intervening expanse of fertile soil. Stimulated by lil)eral grants of national land, two companies began to build — one eastwanl from San Francisco, the other westward from the Missouri. As the extent of land given was in strict proportion to the length of lino laid down, each of the companies pushed its operations to the utmost. The work was done in liasto, and, as many then thought, slightly ; but expe- rionce has proved its sufficiency. In duo time the lines met; the last rail was laid down, not without emotion, such as bofitted tlio completion of a work so great. By the help of electricity the blows of the hammer which drove home the last spike wore made audible in the chief cities of tho east. Tlio union of oast and west was now complete, and many millions of acres of rich land, hithorto inaccessiblo, wore added to the heritage of man. The savage occupants of these lanlaius; but they also carry the traveller past many smiling villages, and many thriving cities where a prosperous commerce is maintained, wliore schools and churches abound. They reveal to him well-appointed farm-buildings ; fields rich with bountiful crops ; jungles whore the peach, the orange, the banana, the ]»omegranate grow luxuriantly under the fostering heat of a semi-tropical sun ; vast areas roamed over by myriads of slight, active-looking Texan cattle, the rearing of which yields ivealth to the people. In many of tho Texan cities two con. rasted types of civilization — the old Mexican and tho young Ameri- can — live peaceably side by side. The palace-car meets the ox- team and the donkey with his panniers. The blanketed Indian, the Mexican in poncho and sombrero, the American in his faultless broadcloth, mingle harmoniously in the streets. Handsome mansions such as abound in the suburbs of eastern cities are near neighbours to antique Mexican dwellings, built of adobe, with loopholed battlements, and walls which show still the bullet-marks of forgotten strifes. As the enormous mineral resources of the Rocky Mountains became more certainly ascertained, crowds were attracted in hope of sudden wealth, and the States which include the richer portions of the range becanse the home of a large population. In tho remote north-west wlioat crops of astonishing oj)ulence rewarded the simple husbandry of the settler. The law that cultivated plants are most productive near the northern limit of their growth was illustrated in the happy experience of Dakotah and northern Minnesota, where the growing of wheat has now become one of the most lucrative of industrial occupa- * Equal to three times tho area of fireat Bntain. 288 INDUSTRIAL AMERir'A. tions. The railways of those StatoR are Ijoing extomU'd with all possible rapidity, and each extension is followed liy a fresh influx of settlera Fanners of ex|>erience from tlie older rtnd less ])ro(luctive States are drawn to the norih-west by the unrivalled advantages which soil and climate present. Dur- ing the year 1878 not less than five n)il]ion acres of land were purchased in northern Minnesota for immediate culti- vation.* America has never been satisfied with mere agricultural great- ness. The ambition to manufacture was coeval with her origin, and has grown with her growing strength. Twenty years after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers there were bounties offered in Massachusetts for the encouragement of the manufacture of linen, woollen, and cotton cloths. "When the Arkwright spin- ning machinery was introduced into England, the Americans were eager to possess themselves of an improvement so valu- able. But the English law which prohibited the export of machinery was inflexibly administered, and the moflels prepareerhaps unequalled, by any part of the world. An active immigration is in progress : during the year 1879, when navi- gation was open, the daily arrivals numbered four hundred. When communication by rail and river is more adequate, Manitoba may be expected to take the highest place as a wheat- producing country. t The use of animal-power was not confined to America. In England the earliest of Cartwright's power-looms are said to have owed tlieir movement to the labour of a bull. INDUSTRIAL AMERICA. 280 1861 A.D. icst 9f » TIio incrt^aso of consuinptiou woh moro rapid in America than the IncrcaHe of production, and it had to 1)c mot hy coiiHidnrablo imports of Englinh goods. England, with abundant capital and low-pricod labour, was ablo to produce more cheaply than Americti, and the Htruggling native manufacturer had to com- ]>lain of a comjietition agaiiiHt which he was not able to support himself. He appealed to the Government for protection, and was influential enough to obtain that which he desired. For many years the subject of the tariff was keenly disputed Tho Northern manufacturers were habitually seeking increased pro- tection, which tho Southern planters, having no kindred inter- ests to protect, were often unwilling to grant The rates imposed rose or fell with the strength of tho contending parties and the political exigencies of the time. At length, innnediately after the representatives of the South had quitted Congress, and the friends of protection were absolute, a highly protective tariff was enacted. Duties, tho mass of which range from thirty to fifty per cent., with somo very much larger, were imposed on nearly all foreign commo- dities landed at American ports. Under this law, with only slight modification, the foreign commerce of America has been conducted for the last eighteen years, and there has not yet manifested itself any change in American opinion which warrants the expectation of an early return to a more liberal system. The large protection now enjoyed, and the active demand occasioned by the war, stimulated the increase of productive power. Within twelve years the machinery engaged in cotton- spinning had doubled, rising from five to ten million spindles. The increase in many other industries was equally rapid. Side by side with this undue development there appeared the cus- tomary fruits of a protective policy. There was a general disregard of economy, a prevailing wastefulness which seemed to neutralize the advantages enjoyed, and leave the manufacturer (887) 19 200 INPUHTRIAL AMEniCA. still in need of additional protection. But a now competition had now arlHon, againHt which protection couM not ho gained. It was jto longer fonugn competition which marn»d the fortune of the native manufacturer ; it was the still more deadly com- petition which resulted from excessive production at home. Especially when the panic of 1873 diminished so suddenly the purchasing power of tht^ American people, it was seen that even if the manufactures of Europe hod been wholly excluded, America could no longer consume the commodities which her machinery was able to proH of wood to one-third ; of manufactures of steel to a little over one-third. And in explanation of this record of decay our Secretary of ^^^^ Legation at WoHhington contributes the ominous sugges- tion : — " Tlie decreased importation of the articles re- ferred to has been due in a great measure to the substitution in the markets of this country of articles of American manu- facture." But the Americans were not contcnteil with this limitation of their purchases from foreign producers. A desire to become themselves exporters of manufactured articles sprang up during the years of depression which followed the panic. Under the [)ure democracy of America a general desire translates itself very quickly into Government action. The Secre- tary of State addressed to his consuls in all parts of the world a request that they would collect for him all infor- mation fitted to ])e useful to American manufacturers who sought markets for their wares in foreign countriea The answers have put him in possession of a mass of information such as no Government ever before took the trouble to gather regarding the conditions of foreign markets, and the openings which existed or might be created in each for American manu- factures. The growth of this trade has thus far been steady, but not rapid, and even now it has reached only moderate dimensions. In 1870 American manufactures were exported to the value of fifteen million sterling, while in 1878 the value had risen to twenty-seven million. Chief among the articles which make up this respectable aggregate are cotton cloths, manufactures of wood, of leather, of iron and steel, including machinery, tools, and agricultural implements. America sella to foolish nations which have not yet grown out of their fight- ing period, fire-arms, cartridges, gunpowder, and shell, to the extent of nearly a million and a half sterling. The multiplicity of articles which leave her ports show how keenly her foreign 2U2 INDUUTKIAL AMUIUCA. trodn is bring proRPCutccl. She HonrlH houRohoM furniture, mndn by niachin«>ry, and h(;1Ih it at pricttH whieli to tbo liritiNh cabinnt- inak(>r hoomi to Im« ruinoua Hho scndH cutlery and tools of finiHh and price which HU the men of Sheffield with dismay, but do not appnrently stimulalo them to improvement She sentls watches manufactureil by processes so su|)crior to those still practised in Europe that the Swiss manufacturers have expli- citly acknowleiiged hojwless defeat. She sends medicines, combs, p<»rfumery, soap, spirits, writing-paper, musical instru- ments, glass-wan*, carriages. All thes«? are articles for which, but a few years ago, she herself was imU'bted to Europj*. Now she supplies her own recjuirementH, and has an increasing surplus for which she seeks mark judg- ment. It has not been found possible to alienate him wholly from the common school. It is of interest to inquire in what measure the American people have been requited by the success of their common-school system for the vast sums which they expend on its maintenance. At ^.st sight the statistics of the subject seem to return a dis- couraging reply to such an inquiry. When the census of 1870 was taken it disclosed a high percentage of illiteracy. Seven- teen adult males and twenty-three adult females in every hundred were wholly uneducated — numbers almost as high as those of England at the same period. But the special circum- stances of the country explain these figures in a manner which relieves the common school of all blame. The larger portion of this illiteracy had its home in the Southern States and among the coloured population, whose ignorance had been carefully preserved by wicked laws and a corrupted public feeling. Again, America had received during the ten years which pre- ceded the census an immigration of four and a half million persons. The educational condition of those strangers was low, and their presence therefore bore injuriously upon the averages which were reported. Tlie common school' must be judged in the Northern States and among the native white population, for there only has it had full opportunity to act. And there it has achieved magnificent success. In the New England States there is not more than one uneducated native of ten years and upwards in every hundred. In the other Northern States the average is scarcely so favourable. The uneducated number from two up to four in every hundred. It thus appears that the common school has banished illiteracy from the North. Tlie native American of the Northern States is almost invariably a person who has received, at the lowest, a sound primary education. The efforts by which this result has been reached began with the foundation of each State, and have been continued uninterruptedly throughout its whole history- 298 EDUCATION IN AMERICA. In the rising induBtriai competition of the time, it must count for much that American artisans are not only educated men and women, but are the descendants of educated parents. A nation which expends upon educe tion a sum larger than all the nations of Europe unitedly expend ; which contents itself with an army of twenty-five thousand soldiers ; whose citizens are exempt from the curse of idle years laid by the governments of Continental Europe upon their young men, — such a nation cannot fail to secure a victorious position in the great industrial struggle which all civilized States are now compelled to wage for existence. int leii A bho ith aro J of ion rial age CHAPTER V. KUROPE AND AMERICA. BiS ROM tho very dawn of her history, America has been a powerful factor in tho solution of many great European problems. In the early days of her settlement she offered a welcome refuge from the oj)pressi()ii anil poverty of the Old World. Her assertion of independence inflamed th(i impulses whicli were preparing tho French Revolution with all its unfort^seen and incalculable consequences, and hastened tho coining of that tremendous oc- currence. Throughout tLe half century of struggle by which Europe vindicated her freedom, it was a constant stimulus to patriot effort to know that, beyond the sea, there was a country where men were at liberty to prosecute their own welfare un- impeded by the restraints which desj)otism imposes. A con- stant light was thrown by American experienci; upon the ques- tions which agitated Europe. Men accustonu^d to be told that they were unfit to bear any part in the government of their country, saw men such as they themselves were enjoying political privileges in America, and governing a continent to the general advantage. Men accustomed to be told that Slate support was indispensable to tho existence of tho Church, saw religion becomingly upheld in America l)y tho spontaneous ofFerings of tho jmople. Methods of government altogether unlike those of Europe were practised in America ; an«l Europe haen Cleveland and Pittsl)urg. By his own ♦energy alone he had risen. He had been a professor, a preacher, a successful soldier, a practical lawyer, a bold and ready party leader. Throughout life lit; had l)een noted for fearless honesty. In his public career, no taint of corruption was found attaching to any part of his conduct. The man who should undertake to reform the abuses in the official system of America must him- self have clean hands, and Garfield's hands were clean. General Garfield's election was held t-o be a great triumph for the Republican party, but especially for that section of it which advocated Civil Service reform. He had made no secret of his opinions on that subject. In the outline of his political creed which he issued soon after his selection aa Republican candidate he expressed his agreement with those who urged the necessity of "placing the Civil Service on a better ba.sis." The remedy to which he pointed was that "Congress should devise a method that will determine the tenure of office." In his inaugural address on assuming office, he intimated his intention of taking steps to apply this remedy. Two objects, he said, must be aimed at. The one was to protect the executive against " the waste of time and the obstruction to public business caused by the inordinate pressure for place." The other was to protect the holders of office "against intrigue and wrong." To effect both objects, he would " at the proper time ask Congress to fix the tenure of the minor offices of several executive departments, and prescribe grounds upon which removals shall be made." Further, he announced his purpose " to demand rigid economy in all expenditures of the Government, and to require honest and («P 20 t 80(1 PRESIDKNT OAllFIELD. il i fi. I I* "»• i faitltful Kcrvico of all tlio oxecutivo oHlcorH, r«iu(>in1)(>rin>( that tln'ir odici'H w»»r<» croatod, not fur tlu; Ix'iictit of the incuiubuntH or tlicir Hupportors, Imt for tlio wrvico of tlio (jlov«'niiin;nt." ThcHo (l(H;larationH did not ^ivc unniix(>enalty. Within the railway stuti<(n at Wushinjfton he was shot in the back by a man named Charles Cfuiteau, who for several days liad been importuning the authori- ties at White House for place. The useless an*a« cheered by tho momentary rally, and Haddened by tlu? inevitabh» relapHe." At length tho end came with startling Kuddennesh. It waH followed by a universal wail. All humanity nmurned, as if it had lost a brother. The sentiment |M»rvan it was too late. Lamenting now tho great mischance by which the glory and the profit of these marvellous discoveries passed away from him, Henry lost no time in seeking to possess him- self of such advantage as Spain had not yet appropriated. There was living then in Bristol a Venetian merchant named John Cabot. This man and his son Sebastian shared their great countryman's love of maritime ad- venture. Under the patronage of tho King, who claimed one- fifth of the gains of tlmir enterprise, they fitted out, at their own charge, a fleet of six ships, and saih^d westward into the ocean whose terrors Columbus had so eflectually tamed. They struck a northerly course, and reached Newfoundland. Still bfjnding northwards, they coasted Lab- rador, hoping as Columbus did to gain an easy passage to the 1496 A.D. 1497 A.D. 312 THE DAWN OF CANADIAN HISTORY. WW East. They i)ierce(l deeper into the unknown north than any European had done before. But day by day, as they sailed and searched, the cold became more intense ; the floating masses of ice became more frequent and more threatening ; the wished-for opening which was to conduct them to Cathay did not reveal itself. Cabot, repulsed by unendurable cold, turned and sought the more genial south. He steered his course between the island of Newfoundland and the mainland, and explored with care the gulf afterwards called by the name of St. Lawrence. Still moving southwards, he passed bleak and desolate coasts which to-day are the home of powerful com- munities, the seat of great and famous cities. He had looked at the vast sea-board which stretches from Labrador to Florida. He had taken no formal possession; his foot had scarcely touched American soil. But when he reported to Henry what he had seen, the King at once claimed the whole as an English possession. Many years passed before the claim of England was heard of any more. The stormy life of Henry came to its close. His son, around whose throne there surged the disturbing influences of the Reformation, and who was obliged in this anxious time to readjust the ecclesiastical relations of himself and of his people, had no thought to spare for those distant and unknown regions. The fierce Mary was absorbed in the congenial em- ployment of trampling out Protestantism by the slaughter of its followers. The America upon which John Cabot — now an almost forgotten name — had looked fourscore years before, was nearly as much forgotten as its discoverer. But during the more tranquil reign of Elizabeth there began that search for a north-west route to the East which Europe has prosecuted from that time till now with marvellous persistence and intre- pidity. Martin Frobisher, going forth on this quest, pierced further into the north than any previous ex- plorer had done. He looked again upon the bleak, ice-bound 1576 AD. THE DAWN OF CANADIAN HISTORY. 313 an was the r a ■'om re- 3St, lex- Ind 1583 A.D. coasts of Labrador and of southern Greenland. Sir lluui- |)hrey Gilbert, acting under the Queen's authority, visited Newfoundland, and planted there an inconsiderable and unenduring settlement. Another generation passed before England began to concern herself about the shadowy and well-nigh forgotten claim which she had founded upon the discoveries of John Cabot. It was indeed a shadowy claim ; but, even with so slender a basis of right, the power and determination of England proved ultimately sufficient to establish and maintain it against the world. The Pope had long ago bestowed upon the Kings of Spain and Portugal the whole of the New World, with all its " cities and fortifications;" but Engliand gave no heed to the enormous pretension which even France refused to acknowledge.* Meanwhile, disregarding the dormant claims of England, France had made some progress in establishing herself upon the new continent. She too had in her service a mariner on whose visit to the West a claim was founded. Thirty years after Cabot's first voyage, John Verazzani — an Italian, like most of the explorers — sailed from North Carolina to New- foundland ; scenting, or believing that he scented, far out at sea the fragrance of southern forests ; welcomed by the simple natives of Virginia and Maryland, who had not yet learned to dread the terrible strangers who brought destruction to their race ; visiting the Bay of New York, and finding it thronged with the rude and slender canoes of the natives ; looking with unpleased eye upon the rugged shores of Massachusetts and Maine, and not turning eastward till he had passed for many miles along the coast of Newfoundland. When Verazzani reported what he had done, France assumed, too hastily as the event proved, that the regions thus explored were rightfully hers. * Francis I. said that he "would fain see the article in Adam's will which bequeathed the vast inheritance " to tlie Kings of Spain and Portugal. f'Al k I- h ! 'r 11 I r 314 TUK DAWN UV CANADIAN HISTOUY. 1634 A.D. But her claim obtained a more substantial su[)i)ort than tlio hasty visit of Verazzaui was able to bestow upon it. Ten years later, Jacques Cartier, a famous sea-captain, sailed on a bright and warm July day into tho gulf which lies between Newfoundland and tho mainland. He saw a great river flowing into tho gulf, with a width of estuary not less than one hundred miles. It was the day of St. Lawrence, and he opened a new prospect of immortality for that saint by giving his name to river and to gulf. He erected a large cross, thirty feet high, on which were imprinted the insignia of France ; and thus he took formal possession of the country in the King's name. He sailed for many days up the river, be- tween silent and jmthless forests ; past great chasms down which there rolled the waters of tributary streams ; under the gloomy shadow of huge i)recipices ; past fertile meadow-lands and sheltered islands where the wild vine flourished. The Indians in their canoes swarmed around the ships, giving the strangers welcome, receiving hospitable entertainment of bread and wine. At length they came where a vast rocky promon- tory, three hundred feet in height, stretched far into the river. Here the chief had his home ; here, on a site worthy to bear the capital of a great State, arose Quebec ; here, in later days, England and France fought for sujjremacy, and it was decided by the sword that the Anglo-Saxon race was to guide the des- tinies of the American continent. Cartier learned from the Indians that, much higher up the river, there was a large city, the capital of a great country ; and the enterprising Frenchman lost no time in making his way tlnther. Standing in the midst of fields of Indian corn, he ^ ..nid a circular enclosure, strongly palisaded, within which WW", iif^y large huts, each the abode of several families. This w;.» iiochelaga, in reality the capital of an extensive territory. '-\-.-' i laga was soon swept away; and in its place, a century later, Jesuit enthusiasts established a centre of missionary opera- ll THE DAWN OF CANADIAN HISTUUY. S15 ) the and way , he 'hich This tory. tury pera- I tioiis under the |)rotection of the Holy Virgin. It too passed away, to be succeeded by the city of Montreal, the seat of gov- ernment of an Anglo-Saxon nation. The natives entertained Cartier hospitably, and were dis- pleased that he would not remain longer among them. He returned to Quebec to winter there. Great hardships overtook him. The winter was unusually severe ; his men were unpro- vided with suitable food and clothing. Many died ; all wen^ grievously weakened by exposure and insufficient nourishment ; and when their condition was at the lowest, Cartier was led to suspect that the natives meditated treachery. So soon as the warmth of spring thawed the frozen river, Cartier sailed for France, lawlessly bearing with him, as a i)resent to the King, the chief and three natives of meaner rank. The results of Cartier's visits disappointed France. A country which lies buried under deep snow for half the yeni- bad no attractions for men accustomed to the short and ordi- narily mild winters of France. The King expected gold and silver mines and precious stones ; but Cartier brought home only a few savages and his own diminished and diseased baml of followers. There were some, however, to whom the lucra- tive trade in furs was an object of desire ; there were others, in that season of high-wrought religious zeal, who were power- fully moved to bear the Cross among the heathens of the West. Under the influence of these motives, feeble efforts at coloniza- tion were from time to time made. The fishermen of Nor- mandy and Brittany resorted to the shores of Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and plied their calling there with success such as had not rewarded their efforts in European waters. The persecuted Calvinists sought to give effect to u proposal made by Admiral Coligny, and find rest from the malignity of their enemies among the forests of Canada. But the French have little aptitude for colonizing. Down far beyond the close of the century France had failed to establish 316 THE J)AWN OF CANADIAN HISTORY. any permanent footing on the American continent, A few mean huts at Quebec, at Montreal, an«l at two or three other ]iointH, were all that remained to represent the efi'orts and the sufferings of nearly a hundred years. There is evidence tliat in the year 1629 "a single vessel" was expected to take on board "all the French" in Canada; and the vessels of those days were not large. • h !■ few )tlier I tli(; tliat e on .hose CHAPTER II. SAMUEL DE CIIAMPLAIN. HE fierce strifes which raged between Catholic and Protestant during the latter half of the sixteenth century engrossed the mind of France to the exclu- sion of all that concerned her remote and discourag- ing possession. But while the strong hand of Henry IV. held the reins of government, these strifes were calmed. Tlie hatred remained, ready to break forth when circumstances allowed ; but meantime the authority of the King imposed salutary restraint upon the combatants, and the country had rest. During this exceptional quiet the project of founding a New France on the gulf and river of St. Lawrence again received attention. Among the favourite servants of the King was Samuel do Champlain. This man was a sailor from his youth, which had been passed on the shores of the Bay of Biscay. He had fought for his King on sea and on land. He was brave, resolute, of high ability, of pure and lofty impulses, combining the courage with the gentleness and courtesy of the true knight-errant. In him there survived the passionate love of exploring strange lands which prevailed so widely among the men of a previous generation. He foresaw a great destiny for Canada, and he was eager to preserve for France the neglected but magnificent heritage. Above all, he desired to send the saving light of faith to the red men of the Canadian forests ; for although a bigoted m if m I ' i t 318 SAMUEL PE cnAMPLAlN. Catholic, he was a sincero Christian. "TIio salvation of ono soul," he was accustonuMl to say, " is of more valu(? than the conquest of an oni|)ir('." This man was tlu^ founder of Canada. During thirty years lie toilfKl incessantly to plant and fost(T settlements, to send out missionaries, to r(fj)el the im-oads of the English, to protect the rights of France in the fur-trade and in tlu^ fisheries of New- foundland. The innnediate success which atteiuhjd his labours was inconsiderable. His settlements refustnl to make progress; the savage tribes for whose souls he cared were extirpated by enemies whose hostility he had helped to incur; the English de- stroyed ships which were bringing him supplies ; they besieged and captured Quebec itself. He died without seeing the great- ness of the colony which ho loved, but which, nevertheless, owed the beginnings of its greatness to him. One of the earliest concerns of Champlain was to choose a site for the capital of the; French empire in the West. As Cartier had done thrfie-cjuarters of a century before, he chose the magniliceut healy diminished his authority. And the hostility of the Iroquois, thus unwisely provoked, resulted in the utter destruc- tion of the llurons, and involved the yet unstable colony in serious jeopardy. Champlain enjoyed tho sup})ort of King Henry IV., who listened to his glowin;^ accounts of the country in which he was 8o profoundly int<'rested, who praised the wisdom of his goveni- niont, and encouraginl him to perscivere. But despite of royal favour, his task was a heavy on(\ There were in his company both Romanists and Calvinists, who bore with them into the forest the discords which then made France miserable. Cham- plain tells that he has seen a Protestant minister and a cure attempting to s(!ttle with blows of the fist their controversial ditferoncea. Such occurr(!nc(>s, he i)oints out, were not likely to yield fruit to the glory of God among tlu^ infidels whom ho dath of duty. The winter was unusually severe. The snow-drift stood higher than the roof of the humble Residence ; the fathers, sitting by their log-fire, heard the forest trees crack with louil report under the power of intense frost. Le Jeune's earliest care was to gain some knowledge of the savage tongue spoken by the tribes around him. He was commended, for the prose- cution of that design, to a withered old squaw, who regaled him with smoked eels while they conversed. After a time, ho obtained the services of an interpreter, a young Indian known as Pierre, who could speak both languages. Pierre had been converted and baptized ; but the power of good influences ^vithin him was not abiding, and his frequent backslidings grieved the Father Superior. A band of savages invited Le Jeune to accompany them on a winter hunting expedition; and he did so, moved by the hope that he might gain their hearts as well as acquire their language. Among the supplies which his friends persuaded him to carry, was a small keg of wine. Scarcely had the expedition set out when the apostate Pierre found opportunity to tap the keg, and appeared in the camp hopelessly and furiously intoxicated. The sufferings of the His He endured much from Pierre's brother, who followed the occupa- tion of sorcerer. This deceptive person, being employed to assist Le Jeune in preparing addresses, constantly palmed off" upon him very foul words, which provoked the noisy mirth of the assembled wigwam and grievously diminished the efficacy of his teaching. The missionary regained his home at Quebec after five months of painful wandering. He hud accomplished * " One must be ready," wrote this devout priest, full of faith, "to abandon life and all he has ; contenting himself, as his only riches, with a cross— very large and very heavy." good father from hunger and from cold were excessive.* success in instructinc; the savages was not considefable. [ff ll III 1'.- I i w m fwx m "I 'i i « 111 328 THP] JESUITS IN CANADA. 1634 A.D. little; but he had learned to believe that his labour was wasted among these scanty wandering tribes, and that it was necessary to J5nd access to one of the larger and more stable communities into which the Indians were divided. Far in the west, beside a great lake of which the Jesuits had vaguely heard, dwelt the Hurons, a powerful nation with many kindred t ">e6 over which they exercised influence. The Jesuits resolved to lound a mission among the Hurons. Once in every year a fleet of canoes came down the great river, bearing six or seven hundred Huron warriors, who visited Quebec to dispose of their f'lrs i .• gamble and to steal. Brebceuf and two com- pt":ao/*^j i-'ok passage with the returning fleet, and set out f )2 i:c dreary scene of their new apostolate. The way ^vas ver} V a," — scarcely less than a thousand miles; it occupied t.un; +oil' , Is y,^. The priests journeyed separ- ately, and were able to hor.i ^; j conversation with one another or with their Indian companions. They were barefooted, as the use of shoes would have endangered the frail bark canoe. Their food was a little Indian corn crushed between two stones and mixed with water. At each of the numerous rapids or falls which stopped their way, the voyagers shouldered the canoe and the baggage and marched painfully through the forest till they had passed the obstacle. The Indians were often spent with fatigue, and Breboeuf feared that his strong frame would sink under the excessive toil. The Hurons received with hospitable welcome the black- robed strangers. The priests were able to repay the kindness with services of high value. They taught more effective methods of fortifying the town in which they lived. They promised the help of a few French musketeers against an im- pending attack by the Iroquois. They cured diseases; they bound up wounds. They gave simple instruction to the young, and gained the hearts of their pui)ils by gifts of beads and raisins. The elders of the people came to have the faith ex- !i; THE JESUITS IN CANADA. 329 ms were plained to them : they readily owned that it was a good faith for the French, but they could not be persuaded that it was suitable for the red man. The fathers laboured in hope, and the savages learned to love them. Their gentleness, their courage, their disinterestedness, won respect and confidence, and they had many invitations from chiefs of distant villages to come and live with them. It was feared that the savages regarded them merely as sorcerers of unusual power ; and they were constantly applied to for spells, now to give victory in battle, now to destroy grasshoppers. They were held answer- able for the weather; they had the credit or the blame of what good or evil fortune befell the tribe. They laboured in deep earnestness ; for to them heaven and hell were very real, and very near. The unseen world lay close around them, mingling at every point with the aflfairs of earth. They were visited by angels; they were withstood by manifest troops of demons. St. Joseph, their patron, held occasional communication with them ; even the Virgin herself did not disdain to visit and cheer her servants. Once, as Brebceuf walked cast down in spirit by threatened war, he saw in the sky, slowly advancing towards the Huron territory, a huge cross, which told him of coming and inevitable doom. Some of their methods of conversion were exceedingly rude. A letter from Father Garnier has been preserved in which pictures are ordered from France for the spiritual improvement of the Indians. Many representations of souls in perdition are required, with appropriate accompaniment of flames and trium- phant demons tearing them with pincers. One picture of saved souls would suffice, and " a picture of Christ without beard. " * They were consumed by a zeal for the baptism of little children. At the outset the Indians welcomed this cere- monial, believing that it was a charm to avert sickness and * The fathers were wise in their generation. The Indians liated beards, and extir- pated their own. It was judicious to omit tliis distasteful feature from all sacred representations. il ) !Ui' 880 THE JESUITS IN CANADA. Mit death. But when epidemics wasted them they charged the calamity against the mysterious operations of the fathers, and refused now to permit baptism. The fathers recognized tho hand of Satan in this prohibition, and refused to submit to it. They baptized by stealth. A priest visited the hut where a sick child lay — the mother watching lest he should perform tlie fatal rite. He would give the child a little sugared water. Slyly and unseen he dips his finger in the water, touches tho poor wasted face, mutters the sacramental words, and soon " the little savage is changed into a little angel." The missionaries were subjected to hardship such as tho human frame could not long endure. They were men accus- tomed to the comforts and refinements of civilized life ; they had tasted the charms of French society in its highest forms. Their associations now were with men sunk till humanity could fall no lower. They followed the tribes in their long winter wanderings in quest of food. They were in perils, often from hunger, from cold, from sudden attack of enemies, from the superstitious fears of those whom they sought to save. They slept on the frozen ground, or, still worse, in a crowded tent, half suffocated by smoke, deafened by noise, sickened by filth. Self-sacrifice more absolute the world has never seen. A love of perishing heathen souls was the impulse which animated them ; a deep and solemn enthusiasm upheld them under trials as great as humanity has ever endured. That they were them- selves the victims of erring religious belief is most certain ; but none the less do their sublime faith, their noble devotedness, and patience and gentleness claim our admiration and our love. The Huron Mission had now been established for five years. During those painful years the missionaries had laboured with burning zeal and absolute forgetfulness of self; but they had not achieved any considerable success. The chil- dren whom they baptized either died or they grew up in heathen- 1640 A.D. Ui THE JESUITS IX CANADA. 331 ism. There were some adult converts, one or two of whom were of liigh promise ; but the majority were eminently (Hh- appointing. Once the infant church suffered a grievous rent by the withdrawal of converts who feared a heaven in which, as they were informed, tobacco would be denied to them. The manners of the nation had experienced no amelioration. No limitation in the number of wives had been conceded to the earnest remonstrances of the missionaries. Captive enemies were still tortured and eaten by the assembled nation. In time, the patient, self-denying labour of the fathers might have won those discouraging savages to the Cross ; but a fatal inter- ruption was at hand. A powerful and relentless enemy, bent on extermination, was about to sweep over the Huron territory, involving the savages and their teachers in one common ruin. Thirty-two years had passed since those ill-judged expeditions in wliich Champlain had given help to the Hurons against the Iroquois. The unforgiving savages had never forgotten the wrong. A new generation inherited the feud, and was at length j)repared to exact the fitting vengeance. Tlie Iroquois had trading relations with the Dutchmen of Albany on the Hudson, who had supplied them with fire-arms. About one-half of their warriors were now armed with muskets, and were able to use them. They overran the country of the Hurons; they infested the neighbourhood of the French settle- ments. Boundless forests stretched all around ; on the great river forest trees on both sides dipped their branches in the stream. When Frenchmen travelled in the woods for a little distance from their homes, they were set upon by the lurking savages and often slain ; when they sailed on the river, hostile canoes shot out from ambush. No man now could safely hunt or fish or till his ground. The Iroquois attacked in overwhelming force the towns of their Huron enemies; forced the inadequate defences; burned the palisades and wooden huts; slaughtered with indescribable tortures the wretched inhabi- 1642 A.D. m M 832 THE JESUITS IN CANADA. tants. In one of these towns they found Brebceuf and one of his companions. They bound the ill-fated missionaries to stakes ; they hung around their necks collars of red-liot iron ; they poured boiling water on their heads ; they cut stripes of flesh from their quivering limbs and ate them in their sight. To the last Breboeuf cheered with hojjes of heaven the native converts who shared his agony. And thus was gained the crown of martyrdom for which, in the fervour of their enthusi- asm, these good men had long yearned. In a few years the Huron nation was extinct ; famine and small-pox swept off those whom the Iroquois spared. The Huron Mission was closed by the extirpation of the race for whom it was founded. Many of the missionaries perished ; some returned to France. Their labour seemed to have been in vain ; their years of toil and suffering had left no trace. It was their design to change the savages of Canada into good Catholics, industrious farmers, loyal subjects of France. If they had been successful, Canada would have attracted a more copious immigration, and a New France might have been solidly established on the American continent. The feudal system would have cumbered the earth for generations longer ; Catholicism, the irreconcilable enemy to freedom of thought and to human progress, would have overspread and blighted the valley of the St. Lawrence. For once the fierce Iroquois were the allies and vindicators of liberty. Their cruel arms gave a new course to Canadian history. They frustrated plans whose success would have wedded Northern America to despot- ism in Church and in State. They prepared a way for the con- quest of New France by the English, and thus helped, influen- tially, to establish free institutions over those vast regions which lie to the northward of the Great Lakes. ' CHAPTER IV. THE VALLEY OP THE MISSISSIPPI. fSkiSSi |HE discovery of the Mississippi by Ferdinand de Soto was not immediately productive of benefit. For nearly a century and a half after this ill-fated explorer slept beneath the waters which he had been the first to cross, the " Father of Rivers" continued to flow through unpeopled solitudes, unvisited by civilized men. The French possessed the valley of the St. Lawrence. The English had thriving settlements on the Atlantic sea-board ; but the Alle- ghany Mountains, which shut them in on the west, allowed room for the growth of many years, and there was yet therefore no rea- son to seek wider limits. The valley of the Mississippi remained a hunting-ground for the savages who had long possessed it. In course of years it became evident that England and France must settle by conflict their claims upon the American continent. The English still maintained their right, originating in discovery, to all the territory occupied by the French ; and from time to time they sent out expeditions to re-assert by invasion the dormant claim. To the French, magnificent possi- bilities offered themselves. The whole enormous line of the Mississippi and its tributaries, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, could be seized and held ; a military settlement could secure the mouth of the river; the English could be hemmed in between the Alleghanies and the ocean, and the increase of their settlements frustrated. m 334 THE VALLEY OF THE MLSSTSSIPPL m ! -.- . 1 , J :, »r .• ■J . ^ 1671 A.D. Nicholas Pcrrot, a French officer, met, on tlio Kinj,''s business, a gathering of Indian delegates, at a point near the northern extremity of Lake Michigan. Tlu^re he was told of a vast river, called by some Mechasepe, by others Mississippi. In what direction it flowed the savages could not tell, but they were sure it did not flow either to the north or to the east. The acute Frenchman readily perceived that this mysterious stream must discharge its waters into the Pacific or into the Gulf of Mexico, and that in either case its control must be of high value to France. An exploring party, composed of six men and furnished with two slight bark canoes, undertook the search. They 1673 . ■*■ '*^ ascended the Fox River from the point where it enters Lake Michigan; they crossed a narrow isthmus; and launching upon the River Wisconsin, they floated easily down- wards till they came out upon the magnificent waters of the Mississippi. Their joy was great : the banks of the river seemed to their gladdened eyes rich and beautiful ; the trees were taller than they had ever seen before ; wild cattle in vast herds roamed over the flowery meadows of this romantic land. For many days the adventurers followed the course of the river. They came where the Missouri joins its waters to those of the Mississippi. They passed the Ohio and the Arkansas, and looked with wonder upon the vast torrents which reinforced the mighty river. They satisfied themselves that the Mississippi fell into the Gulf of Mexico ; and then, mistrusting the good- will of the Spaniards, they turned back and toilsomely re- ascended the stream. Some years later, a young and energetic Frenchman — Sieur de la Salle — completed the work which these explorers 1680 J.OOU j^g^j begun. The hope entertained by Columbus, that he would discover a better route to the East, had only now, after two hundred years of disappointment, begun to fade out of the hearts of his followers, and it was still eagerly THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 88: chtTifihod })y La Salle. Ho travorsod tho Mississippi from the moutli of tho Illinois River to the Gulf. He saw tho vast and dreary swamps which lie around tho outlet of tho Mississippi. He erected a shield bearing the arms of Franco ; he chiinied the enormous region from tho Alleghany Mountains to tho Pacific, from the Great Lakes to tho Gulf of Mexico, aa tho jjossession of the French King. For a full half century Franco took no action to secure tho vast possession which she claimed. The later years of Louis XIV. were full of disaster. England, persuaded by King William that French ambition was a standing menace to Europe, waged wars which brought France to the verge of ruin. Her colonial possessions could receive little care when Franco was fighting for existence in Euroi)e. A wise Governor of Canada — the Compte do la Galissonnifere— |)orceived the rapid growth of the English settlements and the growing danger to France which their superior strength involved. He proposed that the line of the MissiHsii)pi should be fortified, and that ten thousand peasants should be sent out to form settlements on the banks of the great lakes and rivers. In time, the growing strength of these settlements would give to France secure possession of the valley of the Mississijjpi ; while the English colonists, confined within the narrow region east- ward of the Alleghany Mountains, must lie exposed to the damaging assault of their more powerful neighbours. So reasoned the Governor ; but his words gained no attention from the pre-occupied Government of France. To the utmost of his means he sought to carry out the policy which would preserve for France her vast American possessions. He endeavoured to exclude English traders, and to persuade the Indians to adopt a similar course. He marked out the confines; of French territory by leaden plates bearing the arms of France, sunk in the earth or nailed upon trees. He brought a few settlers from Nova Scotia. But all his efforts were in vain. J "if I'll *T ■ ii 336 THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. The Anglo-Saxons were the appointed rulers of the Ameri- can continent; and the time was near when, brushing aside the obstruction offered by Frenchmen and by Indians, they were to enter into full possession of their heritage. magnificent ihi I; 'il 1 ' 1 :■ ill 1: Amen- ns, they crnificent CHAPTER V. THE AMERICAN CONTINENT GAINED BY THE BRITISH. 1613 A.D. jlHE first English settlement which became permanent in Virginia was founded in 1606. Seven years later — while the settlement was still struggling for existence — the colonists began to form purposes of aggression against their still feebler neighbours in the far north. It was their custom to send annually to the great banks of Newfoundland a fleet of fishing -boats under convoy of an armed ship. Once the commander of this escort was a warlike person named Samuel Argall, whcse lofty aims could not be restricted to the narrow sphere which had been assigned to him. While the boats which were his charge industriously plied their calling, Argall turned his thoughts to the larger pursuit of national aggrandizement. He affirmed the right of England to all the lands in his neighbourhood. The French had an armed vessel on the coast: Argall attacked and captured her. The French had formed a very feeble settlement on Penobscot Bay : Argall landed and laid in ruins the few build- ings which composed it. He crammed seventeen of his prisoners into an open boat and turned them adrift at sea. The others were carried to Jamestown, where they came near to being hanged as pirates. Thus early and thus lawlessly opened the strife which was to close, a century and a half later, with the victory of the English on the Heights of Abraham and the expulsion of French (687) 23 I ill i 1628 A.D. 1713 A.D. 1664 A.D. 338 THE AMERICAN CONTINENT GAINED BY THE BRITISH. rule from the American continent. During the greater p wtion of that time England and France were at war, and the infant settlements of Acadie and Canada formed a natural prey to English adventurers. King James bestowed Acadie upon a countryman whom he befriended, and this new proprietor sent out a fleet to establish his claims. The lawless com- mander of this expedition did not scruple, in a time of peace, to possess himself of Quebec. Three times the English took Acadie : once they held it jointly with France for eleven years ; then they restored it. Finally, it became theirs by the Treaty of Utrecht, and was henceforth known as Nova Scotia. As the New England colonies increased in strength they waged independent war with Canada. A little farther on the English conquered New York, and gradu- ally extended their occupation northward to the Great Lakes. The Frenchmen of the St. Lawrence were their natural enemies. The English sought to possess themselves of the Canadian fur trade, and to that end made alliance with the Iroquois Indians, who were then a controlling power in the valley of the Hudson. There were perpetual border wars — cruel and wasteful. Often the Englishmen of New York at- tacked the Frenchmen of Canada ; still more frequently they stimulated the Indians to hostility. Always there was strife, which made the colonies weak, and often threatened their extinction. It was not at first that England cared to possess Canada ; it was rather that she could not witness the undis- turbed possession by France of any territory which France seemed to prize. As years passed and the enormous value to European Powers of the American continent was more fully discovered, the in- evitable conflict awakened fiercer passions and called forth more energetic effort. The English were resolute to frequent the valley of the Ohio for trading purposes ; the French were resolute to prevent thorn. Covernors of the English colonies, !l I ITISH. THE AMERICAN CONTINENT GAINED BY THE BRITISH. 339 p ■)rtion 3 infant prey to upon a oprietor ess com- time of English (r eleven ae theirs mown as increased A little ad gradu- &he Great vere their nselves of ^ with the er in the T wars — York at- sntly they v^as strife, ned their to possess ihe undis- Ih France In Powers [d, the in- lorth more ^uent the inch were colonies, scorning the authority of France, granted licences to traders ; when traders bearing such licences appeared on the banks of the Ohio, they were arrested and their goods were confiscated. The Englisli highly resented these injuries. Attempts were made to reach a pacific adjustment of disputes, and commis- sioners met for that purpose. But the temper of both nations was adverse to negotiation ; the questions which divided them were too momentous. It was the destiny of a continent which the rival powers now debated. Men have not even yet found that the peaceable settlement of such questions is possible. The English colonies had increased rapidly, and now con- tained a population upwards o^ a million. From France there had been almost no voluntary emigration, and the valley of the St. LaAvrence was peopled to the extent of only sixty-five thou- sand. The English were strong enougli to trample out their rivals. But they were scattered at vast distances, and conflict- ing opinions hindered them from uniting their strength. And France, at this time, began to send out copious military stores and reinforcements, as if in preparation for imme- diate aggression. The two countries were still at peace, but the inevitable c uflict was seen to be at hand. The Eng- lish Governors begged earnestly for the help of regular soldiers, in whose prowess they had unbounded confidence. Two regi- ments were granted to their prayers, and tlioy themselves pro- vided a strong body of bold but imperfectly disciplined troops. They were too powerful to wait for the coming of tlie enemy. A campaign was designed whose success would have shaken the foundations of French authority on the continent. One army under General Braddock was to cross the Allenj^liany Mountains and destroy Fort du Quesne, the centre of French power on the Ohio. Two armies would operate against the French forts on the Groat Lakes; yet another force moved against the French settlements in the Bay of Fundy. To crown the wliole, a 1754 A.D. t '11 Ml ii M In* i: 'ili iili m ! I i 340 THE AMERICAN CONTINENT GAINED BY THE BRITISH. British fleet cruised off the banks of Newfoundland watching the proceedings of a rival force. Ruin, speedy and complete, overwhelmed the unwisely-g'iided armament which followed General Braddock through the 1755 A.D. In the north there were fought The English forced on Virginian forests.* desperate and bloody battles, board their ships three thousand French peasants — peaceful inhabitants of Nova Scotia — and scattered them among the southern colonies. The Indian allies of the French surprised many lonely hamlets, slaughtered many women and children, tortured to death many fighting-men. The English fleet cap- tured two French ships. But no decisive advantage was gained on either side. The problem of American destiny was solving itself according to the customary methods — by the desolation of the land, by the slaughter and the anguish of its inhabitants ; but the results of this bloody campaign did not perceptibly hasten the solution after which men so painfully groped. During the next two years success was mainly with the French. The English were without competent leadership. An experienced and skilled officer — the Marquis de Montcalm — commanded the French, and gained important advantage over his adversaries. He took Fort William Henry, and his allies massacred the garrison. He took and destroyed two English forts on Lake Ontario. He made for himself at Ticonderoga a position which barred the English from access to the western lakes. The war had lasted for nearly three years ; and Canada not merely kept her own, but, with greatly inferior resources, was able to hold her powerful enemy on the defen- sive. But now the impatient English shook ofi" the imbecile Govern- ment under which this shame had been incurred, and the strong hand of William Pitt assumed direction of the war. When * See page 77. ISH. icWng nr'iided mil the fought ced on ,eaceful ? )ng the irprised hildren, eet cap- ige was tiny was _by the sh of its did not painfully with the >adership. ^lontcalra idvantage , and his oyed two imself at access to ■ee years ; Iv inferior ihe defen- ce Govern- Ithe strong W>>en THE AMERICAN CONTINENT GAINED BY THE BRITISH. 341 England took up in earnest the work of conquest, France could offer but feeble resistance. The Canadians were few in 17R7 number, and weakened by discontent and dissension. Their defensive power lay in a few inconsiderable forts, a few thousand French soldiers, and five ships of war. The insignificance of their resources had been concealed by the skil- ful leadership of Montcalm. Pitt proposed, as the work of the first campaign, to take Louisburg — the only harbour which France possessed on the Atlantic ; to take Fort du Quesne, in the valley of the Oliio ; and Ticonderoga, in the north. He was able to accomplish more than he hoped. Louisburg was taken ; Cape Breton and the island of St. John became English ground. Communication between France and her endangered colony was henceforth im- possible. Tlie French ships were captured or destroyed, and the flag of France disappeared from the Canadian coast. Fort du Quesne fell into English hands, and assumed the English name of Pittsbiirg, under which it has become famous as a centre of peaceful industry. France had no longer a footing in the Mississippi valley. At Ticonderoga, in- capable generalship caused shameful miscarriage : the English attack failed, and a lamentable slaughter was sustained. But the progress which had . been made afforded gi'ound to expect that one campaign more would terminate the dominion of France on the American continent. The spirit of the British nation rose with the return of that success to which they had long been strangers. Pitt laid his plans with the view of immediate conquest. Parliament ex- pressed strongly its approbation of his policy and his manage- ment, and voted liberal sums to confirm the zeal of the colonists. Ihe people gave enthusiastic support to the war. Their supreme concern for the time was to humble France l)y seizing all her American possessions. The men of New England and New York lent their eager help to a cause which was peculiarly 1758 A.D. r Tn 342 THE AMERICAN CONTINENT GAINED BY THE BRITISH. '•' i IM 1759 A.D. their own. The internal condition of Canada prepared an easy way for a resolute invader. The harvest had been scanty ; no supply could now be hoped for from abroad, for the English ships maintained strict blockade ; food was scarce ; a corrupt and unpopular Government seized, under pretence of public necessity, grain which was needed to keep in life the families of the unhappy colonists. There were no more than fifteen thousand men tit to bear arms in the colony, and these were for the most part undisciplined and reluctant to fight. The Governor vainly endeavoured to stimulate their valour by fiery proclamations. The gloom and apathy of approaching over- throw already filled their hearts. It was the design of Pitt to attack simultaneously all the remaining strongholds of France. An army of eleven thousand men, moving northward from New York by the valley of the Hudson, took with ease the forts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; and the fair region which lies around Lake Champlain and Lake George jiassed for ever away from the dominion of France. A sinaller force attacked Fort Niagara, the sole representative now of French authority on Lake Ontario. Tliis stronghold fell, and France had no longer a footing on the shores cf the Great Lakes. In the east the progress of the British arms was less rapid. Montcalm held Quebec, strongly fortified, but insufficiently pro- vided with food. He had a force of twelve thousand men under his command — heartless and ill-armed, and swarms of allied Indians lurked in the woods, waiting their opportunity. Before Quebec there lay a powerful British fleet, and a British army of eight thousand men. Pitt knew that here lay the chief diffi- culty of the campaign ; that here its crowning success must be gained. He found among his older officers no man to whom he could intrust the momentous task. Casting aside the routine which has brought ruin upon so many fair enterprises, he pro- moted to the chief command a young soldier of feeble health, THE AMERICAN CONTINENT GAINED BY THE BRITISH. 343 no gentle, sensitive, modest, in whom his unerring perception dis- covered the qualities he required. That young soldier was James Wolfe, who had already in subordinate command evinced courage and high military genius. To him Pitt intrusted the forces whose arms were now to fix the destiny of a continent. The long winter of Lower Canada delayed the opening of the campaign, and June had nearly closed before the British ships dropped their anchors off the Isle of Orleans, and Wolfe was able to look at the fortress which he had come to subdue. His survey was not encouraging. The French flag waved defiantly over tremendous and inaccessible heights, crowned with formidable works, which stretched far into the woods and barred every way of approach. Wolfe forced a landing, and established batteries within reach of the city. For some weeks he bombarded both the upper and the lower town, and laid both in ruins. But the defensive power of Quebec was unim- paired. The misery of the inhabitants was extreme. " We are without hope and without food," wrote one : " God has for- saken us." Regardless of their sufferings, the French general maintained his resolute defence. The brief summer was passing, and Wolfe perceived that no real progress had been made. He knew the hopes which his countrymen entertained ; and he felt deeply that the exceptional confidence which had been reposed in him called for a return of exceptional service. He resolved to carry his men across the river and force the French intrenchments. But disaster fell, at every point, on the too hazardous attempt. His .^' transports grounded ; the French shot pierced and sunk some of his boats ; a heavy rain-storm damped the am- munitic»n of the troops ; some of his best regiments, fired by the wild enthusiasm of battle, dashed themselves against im- pregnable defences and were destroyed. The assault was a complete failure, and the baffled assailants withdrew, weakened by heavy loss. p, i] 844 THE AMEIIIOAN CONTINENT GAINED BY THE BIUTlSir. The agony of mind which resulted from this disaster bore with crushing weight upon Wolfe's enfeebled frame, and for weeks he lay fevered and helpless. During his convalescence he in- vited his officers to meet for consultation in regard to the most hopeful method of attack. One of the officers suggested, and the others recommended, a scheme full of danger, but with pos- sibilities of decisive success. It was proposed that the army should be placed upon the high ground to the westward of the upper town and receive there the battle which the French would be forced to offer. The assailants were largely outnumbered by the garrison ; escape was impossible, and defeat involved ruin. But Wolfe did not fear that the French could inflict defeat on the army which he led. The enterprise had an irresistible attraction to his daring mind. He trusted his soldiers, and he determined to stake the fortune of the campaign upon their power to hold the position to which he would conduct them. The Heights of Abraham stretch westward for three miles from the defences of the upper town, and form a portion of a lofty table-land which extends to a distance from the city of nine miles. They are from two to three hundred feet above the level of the river. Their river-side is well-nigh perpen- dicular and wholly inaccessible, save where a narrow footpath leads to the summit. It was by this path — on which two men could not walk abreast — that Wolfe intended to approach the enemy. The French had a few men guarding the upper end of the path ; but the guard was a weak one, for they apprehended no attack here. Scarcely ever before had an army advanced to battle by a track so difficult. . The troops were all received on board the ships, tvhich sailed for a few miles up stream. During the night the men re-embarked in a flotilla of boats and dropped do\>n with the receding tide. They were in- structed to be silent. No sound of oar was heard, or of voice, Sept 12, 1759 A.D. THE AMERICAN CONTINENT GAINED BY THE IHUTISH. 345 ships, excepting tliat of Wolfe, wlio in a low tone repeated to hin officers the touching, and in his own case prophetic, verses of Gray's " Elegy in a Country Churchyard." Quickly the land- ing-place was reached, and the men stepped silently on shore. One by one they climbed the narrow woodland path. As they neared the summit the guard, in panic, fired their muskets down the cliff and fled. The ships had now dropped down the river, and the boats plied incessantly between them and the landing-place. All night long the landing proceeded. The first rays of the morning sun shone upon an army of nearly five thousand veteran British soldiers solidly arrayed upon the Heights of Abraham, eager for battle and confident of victory. Wolfe marched them forward till his front was within a mile of the city, and there he waited the attack of the French. Montcalm had been wholly deceived as to the purposes of the British, and was unprepared for their unwelcome appear- ance on the Heights. He had always shunned battle ; for the larger portion of his troops were Canadian militia, on whom little reliance could be placed He held them therefore within his intrenchments, and trusted that the approaching winter would drive away the assailants and save Canada. Even now he might have sheltered himself behind his defences, and delayed the impending catastrophe. But his store of provisions and of ammunition approached exhaustion ; and as the English ships rode unopposed in the river, he had no ray of hope from without. Montcalm elected that the great controversy should be decided by battle and at once. He marched out to the attack with seven thousand five hundred men, of whom less than one-half were regular soldiers, besides a swarm of Indians, almost worthless for fighting such as this. The French advanced firing, and inflicted considerable loss upon their enemy. The British stood immovable, unless when they silently closed the ghastly openings which the bullets of the French created. At length the hostile lines fronted each ■i II i '' 846 THE AMERICAN CONTINENT GAINED BY THE BRITISH. other at a distance of forty yards, and Wolfe gave the com- mand to fire. From the levelled muskets of the British lines there burst a well-aimed and deadly volley. That fatal dis- charge gained the battle, gained the city of Quebec — gained dominion of a continent. The Canadian militia broke and fled. Montcalm's heroic presence held for a moment the soldiers to thei* duty; but the British, flushed with victory, swept for- ward on the broken and fainting enemy : Montcalm fell pierced by a mortal wound ; the French army in hopeless rout sought shelter within the ramparts of Quebec. Both generals fell. Wolfe was thrice struck by bullets, and died upon the field, with his latest breath giving God thanks for this crowning success. Montcalm died on the following day, pleased that his eyes were not to witness the surrender of Quebec. The battle lasted only for a few minutes; and having in view the vast issues which depended on it, the loss was in- considerable. Only fifty-five British were killed and six hun- dred wounded; the loss of the French was twofold that of their enemies. A few days after the battle, Quebec was surrendered into the hands of the conquerors. But the French did not at once recognize absolute defeat. In the spring of the following year a French army of ten thousand men gained a victory over the British garrison of Quebec on the Heights of Abraham, and laid siege to the city. But this appear- ance of reviving vigour was delusive. The speedy approach of a few British ships broke up the siege and compelled a hasty retreat. Before the season closed, a British army, which the French had no power to resist, arrived before Montreal and received the immediate surrender of the defenceless city. Great Britain received, besides this, the surrender of all the possessions of France in Canada from the St. Lawrence to the unknown regions of the north and the west. The militia and the Indians were allowed to return unmolested to their homes. The 1760 A.D. THE AMERICAN CONTINENT GAINED BY THE BRITISH. 347 soldiers were carried back to France in British ships. All civil officers were invited to gather up their pajiers and other para- phernalia of government and take shipping homewards. For French rule in Canada had ceased, and the Anglo-Saxon reigned supreme from Florida to the utmost northern limit of the continent. I !| ^ ; : '■:'} n I Hi m f- i 3. 4^ '■■ li 1 '' 1 I': i CHAPTER VI. COLONIZATION BY FllANCE AND HY ENGLAND. CENTURY and a half had elapsod sinco Champlain laid the foundations of French empire among the forests of the St. Lawrence valley. During those! years the nations of Western Europe were possessed by an eager desire to extend their authority over the territories which recent discovery had opened. On the shores of the Northern Atlantic there were a New France, a New Scotland, a New England, a New Netherlands, a New Sweden. Southwards stretched the vast domain for whose future the occupation by Spain had already prepared deadly and enduring blight. Franco and England contended for jjossession of the great Indian peninsula. Holland and Portugal, with a vigour which their later years do not exhibit, founded settlements alike in Eastern and in Western seas, gaining thus expanded trade and vast increase of wealth. • • France had shared the prevailing impulse, and put forth her strength to establish in Canada a dominion worthy to bear her name. The wise minister Colbert perceived the greatness "^ il*" opportunity, and spared neither labour nor outlay to fost ue growth of colonies which would secure to France a firm hoid of this magnificent territory. Successive Kings lent aid in every form. Well-chosen Governors brought to the colony every advantage which honest and able guidance could afford. Soldiers were furnished for defence ; food was supplied in COLONIZATION BY FRANCE AND BY ENGLAND. .349 Boasons of Rcarcity. A fortilo soil and tradinpf opportunities which wero not Kurpasn('r his own benefit, or sold to any who would purclmse, tho right to fish and to trade in furs ; ho ground tho corn of liis tenantry at rates which he himself fixed. lie atlniinisterod justice and i)Uiiished all crimes excepting treason and murder. Wlicn the feudal system was about to enter on its period of dtjcay in Europe, France began to lay upon that unstable basis tho foundation of her colonial empire. The infant commerce of tho colony was strangled by monop- olies. Great trading companies purchastul at court, or favour- ites obtained gratuitously, exclusive right to buy furs from tho Indians and to import all foreign goods used in the colonies — fixing at their own discretion tho prices which the^y were to pay and to receive. Occasionally in a hard season they bought \i\) the crops and sold tliem at famine prices. The violation of these monopolies by unlicensed persons was j)unishable by death. Tlie colonists had no thought of self-government ; they were a light-hearted, submissive race, who were contented witli what th(^ King was pleased to send them. Their ofiicials plun- dered them, and with base avarice wasted tlieir scanty stores. The people had no power for their own protection, and their cry of suffering was slow to gain from the distant King that justice which they were not abhi to enforce. The priest came with his })eop]e to guard their orthodoxy in this new land — to preserve that jirofound ignorance in which lay the roots of their devotion. Government discouraged tins printing-j)ress ; scarcely any of the jieasantry could so much as read. At a time when Connecticut expended one-fourth of its revenues upon the conmion school, the (Canadian peasant was wholly uninstructed. In QucOiec ilwrv. had been, almost from the days of Champlain, a college for tho training of priests. There and at Montreal were Jesuit seminaries, in which children of the well-to-do classes rec(uved a little instruction. A feeble attempt had been made to educate the children of the Indians; but for tho children of the ordinary working I! 852 COLONIZATION BY FRANCE AND BY ENGLAND. invj Frenchmen settled in Canada no provision whatever had been made. The influences which surrounded the infancy of the English colonies were eminently favourahle to robust growth. Coming of their own free choice, the colonists brought with them none of the injurious restraints which in the Old World still impeded human progress. The burdensome observances of feudalism were not admitted within the new emj^ire. Every colonist was a land- owner. In some States the settlers divided among themselves the lands which they found unoccupied, waiting no consent of King or of noble. In others, they received, for prices which were almost nominal, grants of land from persons — as William Penn, who had received large territorial rights from the sove- reign. In all cases, whether by purchase or by appropriation, they became the independent owners of the lands which they tilled. At the beginning, they were too insignificant to be re- garded by the Government at home : favoured by this beneficent neglect, they were allowed to conduct in peace their own public affairs. As their importance increased, the Crown asserted its right of control ; but their exercise of the privilege of self- government was scarcely ever interfered with. The men who founded the New England States carried with them into the wilderness a deep conviction that universal education was in- dispensable to the success of their enterprise. While the French Canadian, despising agriculture, roamed the forest in pursuit of game, ignorant himself, and the father of ignorant children, the thoughtful New England farmer was helping with all his might to build up a system of common schools by which every child born on that free soil should be effectively taught. Thus widely dissimilar were the methods according to which France and England sought to colonize the lately-discovered continent. An equally wide dissimilarity of result was inevitable. It was in the closing years of the great experiment that France devised the bold conception of establishing a line of COLONIZATION BY FRANCE AND BY ENGLAND. 353 been nglish ing of of the luman re not , land- aselves jent of which Villiam le sove- riation, ch they ) be re- neficent public •ted its of self- len who [nto the was in- French irsuit of Ihildren, all his ;h every Thus France Intinent. military settlements on the Mississippi as well as on the St. Lawrence,* and thus confining the English between the Alle- ghany Mountains and the sea. In view of the extreme infe- riority of her strength, the project seems extravagant. It was utterly impossible to restrain, by any forces which Franco could command, the expansive energy of the English colonies. There were sixty thousand Frenchmen proposing to imprison on the sea-coast two million Englishmen. But the consti- tution of the French settlements, while it enfeebled them and unfitted them to cope with their rivals in peaceful growth, made them formidable beyond their real strength for purposes of aggression. Canada was a military settlement ; every Canadian was a soldier, bound to follow to the field his feudal lord. The English colonists were peaceful farmers or traders ; they were widely scattered, and living as they did under many indepen- dent governments, their combination for any common warlike purpose was almost impossible. That they should ultimately overthrow the dominion of their rivals was inevitable ; but if the French King had been able to reinforce more liberally the arms of his Canadian subjects, the contest must have been i)ro- longed and bloody. Happily, his resources were taxed to the utmost by the complications which surrounded him at home. The question as to which race should be supreme on the American continent was helped to a speedy solution on the battle-fields of the Seven Years' War. ■* Towards the close of her dominion in Canada, Franco expencied about one million fiterling on her iini)rofltabIe colony, mainly in bnildini^ forts alon^ the enormous lino from Quebec to New Orleans, in order to shut in the Englisli colonists. I i «i i ! Int that line of (087) %$ CHAPTER VII. > - ■ APTEIl THE CONQUEST. HE condition of the Canadian people at the time of the conquest by the English was exceedingly miser- able. Everv man was in the ranks, and the fields on which their maintenance depended lay untilled. The lucrative fur trade had ceased, for the Indian hunter and the French trader were fighting against the English. The scanty revenues of the colony no longer yielded support to the officers of the Government, who plundered the wretched people without restraint of pity or of shame. Famine prevailed, and found many victims among the women and children, who were now the occupants of the neglected clearings along the river-banks. At length the conquest was accomplished, and those sad years of bloodshed closed. The French soldiers, the rapacious officials, were sent home to France, where some of the worst offenders, it is gratifying to know, found their way quickly to the Bastile. The colonists laid down their arms, and returned gladly to their long-disused industries. At first the simple people feared the severities of the new auth ity into whose power they had fallen. Some of them went home to France ; but these were chiefly the colonial aristocracy, whose presence had always been a misfortune. The apprehensions of the settlers were soon allayed. They had been accustomed to arbitrary and cruel government. The rack was in regular use. Accused jiersona were habitually subjected to torture. Trials were conducttid in time of y mise^- he fieW« untilled. nter and sh. The pt to the ed people liled, and iwerenow r-banks. sad years Ls officials, offenders, le Bastile. [y to their teared the they had ihese were ,ways been were soon and cruel od persons mducted lA AFrKIl THE CONQUEST. 355 secret, and without opportunity of defence. Tlie personal liberty of every man depended upon the pleasure of his supe- riors. English rule brought at once the termination of these wrongs, and bestowed upon the submissive Canadians the unex- pected blessings of peace, security of person and property, and a pure administration of justice. It had been feared that the great mass of the population would leave the province and rciturn to France. But the leniency of the Government, and the open-handed kindness with which the urgent necessities of the poor were relieved, averted any such calamity ; and the Frenchmen accepted, without repining, the new sovereignty which the sword had imposed upon them. The English Government naturally desired to fester the set- tlement of an English population in Canada. It was not, at first, without hesitation that Britain made up her mind to retain the territory for whose possession she had fought so stoutly. The opinion was widely entertained, especially among the trading class, that united North America would quickly become too powerful to continue in dependence on the mother country ; that the subjection of our existing colonies would bo guaranteed by the wholesome presence of a rival and hostile power on their northern frontier. But wiser views prevailed, and Britain resolved to keep the splendid prize which she had won. Every effort was made to introduce a British element which should envelop and ultimately absorb the unprogressivo French. Large inducements were offered to traders, and to the fighting men whose services wore no longer required. Many of these accepted the lands which were offered to them, and made their liomes in Canada. The novelty of the acquisition, and the interest which attached to the concjuest, brought a considerable number of settlers from the old country. The years immediately succeeding the ccxiquest were years of more rapid growth than Canada had experienced under French rule. In twelve years the population had increased to one liundred [it HI Si I' Ml ! ! f-^ :» 866 AFTER THE CONQUEST. I'M I ' M il I 11 ri I I I i HI III! Hi 11 , i^ iiiiiiijliiit, III l!ii thousand. The clearings along the shores of the St. Lawrence increased in number and in area, and stretched backward from the river into the forest. The influx of merchants caused a notable increase of the towns. Thus far no printing-press had been permitted on Canadian soil ; for despotism here, as well as elsewhere, demanded popular ignorance as a condition of its existence. But scarcely had the French officials departed when two enterprising men of Philadelphia arrived in Quebec with a printing-press, and began the publication of a newspaper. The war in Europe continued for upwards of three years after the expulsion of the French from Canada. Wearied at length with the brutal strife, the exhausted nations desired peace. France had suffered enormous territorial losses. The disasters which had fallen on Spain humbled her haughty spirit, and hastened the decay which was already in progress. Austria and Prussia desired rest from a wasteful contest, in the advan- tages of which they scarcely participated. The enormous gains which Britain had secured satisfied for the time the ambition of her people, and she was contented now that the sword should be sheathed. Peace was concluded. Britain added to her dominions several islands of the West Indies, the Floridas, Louisiana to the Mississippi, Canada, and the islands in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, as well as Senegal " Never," said the lately-crowned George III., " did England, nor, I believe, any other power in Europe, sign such a peace." While the war still lasted, a military Government ruled Canada, and justice was administered by councils of officers. When peace was restored, and the transference of Canada was formally complete, arrangements of a more permanent character became necessary. The situation was full of difficulty. The colony was substantially French and Koman Catholic ; only a small minority of its people were English and Protestant. These, however, looked with the pride of conquerors upon the old settlers, and claimed that the institutions of the colony 1763 A.D. II AFTER THE CONQUEST. 357 rence from Lsed a , ss had veil as of its I when with a ■ e years tried at desired >s. The ty spirit, Austria e advan- 3US gains ibition of be sword Britain [he West lada, and Senegal England, peace.' lent ruled ,f officers, mada was character dty. The • only a ;>rotestant. upon the the colony should be framed wholly on English models. Wise states- manship in this eventful hour would have averted enfeebling divisions, wasteful strifes, discontents swelling at length into rebellion. But wise statesmanship was denied to Canada. Tliere came a Proclamation in the King's name, promis- - _«„ ing to the people self-government such as the Americans ^jj enjoyed, so soon as the circumstances of the colony per- mitted; briefly intimating that for the present the laws of England were the laws of Canada. It was a revolution scarcely surpassed in its violer'ce and injustice ; and in its results it delayed for generations the progress of the colony. At one stroke the laws which had been in force for a century and a half were swept away. A new code of laws, entirely new methods of judicial procedure, of which the people knew nothing, were now administered in a language which scarcely any one understood. In their haste the Government did not pause to consider that the laws which they had thus suddenly imposed upon this Roman Catholic colony included severe penal statutes against Catholics. It M'as desired that the laws, the language and the customs of England should displace those of France, and that the French settlers should become absorbed in the mass of anticipated English immigration. In course of years, by wise and conciliatory treatment, these results would have been gained ; Imt the unredeemed injustice of this assault upon the rights of the colonists postponed for generations tho hope of the desirable reconciliation. The French took up at once the position of an oppressed people — holding themselves studiously separate from their oppressors, cherishing feelings of jealousy and antagonism. To uphold French customs, to reject the English tongue, and if possible the English law — these were now the evidences of true patriotism. Henceforth, and for many long and unquiet years, there were two distinct and liostilo nations dwelling side by side in the valley of the St. Lawrence. It was one of the unhappy results of these ill-considered I tSi AFTEU THE CON(iUEST. * * 1766 A.D. arrangements that no Frenchman could fill any public office, in consequence of his ignorance of the language in which public business was conducted. All such offices were therefore occu- pied by Englishmen. For the most part the appointments were made in London, with small regard to the fitness of the persons who received them. Men came out to administer the affiiirs of Canada in absolute ignorance of the country, of the habits of the people, even of the language which they spoke. These officials received no salaries, but were suffered to indem- nify themselves by fees, which they exacted rapaciously and ruthlessly. They treated the old inhabitants with harshness and irritating contempt. There were even darker charges than these preferred against them, warranting the assertion of the good General Murray, who was then Governor, that " they were the most immoral collection of men he ever knew." The conduct of these officials aggravated the alienation of the French settlers, and helped to prepare the unquiet future through which the colony was to pass. But the French Canadians were a submissive people, and although they perceived that they were wronged, they did not on that account turn aside from the path of peaceful industry which opened before them. Trade was prosperous, and steadily increasing ; many persons who had left the colony returned to it ; agriculture extended ; gradually the deep wounds which years of war had inflicted were healed. The people remained long profoundly ignorant. When Yolney, the French traveller, visited them towards the close of the century, he found that they knew almost nothing of figures, and were incapable of the simplest calculation. They indicated short distances by telling how many pipes a man could smoke while he walked ; a longer distance was that which a man could or could not traverse between sunrise and sunset. But ignorance did not prevent that patient, incessant toil, which year by year added to their possessions and improved their condition. AFTER THE CONQUEST. 359 fice, in public B occu- itments of tlio iter the , of the ( spoke. ) indem- isly and arshness ores than n of the lor, that 1 he ever ^ated the ipare the »ple, and y did not industry I steadily turned to ,ds which remained traveller, 5und that ble of the by telling a longer traverse it prevent A to their 1773 A.D. In course of time a desire for representative institutions sprang up among the English settlers. During all tliese years they had lived under the despotic sway of a Governor and Coun- cil appointed by the Crown. Tliey alone among Englishmen were without part in their own government, and they wished the odious distinction to c(^ase. They jiotitioned for the House of Assembly which the King had promised them ten years before, and for the permanent establishment of English law among them. The French were not sufficiently instructed to care for representative government, but they ear- nestly desired the restoration of the laws which had been bo hastily abolished after the conquest. It was during a season of anxiety and apprehension that these conflicting opinions were pressed upon the attention of the British Government. The diflferences which had arisen between England and her American colonies were evidently now incapable of settlement otherwise than by the sword. The men of Boston had already thrown into their harbour the cargoes of taxed tea which England sought to force upon them. All over New England men were hastening to obtairi muskets and to accomplish themselves in military drill. A strong English force, which was being steadily increased, held Boston, and waited for the expected strife. In vit^w of impending war, it was the desire of the English Government to satisfy Canada, and gain such support as she was able to afford. The great mass of the Canadians were Frenchmen and Boman Catholics.* It was not doubted that in course of years men who were English and Protestant would form the population of Canada. But the danger was present and urgent, and it must be met by con- ciliating the men who now formed that population. An Act was passed by which the Proclamation of 1763 was repealed. The Roman Catholic religion was set free 1774 A.D. »: f * According to the best estimates, the poi)ulation of Canada at this time was com- posed of 100,000 Catholics and 400 Protestants. lit ' V<' '%! I I ' < ( '■I'"} !, « 1 i' fl 360 AFTKIl THE CONQUEST. from legal disability, and reinstated in its right to exact tithes and other dues from all persons who owned its sway. French civil law was reimposed, but the barbarous criminal code of England was set up in preference to the milder system of France. The House of Assembly was still denied, and the pro- vince — extended now to the Ohio and the Missi88ii)pi — was to be ruled by a Governor and Council appointed by the Crown, one-third of the Council being composed of French Canadians. This was the Quebec Act, under which Canada was governed for the next seventeen years. It inflicted many evils upon the colony, but it served well the immediate purpose for which it was intended. It satisfied the old settlers, and held them firmly to the side of England during the years of war which England vainly waged against her alienated children. Thus far the affairs of the colonies had been administered by tlie Board of Trade. The administration had been negligent; for the greatness of the colonies was recent, and the importance of the interests involved was not yet fully appreciated. But the variance which was to cost England the greatest of her colonial possessions had already revealed itself. England was impressively reminded of the imperfections of her management, and of the urgent need of a better system. She set up a new but not a better system. A Colonial department of Govern- ment was created ; a Colonial Secretary was appointed ; an official regulation of colonial interests began, based upon imperfect knowledge — formal, restrictive, often unreason- al)le and irritating. For many years, until the growing strength of the colonies enabled them first to modify and then to over- throw it, this strict official government continued to discourage and impede settlements whose prime necessity was wide free- dom of action. 1774 A.D. n ithcH ench le of m of ( pro- ^as to [•own, lians. crned )n tho ich it tirmly iglaiul red \^y ligcnt; )rtanc(5 But of lior ml was enient, Lew but overii- ointed ; , based reason- trength io over- courago le free- CHAPTER VIII. CANADA DURING TlIK WAU OF INDEPENDENCE. HE Quoboc Act roused much indignation among the American colonists. From Pennsylvania and Vir- ginia twenty thousand persons had already setthsd in the valley of the Ohio. Those suddenly found themselves disjoined from the colonies of which they n^gardcd themselves members, and subjected to the despotic rule which was imposed upon Canada. The American patriots enrolled the new arrangements among their grievances, and hoped that their fellow-sufferers the Canadians would be of the same opinion. The Congress which met at Philadelphia opened communication with the Canadians, to whom they addressed a forcible exposition of their mutual wrongs, coupled with the proposal that their neighbours should take some part in the steps which they were meditating in order to obtain redress. The handful of English Canadians sympathized with the comi)laints of their countrymen, and were not reluctant to have given help had that been possible ; but they were an inconsiderable number, living among a population which did not share their views. The French settlers were unaccustomed to self-government, which they did not under- stand and did not desire. Their own laws had been restored to them, the Government was not oppressive, they were suffered to cultivate their fields in peace, and they were without motive to enter upon that stormy path to which their more heroic 1774 A.l). 1 i: ■ 1775 A.D. CANADA J)UHINa THK WAR OF TNDKPKNDKNCK. neighbours invited tlipm. Tlio Aiuorican proposals did not disturb for ono moment tho profound political apathy which rcigncul in tho valley of tho St. Lawrence. When the war lie^^an, tho Americans lost no time in taking hostile^ measures against Canada. They were able, by tho superior cni'rgy of their movements, to ]H)Ssess them- selves of the fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, which had not yet been prepared to offer resistance. Governor Carleton was taken at a disadvantage by this spirited invasion, for ho had been left without an army. For the dc^fence of tho vast territory ov(t which his sway extended, Ik; had no more than eight hundred soldiers. Tie fell back upon the i)rivilege8 of the feudal law, and sunnnoned th(5 colonists to naider to tho King that military service which they owed. But the colonists, from whose minds tluire had not yet passed the memory of tho disastrous war which jjreceded the contpiest, decisively repu- diated feudal obligations, and maintained that the various soignorial dues which they paid were tho full equivalent of tho advantages which they enjoyed. Tlie embarrassed Governor invoked the help of the clergy, who exhorted tho people to take u}) arms in defence of their country. But neither could the authority of tho priests rouse those unwarlike spirits. Tho Frenchmen would fight when their own homes were invaded. Meanwhile they had no quarrel with any one, and they would not incur tho miseries of war so long as it was possible for them to remain at peace. The Americans still believed that there existed among the Canadians a feeling of sympathy with their cause. To em- bolden their secret allies, and give opportunity for the avowal of friendly sentiment, they now despatched two expeditions, one of which was to seize Montreal, and then descend upon Quebec, whore it would be joined by the other, approaching by way of the river Kennebec. One wing of the expedition was successful. Montreal fell; the larger portion of the British jjiii mw^ CANADA DURING TlIK WAR OF IN Di:rKNDKN(K. :i(!3 12 the [o em- Ivowal litions, upon [ng hy [n was tiritisli troops Itocamo j^risonorH ; the Govrrnor rsonjx'd with sonio diffi- culty, and find to Qutiboc. In tlu^ oast tho fortune of war was aj^'ainst tho invaders. They besieged Quebec, maintaining tlieir attack under severe liardslni)H, imperfectly supplieared ono morning at Quo- bee, and proceeded to land a body of troops. The siege was (piickly raised, and tho assailants, in much distress, ellected a disorderly retreat. Ileinforcements soon began to arrive from England, and the continued occupation of IVIontreul by tho Americans was found to bo impossible. Tho invasion of Canada served no good purpose. It was obvious that no help was to be afforded to the party of revolution by the uncomi)laining people of Canada. It was possible to hold certain jiositions on Lake Champlain and elsewhere. IJiit that could be of no service to tho American cause ; on the contrary, it withdrew useful men from the work for which they were urgently re- quired — the defence of New York and Pennsylvania against the overwhelming strength of the English attack. The inva- sion of Canada ceased, leaving the Canadians better contented with the Government under which they lived, and less disposed to form relationships with the colonists by whom the authority of that Government had been cast olT. 'i. I (I I ! ■ W' i Y ^ ' ' 1 1 1 CHAPTER IX. CONSTITUTIONAL (JOVERNMENT. m cm 1783 A.D. N" course of years the English Government fought out its (quarrel with the revolted American colonists and was defeated. A treaty of peace was con- cluded, and the independence which America liad proved herself able to maintain was now acknow- ledged. At the opening of the war England had borrowed a su.^gestion from France, and sought, by attaching the valley of the Mississippi to Canada, to shut in the Americans on the west as on the north by Canadian settlements breathing the spirit of loyalty and submissiveness. The Americans would endure no such restriction. The southern boundary of Canada was now the St. Lawrence river and the great lakes out of which it flows. The vast western region with its boundless capability was made over to the victorious colonists. England held only the north. The two branches of the Anglo-Saxon family had divided in nearly equal proportions tlie whole enormous area of the North American continent. As one of the results of the revolutionary war, Canada gained a large accession to her population and her prosperity. There were among the Americans a considerable number of persons who did not sympathize with the aims of the majority, and who had given good wishes and occasionally active support to the royal cause. Congress had given to the British Government a promise that it would endeavour to mitigate the discomforts JMi^- CONSTITUTIONAL OOVERNMENT. 36r\ rained rhero arsons 111 who to the jont a Inforts which the unpopularity of tho cause those persons had clung to now entailed. But the victors did not at once forgive those who resisted the national desire, and the position of the royalists became intolerable. It was resolved to make provision for them in Canada, where they could still enjoy those relations with the English monarchy their love for which had cost them so dear. Western Canada was still almost wholly unpeopled. There were a few soldiers at Niagara, and some inconsiderable French settlements near Detroit. Kingston had been abandoned ; tho settlers at Toronto had been chased away during the troubles which preceded the conquest, and the traces which they left had been long covercid by the luxuriant growth of the fertile wilder- ness. The vast expanse of rich land which lies along the upper waters of the St. Lawrence and the northern siiores of Lake Ontario still waited the coming of tho husbandman. Here was the home chosen for the men who had incurred tho hatred of their neighbours by seeking to perpetuate English rule over the American colonies. The English Government honestly desired to requite those unfortunate supporters. Tt desired also to plant them far away from the colonists who wt/e of French origin and sentiment. For Enijland mistrusted now her own children who lived within range of American influences, and it was her aim to preserve unimpaired the submissive loyalty of her French subjects. There^jre she chose that while the Frenchmen prospered and increased in the lower valley of the St. Lawrence, those Englishmen who were fleeing from trium- phant republicanism, but who had probably not altogether escaped its taint, should open their new career on the shores of Lake Ontario. They came in such numbers, that within ;i year there were ten thousand sei. tiers in the new colony. They came so miserably poor, tliat for a time England recjuired to iood and clothe them. But they boro stout heai'ts, and hands not unac- customed to wield tlu! axe and guide tho plough. The country if h I 806 CONSTITUTIONAL GOVKHNMENT. was one va.st forest, and the labour of clearing was great. Every man received, frec^ of charge;, a grant of two hundred acres; and for each child of those who had borne arms a like en- dowment was res(!rved. The settlers worked with good-will. In a short time each man's lands were ready for the plough, and the landscape was lighted up with corn-fields and the dwellingsof man. During the course of peaceful years which she now enjoyed Canada increased stcsadily. Emigrants were drawn from Eng- land by the inducement of free lands in the western province ; in the east thcsre were constant additions both to the French and to the English section of the population. Shortly after the close of the American War it was found that in tlu; whole colony there were not fewer than oiuj hundrc^d and fifty thousand souls. Canada had doubled her population in the twenty years which had elapsed since she became an English possession. Her government was still administered according to the ))leas- uro of the English Crown, without any concession being made to the wishes of the pcoi)le. But events now occurred in Europe which quickened, for a s})ace, th(5 democratic tendency, and dis})Osed goveri; ments to listen to the wishes of their sub- jects. The French Revolution had \indicated the right of a nation to guide its own destiny. The influences of that great change were keenly felt in Canada. The English colonists, who had long been dissatisfied with the system under which they lived, earnestly desired a representative government, ^iany of the FrenchuK n, who had hitherto been indifferent to the juivi- It'ge, partook of the same desire, in sympathy with the revolution Avhicli their countrymen had eilected. The English Govern- ment, wiser now than when it undertook to deal with the dis- contents of the Anjerican colonies, listened with favour to the prayer of the (Canadians. A liill was introduced ))y jVIr. 1791 . . Pitt to confer upon the colonists the loni'- withheld A.!). , ^ '^ priviii^ge of self-government. It was not tin; 1 • ^r October, nivading force. Still turthei, an attempt to seize jNlon- treal resulted in failure. Thus closed the first cam])aigu of tin's lamentable war. Everywhen^ the American invaders had Ikmu foiled by greatly inferior forces of iiiilitia, supported by a liaiul- ful of regular trooi)s. The war had bei-n always distasteful to («87) 2i n ; I 370 THE WAR OF 1812. a large portion of the American people. On the clay when the tidings of its declaration were n^ceivcd in Boston, flags were hung out half-mas^ high in token of general mourning. The New England States refused to contribute troops to fight in a cause which they condemned. The shameful defeats which had been sustained in Canada encouraged the friends of peace, and the policy of invasion was loudly denounced as unwise and unjust. But the disjiosition to fight still inspired the larger number, and although there was no longer any ho})e of assistance from disaffected Canadians, a fresh campaign was planned and new miseries i)repared for the unolFending colonists. During the next campaign the Americans gained some im- portant advantages. Both combatants had exerted themselves to build and equip fleets on Lake Erie— the command of the lake being of high importance for the defence or the attack of Western Canada. The hostile fleets met and fought ^P ■ near the western shores of the lake. The battle was 1813 fiercely contested, and ended in the complete defeat of the British and the capture of their entire fleet — one- third of the crews of which were killed or wounded. Soon after this decisive \ictory a small force of British and Indians was encountered n I nearly annihilated, and the conquest of Western Canada seemed complete. An attempt to seize Montreal was, however, baflled by a small body of Canadians. Nothing furtlwr of importance was effected on either side. But luring these many months of alternating victory and def(»at the combatants had learned to hate each other with the Mild, unreasoning hatred M'hich war often inspires. The Americans, in utter wantonness, burned down a large Canadian village : the Canadians avengeause occurred, during which the groans of the many woundc^l men who lay in agony on the slope where the British fought, mingled with the dull roar of tlie neighbouring cataract. Tlui battle was resumed : the assailants })ushed forward their artil- lery till the muzzles of the guns almost met ; furious charges were met and repelled by the bayonets of the unyielding British. Not till midnight did the Americans desist from the attack and draw back their batlled forces. The killed and wounded of the Americans in this pitiless slaughter were nearly a thousand men ; the British sulfered a loss almost as heavy. Many other engagements occuri'ed, Avorthless in respect i [572 THE WAR OF 1812. of result, having no claim on the notice of men, excepting for the vain heroism and the wasted lives of those who ^®°" took part in them 1814 * At length Britain and America A.D. accomplished a settlement of their quarrel, and Canada had rest from war. lit CHAPTER XI. DOMESTIC STRIFE. URING the ten or twelve year.s which succeeded the war \\ th America, Canada increased more rapidly than at any previous period. The English Govern" nu'iit offered free conveyance and a liberal grant of land to any person of good character who consented to accept a home in the Upper Province. Emigration from Great Britain was very inconsiderable during the Na})oleon wars ; but when peace was restored, and emj)loyment became scarce and inad- e([uately paid, men sought refug(? beyond the Atlantic from tho misery which had fallen so heavily on their native land. In 1(S15 only two thousand persons emigrated; next year the number was twelve thousand ; three years later it had risen to thirty -five thousand. Many of these found their way to Canada. Te: • years from the close of the war the population of the Lower Province numbered four hundred and twenty thousand; that of the Upper Province was one hundred and twenty thousand. In fourteen years the population had almost doubled. Immediately after the war the British people turned their minds to the defects of their Goveiniment, and the agitation began which gained its difficult and long-delayed triumph in the Reform Bill of 1832. The influences of the same ref(n-ming spirit extended themselves to Canada. The measure of political authority enjoyed by the colonists was still exti-emely limited, and contrasted unfavourably with that of their American neigh- i( ,ii» i :i t .! m i :l If • i I i& ■ i ■ rw 'i 1 1 1 f ;l til il 7f: 874 DOMESTIC STKIFE. bours. It is truo they had tho appointment of tlio Lower Chamber ; but the Executive was not responsible to the hjgis- lative bodies, and was therefore practically despotic. Tho Governor was the representative of the Sovereign ; tlie Upper Chamber drew its origin from tho same source. The Governor answered to no one for the course which he chose to follow; the members of the Legislative Council ordinarily supi)orted him without reserve, because they expected favours from him. They desired the increase of his power, because thus he would be able more bountifully to reward his friends. The sympathies of tlu; Assembly were with constitutional freedom, purity, and economy of administration. At a very early period it was found that tho men who were chosen by the people were at variance on ever} question of importance with the men who were nominated by the King. In truth, the kind of government assigned to the Canadian people was in most respects unsuitable for them. The French colonists did not desire the popular institutions which they received : they i)referred a mild despotism. The English colonists desired more complete liberty, and were continually displeased by the arbitrary acts of the Executive. A still more fatal error was the separation of the provinces, and the provision thus made for perpetuating the French language and laws, the gradual extinction of which was urgently desirable. The time had now arrived when these errors were to bear their proper fruit in jealousy and strife and mutual frustration. The people of Lower Canada remained almost devoid of education, and they bestowed no care upon the cure of that evil. It was quite usual to have members of the Legis- lature who were unable to write. Once the people were so sorely displeased with the conduct of the Governor that they determined to lay their grievances before the King, pjighty-seven thousand citizens concurred in a statement of wrongs ; but of these only nine thousand possessed the accom- 1828 A.D. DOMESTIC STIUFR. 375 )id of that iLegis- were pernor I King- Jilt of iccoiii- plishinont of being able to writer their own names — tlie reuminder ilicl not rise above the ignoniiny of expreyHing their apju'oval by a mark. In the Upper Province the education of the peoph) received some attention. The foundations were hiid of the present common-school system of Canada, altliough as yet an annual grant of £G00 formed the inadecjuate provision which the Legislature was able to su])p]y. The mutual antipathies of the French and the English colonists colour all the history of the Lower Province at this period. The French increased more rapidly than the English. The Council was mainly British ; the Assembly was almost entirely French. The French, emboldened by their growing nuinb(!rs, began to dream of forming themselves into a separate nation. The British did not conceal that they regarded the French as a conquered people ; and they deemed it a wrong that tlu^y, the conquerors, should have no larger influenco on the legislation of the colony. Obscure strifes raged perpetually among the several branches of the Legislatiire. Every shilling of Govern- ment expenditure was eagerly scrutinized by the Assc^mbly. The House wrangled over the amounts and also over the forms and methods of expenditure. Occasionally it disallowed certain charges, which the Governor calmly continued to pay on his own responsibility. A Receiver-General defaulted, and much fiery debate was expended in fixing the blame of this occurrence on the Governor. The English minority sought the extinction of French law and language, and supported a scheme of union which would have secured that result. The French, alarmed and indignant, loudly expressed in jmb- lic meeting and by huge petitions their opposition to the pro- posal. Influential persons continually obtained large gifts of land on unfair terms, and kept their possessions lying waste, waiting speculatively for an advance in price, to the: incon- venience of honest settlers. Not contented with the rich crop of grievances which sprang luxuriantly around them, tiie House 1822 A.l). ) 'iti ^ ^ ■w^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 4r i^ Z W r^ !.l I A 1:^121 12.5 ■^ Ui |2.2 12.0 Ml U4 ' L25 III 1.4 1.6 fliotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WiST MAIN STREIT WUSTIR.N.Y. USM (71«) •72-4503 4S^. -^\ ^^4^ 6^ ^ 876 DOMESTIC STRIFE. 1817 A.D. revived the troubles of past years, and vainly impeached certain judges who were supposed to have been the authors of forgotten oppressiona Even the House was at war with the Governor : not infrequently that high-handed official freed himself from the irksome restraint by sending the members to their homes, and conducting the government of the colony without their help. Upper Canada had its own special troubles. A military spirit had gone abroad among the people. When the lavish expenditure of the war ceased, and the colonists were constrained to return in poverty to their prosaic, everyday occupations, rest- lessness and discontent spread over the land. When the legisla- tive bodies met, the Assembly, instead of applying itself to its proper business, proceeded angrily to inquire into the condition of the province. The Governor would permit no such investigation, and abruptly dismissed the House. It was complained that a small group of influential persons — named with abhorrence the Family Compact — monopolized all positiori of trust and power, and ruled the province despotically. The Government connived at the shutting up of large masses of land, of which speculators had been allowed improperly to possess themselves. Emigration from the United States into Canada was forbidden, to the injury of the colony, lest the political opinions of the colonists should be tainted by association with republicans. But the ecclesiastical grievance of Upper Canada surpassed all others in its power to implant mutual hatred in the minds of the people. An Act passed many years ago (1791) had set apart one-seventh of all lands granted by Government, " for the sui>port of a Protestant clergy." The Church of Eng- land set up the monstrous claim that there were no Protestant clergymen but hers. The Presbyterians, the Methodists, the Baptists claimed un equal right to the appellation and to a share in the inln'ritanee. The Roman Catholics projiosed that the "Clergy Reserves," now extending to throe million acres, sliould DOMESTIC.' STRIFE. 377 be sold, and the proceeds applied in the interests of religion and education. No question could have been imagined more amply fitted to break up the colony into discordant factiona In actual fact the question of the Clergy Reserves was for ujiwards of half a century a perennial source of bitter sectarian strifa While the Canadians were thus dissatisfied with the political arrangements under which they lived, there arrivtd among them one Robert Gourlay, an energetic, restless, erratic Scotchman, inspired by an intense hatred to despotism, and a passionate intolerance of abuses. Mr. Gourlay hegan at once to investigate the causes which retarded the pro- gress of the colony. He found many evils which were distinctly traceable to the corruption of the governing power, and these he mercilessly exposed. The Government replied by a j)rosecution for libel, and succeeded after a time in shutting up their assailant in prison, and ultimately sending him from the country. These arbitrary proceedings greatly incensed the people, and deepened the prevailing discord. In addition to these internal variances, the provinces had a standing dispute on a question of revenue. Of the duties levied on goods which passed up the St. Lawrence river, only one-fifth was paid to Upper Canada. As the commerce of the province increased, the unfairness of this distribution was more loudly complained of. The men of the East were slow to perceive the justice of the complaint, and maintained their hold upon the revenue despite the exasjveration of their brethren in the West But although these now obscure strifes have been regarded as composing the history of Canada, they were happily not its life. Tlie increase of its people and of tlunr intelligence and comfort ; the growth of order and of industry ; the unrecorded spread of cultivation along the banks of the groat river and far up its tributary valleys — these silent operations of natural causes wen; the life of the provinces. Their shores were sought by crowds of emigrants. New settlements were l>eing continu- 878 DOMESTIC STRIFE. r^ i: t'l;. i'il 1821 A.D. ally formed Steamships began to \i\y on the river and on the great lakes, and the improved facilities of communica- tion quickened the industrial development of the country. The navigation of the river was grievoubJy impeded by rapids and waterfalls — the portages of the olden time, at which the red man was accustomed to draw his canoe from the water and carry it toilsomely through the forest till he had rounded the obstacle. Canals were now formed at such points, and ships were enabled to continue their voyages without inter- ruption. The revenue steadily increased, and every class w:is fairly prosperous. Banks had been established in all leading towns. Agriculture was still exceedingly ruda All agricultural implements were in insufficient supply ; the poor farmers could not obtain so much as the ploughs they needed, and tliey were fain to draw out the wealth of the fertile soil with no better means than manual labour atlbrded. But these evils were in due course of years surmounted, and in the year 1831, when an estimate of the })ossession8 of the Canadians was made, the result disclosed an amount of successful industry for which the world had not given them credit. During the seventy years which had elapsed since England conquered the valley of the St. Lawrence, the population had increased from sixty thousand to nearly nine hundred thousand. With the addition of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the smaller colonies, the American subjects of England numbered now a million and a quarter. The lands which their toil had redeemed from wilderness were now valued at seventeen million sterling. Their cattle and horses were worth seven million ; their dwell- ings and public buildings had cost them fifteen million ; they had two million invested in the machinery by which the timber of their boundless forests was i)repared for market ; in their great cckI and seal fisheries they had a fixed capital of a million and a half. Eight hundred ships annually visited their ports from Great Britain; in all the branches of their maritime • 4 DOMESTIC STHIFE. 879 the ica- try. ded , at the had lints, nter- \ was wling Itural could r were better kritimo industry two thou.sand tivo hundred arrivals were registered. Tliey received every year foreign or colonial gootls to the value of two million ; and they exportetl to a soinewhut larger extent. They built ships, and sold them to England ; they sent many cargoes of timber, and much valuable fur ; already they produced food beyond their own consumption, and they sent to Europe wheat and flour and oats and salted provisions. They shipped fish and fish oils. They burned down masses of their abundant timber, and having obtained tlie salts which combustion set free, they manufactured them into pot and pearl ashes, and shipped them to Europe for service in bleaching and other operations. They supplied themselves with sugar from the sap of their maple trees, They brewed much excellent cider and beer ; they distilled from rye, potatoes, apples, much whisky which was not excellent. Quebec and Montreal had grown ui) into considerable towns, each with a population of nearly forty thousand, the vast majority of whom were French. In the l)ay wliere Wolfe's boats stole unobserved and in silence to the shore, there lay now a fleet of merchant-vessels ministering to a large and growing commerce. The lower town which the English guns had de- stroyed was a bustling, thriving sea-port. Far above, where Montcalm and Wolfe fought, was now a well-built city, bright with towers and spires ; v,'ith its impregnable Citadel ; with its Parliament House, said to be more imposing than that in which the Commons of Great Britain then assembled ; with its Palace for the Governor-General, and its aspect and tone of metropoli- tan dignity ; with college and schools ; with newspaj)ers and banks, and libraries and charitable societies ; with ship-building, manufacturing, and all the busy nmrketiiig which beseems one of the great haunts of commoroe. Those seventy years of Eng- lish rule had raised Quelx^e from the rank of litths more than a village to that of an important city ; and had seen the valley of the St Lawrence |)ass out of the condition of wilderness and become the home of a numerous and prospering population. ■ ll i i CHAPTER XII. THE CANADIAN llEVOLUTXON. JHE progress of years did not allay, but, on the con- trary, steadily enhanced the fever of jmlitical dis- content which now jiervaded tl o colonies. The measure of representation which they enjoyed hud Bccined, when the Act of Pitt conferred it upon them, fairly witis- factory ; but after the close of the great European war political opinion ripened fast, and the freedom which had seemed ample in 1791 was intoleral)ly insufficient forty years later. The colonists ptirceived that thoy were living under a despotism. Their Executive and one of their legislative chambtirs W(!ro appointed by the Crown, without regard to the popular wish. Only the Lower Chamber was chosen by the peoi)le, and its action was constantly frustrated by the Ciovenior, the aristocratic advisers by whom his policy was, guided, and his ally the Council. On their southern border lay the territories of a great nation, whose people enjoyed complete political freedom and appointed all their rulers. The United States had so prospered that their [)opulation was now tenfold that of Canada; and their more rapid growth was traced, in the general belief, to the larger freedom of their institutions. In England the eu- groHsing occupation of the people had been, for many years, the exttmding of their liberties, the rescue of political power from the hanils by which it had Insen irregularly appropriatetl. The Englishmen of Canada could not remain unmoved by the things THE CANADIAN REVOLUTION. 381 ami kpereil I) "-"^ ief, to lio cu- rs, tlio from Tho things 1820 A.D. •>»'hich had conio to pass among tho Kn^liHhmrn of Anu'rica ami of Enghinil. When the Canailians of tho Upper Province wore awakening to a perception of the evils under which they suftered, there arrived among them an adventurous young Scotchman destined to h^ave deep traces on their political history. His name was William Lyon Mackenzie. Ho had already i»layed many pai*ts in various Scotch and English towns, with but indifFerent success. In Canada he resumed his quest of a livelihood; but finding nothing at first to meet his require- ments, ho devoted himK(>lf to political rt^form, and set up a newspaper. His love of refonn and his hatred of abuses were genuine and deep ; his mind was acute and enerr^ itic ; but his temperament was too impulsive to permit sufficient consideration of the course which ho intended to pursue. The very first num- ber of his j)aper awakened the sensibilities of all who profited by corruption. He continued his unwelcome diligence in tho investigation and exposure of abuses, and in rousing the public mind to demand an enlargement of political privilege. There were many grounds of ditterenco between the party of Reform and the governing power. Justice, it was said, was impurely administered ; the Governor persisted in refusing to yield to the Assembly control over certain important branches of the public revenue, and continued to administer these at his own pleasure. The Governors fell into tho hands of the small in- fluential i»arty known as the Family Compact, which filled all pub- lic offices with its own adherents. Tlie gi'ievances of which tho Assembly complained were debated in a spirit of intense bitter- ness. On one occasion the Assembly censured the Governor, and was in turn rebuked for its want of court(;sy. Mackenzie was five times expelled from the House, and was as often elected. On one occasion the Assembly refusetl to grant supplies to tho Governor, and the Governor avenged himself by rejecting tho Bill which members had passed for payment of their own sala- • [| SSfl THK CANADIAN REVOLUTION. ,i' '!■■ rios. But gradually, with growing oDlightonment, all these trivial cliHcontontH coiiHolidatcd into one lou -n»tant,y .,,,. ->• l""t mob, in the »t,^et, „f 1^/^:: ,*''"' '""S ^ turbu- CatLoh-e elorg, t«,k part ^7^^ '" ™'«-- TI.e Ron.an of the peace with the cxtroZ ^, ^ threatening disturber. Many pe.on, .ere rest'tdbn T "' '^'™"-«™' '- «"ut which wo. rea„y notln Vie /ba^ '""■—' rebeilion, of armcl pea.>«ntry ran-e.1 the T . '"'"°"'' "<"»• «a"d.s -"-aireeted i"ha,Lnt,': „tt Z^ ""?■' *'™t-'"; ",„ ■omctead, were ^vage.1 bv th ' i '" "'" '''^' =""• «■»'> few hundred men .l^C ^ J^ or t ' ti"- ^' *'^'--'" l-'ut" a force, and were defeated. 'oZZr^T" *"" '''"■-"•™t «onfl.ct which they had p«v"L, tl ''; """"" '" »'''''" ".« P ovoke.1, threw down their ann, amj ' 'I 884 THE CANADIAN REVOLUTION. 1 . i i ■^ , f. f' \ i implored pardon. During a p'«ke certain p.y„„„t„ *• «' that popular ^..j^, « '" 't» denial to the colonies •^-nUol for England nZZZT,, "'""'' '^'^ <'-»«<' onoy d«t«rbefitab!:d Wo ''rnr ''''''' ""^""^ "'' Tl-e sh.ps of stmngers were ri^^T > *'"""■ P'«'<«'tion& •;-' J-. ploughe.ltLwat:"o?;rsf /'''='•'''"''• "o 'o-gn xliips bore home to Eurone Z I^wrence since French No less clear was theTlituT" ""°"' '^* ""^-tcd ' colony w^ still ^^gai^ed^ 1 w^'f "' '^o -'°-t. A '»". of the en-pire, whose pI'ttnT ,""' *'""''''"' l-r- «'ln,«„on to equality of nrivr r "''"'^ impossible it, -•th the nnqualifie,, L t^of '^own ~""' ""' "^ '"'"■»*« (^ the C„,„„,^, Q^,.^^ This was the [ 880 THE CANADIAN REVOLUTION. ;■■: I 1839 A.1). tie Mihicli bound thn colony to tho mother country ; hut for tliin Canuda wouhl ci^rtiiinly yioUl to tlm iidhuMU'cs of i»r»)8|M'rou8 ropublicuniHni in itH ncighltourlimMl, un«l niNt oiV \\w authority of tlio Crown. Ho rraHonnl tlio Wliig HtutrHUicii of forty yeani ago J and th(4r n^awoning waH rcsplicd to liy widcvsproad inion comhnnned. Tlie friends of respon- sible government perceived that their hour of triumph was near. Many evils had flowed from tho separation of the provinces eflected by Pitt fifty years V)efore. It still suited the intcToste of the unreforming party in tho Upper Province and tho French Canadians in tho Lower to maintain the separation. But it was dear to all men who sought merc^ly the public goora- tion. Tho Union Bill woh pusMcd hy tho LogiHluturoH of l>oth provinces and hy tlio Iinpf>rial Parliament, and tho on- foehling Hoparation which the jealouKiea of an earlier *^' time had impoHtnl M'&h finally cancelled. Canada was henceforth to ho ruled hy a Governor, a Legislative Council, and a Legislative A-ssemhly. 'I'he (iover- nor and Council were appointed hy tho Crown ; tho Assemhly was chosen hy the people. Tho representation was shared equally hy the provinces — ten mend)crs of t'Ouncil, and forty- two members of Assemhly hcing assigned to c^ach. Tho As- sembly had control of all branches of the public revenue. TJio Governor was advised by an Executive Council of (ught members, who, if they were members of Assembly, re(|uired ifl-eloction when thoy accepted a i)laco in tho Council. When the Council no longer commanded a majority in the Assembly it ceaseec for , repre- senting the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and N(5wfoundland. They met in private, and discussed for seventeen days the details "<''<'°"'^ of a union which should harmonize and promote the interests of all. Tlie desired reconciliation was not easily attained ; for each province estimated with natural exaggeration the advantages which it brought into the confederation, antl sought a higher position than the others were willing to con- cede. But in the end a scheme of union was framed, and tlie various Governments pledged themselves that they would spare no effort to st'cure its adoption by the Legislatures. A party of resistance arose, and years of debate ensued. But time fought on the side of union. The evils of the existing political system became increasingly apparent in the light thrown by incessant discussion. The separated provinces were weak for purposes of defence ; their commerce was strangled by the re- strictive duties which they imposed on one another. United, they would form a great nation, possessing a magnificent terri- tory, inhabited by an intelligent and industrious people ; for- midable to assailants ; commanding a measure of respect to which they had hitherto been strangers ; with boundless capa- bilities of increase opening to all their industrial interests. Under the growing influence of views such as these, the con- federation of the provinces was at length resolved on by the Legislatures of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Bruns- wick ; and in the following year a Royal Proclamation announced the union of these provinces into one Dominion, which was styled Canada. A little later, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island were received into the union. Newfoundland refused to join her sister States, and still maintains her independent existence. Under the constitution which the Dominion now received, executive power is vested in the Queen, and administered l)y her representative, the Governor-General. This oflicer is aided 1866 A.D. »08 CONFEDEUATION. .1 and advised by a Privy Council, composed of the lieads of tlio various great departments of Stat<\ The Senate is composed of 8(iventy-eight members appointed by the Crown, and hohling oflico for life. The House of Commons consists of two hun- dred and six nuiinbers. These are chosen by the votes of citizens possessing a })roperty (qualification, the amount of which varies in the difterent provinces. Canada gives the franchiso to those persons in towns who pay a yearly rent of X6, and to those not in towns who pay .£4 ; Now Brunswick demands the possession of real estate valued at £20, or an annual income of X80 ; and Nova Scotia is almost identical in her requirements. The duration of Parliament is limited to five v(?ars, and its members receive payment. The Parliament of the Dominion regulates the interests which are connnon to all the provinces ; each province has a Lieutenant-Governor and a Legislature for the guidance of its own local affairs. Entire freedom of trar in groups of three or fou'', for they cannot bo trusted in larger nunib(;ra They deposit the articles which they offer ; the Company's servants put a value upon these, and hand over an equivalent, according to the choice of their customer. Money, until lately, would have been worthless to the Indian, and none was oliered. At one time spirits were supplied, with frightful results in uproar and violence ; but this evil i>ractice has been discon- tinued or carefully restricted. When the negotiation is con- cluded, the Indians withdraw and resume their wanderings. The Company supplied such government as the unpeopled continent required. They had many rivals in the lucrative' commerce which they carried on, and it was often needful for them to defend by arms their coveted monopoly. The French strove during many years to drive out the English and possess the fur trade. French ships of war ai)j)eared in the bay ; French soldiers attacked the posts of the Company. Scarcely had those angry debates been silenced by the victory of Wolfe, when a yet more formidable competition arose. Some enterprising Canadians founded a rival Company, and traded so prosperously that in a few years they had estab- lished numerous stations, and possessed themselves of much of the trade which had hitherto been enjoyed by the older Com- pany. Perpetual strife raged between the servants of the rival institutions. Battles were fought ; much blood was shed ; the revenues of the Hudson Bay Company decayed ; its rich dividends wholly ceased. At length a union of the Com- panies closed these wasteful feuds, and restored the almost forgotten era of prosperity. For a century and a half from the formation of the Company there was no attempt to colonize the vast region over which its dominion extended. The Englishmen and Scotchmen who occupied the trading-stations were the only civilized inhabitants 1784 A.D. 1816 A.D. ! ''», ■ 1 414 THK PHOVINCKH OF THE NOUTH-WEST. of tho Nortl»-\V<'Ht. Th(! Rtation.s wero in nunibcr about ono liuinln'(l; tho cntinj wliito population did not cxccod oiui or two thousand. Thoro wcro Htations on tho Mackonzii! Rivor, within tho Arctic circh^, wh(ire tho cohl was so intense? that hatcliots of ordinary tempor shivorod liko glass at the first blow. Thoro were stations on tho Labrador coast, and twonty-fivo hundred miles away from these there were stations on tho Pacific. Tho Company did not desire to carry civilization into this wilder- ness. The interests of th(^ fur trade are not jjronioted by civili- zation. That industry cannot live? within sound of the settler's axe, or where the yellow corn waves in the soft winds of autumn. It i)rospors only wliero the silence of the forest is unbroken ; where tho fertile globe lies undisturl)ed by tho plough. The Company gave no encouragement to the coming in of human beings, in presence of whom the more profitable occupancy of beaver and bison and silver fox must cease. At length, and for the only time, the traditional policy was departed from. While the struggle with tho rival Company still raged. Lord Selkirk, who was then chairman of the Hudson Bay Company, bethought him of sending out a number of Scotch Highlanders to found a permanent settlement, and thus give preponderance to the interests of which he was the guardian. At that time the Duke of Sutherland was in process of removing small farmers from his estates in Sutherland- shire, in order that he might give effect to modern ideas on tho subject of 8heei)-f arming. Lord Selkirk collected a band of these dispossessed Highlanders, and settled them in the soli- tudes of the Winnipeg valley. Tho point which he selected was near the confluence of the Red River and the Assiniboine, and forty miles from the lake into which these rivers fall. It was many hundred miles from a human habitation ; this lonely colony was the only seat of population on all the northern portion of a vast continent. But th^ soil possessed remarkable fertility ; and the Scotchmen were robust and industrious. 1812 A.D. TIIIC I'llOVINCES OF THK NOUTII-WKST. 415 Grndimlly tlu«y wore joIiumI by otlicr jidvrntiirorH to whom tho Hovcrity of tli(f cliiiiiitc was without t«'iTors. Kjirtrd lli;j;hhiinl crofters, soMicrs (lishaiidcd after Watei'loo, souj^ht in little groups tins reinot(? and s up the; valleys of the Assinihoino and lied Kiver. A cluster of wooden huts receive arose in Canada a vehement demand that the criminals should be punished and the royal authority restored. The despatch of a military force suflUciently strong to overbear the resistance of the insurgent Frenchmen was at once resolved upon. Unusual diflUculty attended this enterprise. Fort Garry was twelve hundred miles distant from Toronto. One-half of this distance could be accomplished easily by railway and by steam - (687) 27 March 1870 A.D. it 418 THE PROVINCES OF THE NORTH-WEST. boat; but beyond tlie northern extremity of Lake Superior there were six huiidred miles of dense and pathless forest traversed by a chain of rivers and of lakes. On these waters, broken by dangerous rapids and impassable falls, no vessel but the light birch canoe of the Indian had ever floated. By this seemingly impracticable route it was now proposed that an army carrying with it the elaborate equipment of modern war should make its way to the valley of the Winnipeg. Happily there was at that time in Canada an officer endowed with rare power in the department of military organization. To this officer, now well known as Sir Garnet Wolseley, was intrusted the task of preparing and commanding the expedition. No laurels were gained by the forces which Colonel Wolseley led out into the wilderness ; for the enemy did not abide their cor ng, and their modest achievements were unnoticed amid the absorbing interest with which men watched the tremendous occurrences of the war then raging between Germany and France. Nevertheless the Red River expedition claims an eminent place in the record of military transactions. It is probably the solitary example of an army advancing by a lengthened and almost impracticable route, accomi)lishing its task, and returning home without the loss of a single life either in battle or by disease. And the wise forethought which pro- A'ided so effectively for all the exigencies of that unknown journey is more admirable than the generalship which has suf- ficed to gain bloody victories in many of our recent wars. In little more than two months from the commission IftTO °^ ^^^ crime which it went to avenge, the army set ^ J) forth. It was composed of twelve hundred fighting men, of whom two-thirds were Canadian volunteers, and the remainder British regulars. Two hundred boats, a few pieces of light artillery, and provisions for sixty days, formed part of its equipment. The expedition passed easily along Lake Huron and Lake Superior, and disembarked in Thunder Bay. From rfi THE PROVINCES OF THE NORTH-WEST. 419 ^ Superior less forest ese waters, vessel but I. By this d that an aotlerii war er endowed rganization. Dlseley, was expedition. 3I Wolseley , abide their oticed amid tremendous srmany and 1 claims an ions. It is incing by a iplishing its [e life either which pro- ,t unknown lich has suf- wars. commission army set ghting men, Irs, and the few pieces Led part of lake Huron iav. From tliis point to the little Lake Shiibandowan was a distance of lifty miles. There was a half-formed road for part of tlie way, and a river scarcely navigable. So toilsome was this stage of the journey that six weeks passed before tliose fifty miles were traversed. At length the boats floated on the tranquil waters of Lake Shebandowan. In an evening of rare loveliness the jleet moved from the place of embarkation, and the forest rung to the rejoicing cheers of tlie rowers. Thus far tlie troops had been toiling up steep ascents. Now they had reached the high land forming the water-shed, from which some streams depart for Hudson Bay, others for Lake Superior and the St. Lawrence. For many days their route led them along a chain of small lakes, on wliich they rowed easily and pleasantly. But at the transition from lake to lake, there ordinarily presented itself a portage — a name of fear to the soldiers. At the portage all disembarked. Tlie innumer- able barrels which held their supplies, the artillery, the ammu- nition, the boats themselves, were taken on shore, and carried on men's shoulders or dragged across the land which divided them from the next lake. Forty-seven times during the progress to Lake Winnipeg was this heavy labour undc^rgone. But in the face of all difficulties the progress was rapid. The health of the men was perfect, their spirits were high, and their carry- ing power so increased by exercise that they were soon able to carry double the load which they could have faced at the outset. No spirituous liquors were s(^rved out, and perfect order reigned in the camp. The heat was often oppressive ; tlu^ attacks of mosquitoes and similar insects were intolerable. But the fore- thought of the general had provided for each man a veil which protected his face, and each boat carried a jar of mosquito oil to fortify the hands. In the early days of August the boats j)assed along Rainy Lake, a beautiful sheet of water fifty miles in length, and entered the river of the same name. Rainy River is a noble stream, eighty miles in length, ami three to 420 THE PROVINCES OF THE NORTH-WEST. 21? i j four hundred yards in width. The scenery through which it flows is of great beauty. Oak-treos of large growth, open glades stretching far into the forest, luxuriant grass, flowers in endless variety and rich profusion, all suggested to the men the parks which surround great houses in England. Helped by the current, Rainy River was traversed at the rate of five or six miles an hour, and the expedition reached the Lake of the Woods. Issuing thence, it entered the Winnipeg River. Here the difficulties of the expedition thickened. The Winni- peg is a magnificent stream, one hundred and sixty-three miles in length — broad and deep, flowing with a rapid current, often between lofty cliffs of granite. In its course, however, there are numerous falls in which boats cannot live. Twenty-five times the stores w«re unshipped, and the boats drawn on shore. Frequent rapids occurred, down which the boats were guided, not without danger, by the skilful hands of the Indian boatmen. No loss was sustained, and after five days of this toilsome and exciting work the boats entered Lake Winnipeg. For one day they steered across the south-eastern portion of the lake; for one day more they held their course up Red River. They left their boats at two miles' distance from Fort Garry, and under rain falling in torrents, and by roads ankle-deep with tenacious mud, they advanced to seek the enemy. Colonel Wolseley had used precautions to prevent any know- ledge of his approach fi om being carried to the fort. He was unable to learn what Riel intended to do, and the men marched forward in the eager hope that the enemy would abide their coming. As they neared the fort, the gates were seen to be shut, and cannon looked out from the bastions and over the gateways. But on a closer view it was noticed that no men were beside the guns, and the hopes of the assailants fell. A moment later, and the fort was known to be abandoned ; men were seen at a little distance in rapid flight. Riel, it appeared, had medi- tated resistance, if he could induce his followers to fight. He rh. which it open glades rs in endless 3n the parks ped by the : five or six Lake of the Eliver. The Winni- jr-three miles urrent, often >wever, there Twenty-five ,wn on shore. were guided, ian boatmen. toilsome and For one day ;he lake; for They left and under ith tenacious it any know- )rt. He was nen marched abide their seen to be ,nd over the no men were A moment in were seen id, had medi- fight Ho THE PROVINCES OF THE NORTH-WEST. 421 r. had been able to build some hope, too, upon the six hundred miles of almost impassable country which lay between him and Lake Superior. Soothing his anxieties by this dream, the Presi- dent of the Eed River Republic breakfasted tranquilly on this closing day of his career. But just as his repast was ended there were seen from the windows of the fort, at a distance of a few hundred yards, and marching with swift step towards him, the twelve hundred men who had come so "fl^ 1870 far to accomplish his overthrow. The blood of Scott was upon his guilty hands. The wretched man saddled a horse and galloped for life ; and the victors did not seek to interrupt his flight. The Red River rebellion was sup- pressed, and British authority was restored in the valley of the Winnipeg. Until very recently the vast wheat-field of the North-West was almost worthless to man ; even now its development has only begun. It is difficult to over-estimate the influence on the future course of human affairs which this lonely and inaccessible region is destined to exert. In the valleys of Lake Winnipeg and its tributary streams two hundred million acres of land, unsur- jiassed in fertility, wait the coming of the husbandman. Its average production of wheat may be stated at thirty bushels per acre — more than double that of the valley of the Mississippi, and rather more than can be gained from the soil of England by careful and expensive cultivation.* Great Britain imports annually one hundred million bushels of wheat — scarcely more than one-sixtieth part of the production of the Winnipeg valley were its enormous capability fully drawn out. Tlie soil is of surpassing richness, and yields its ample fruits so easily that in an ordinary season the cost of producing a quarter of wheat is estimated at no more than fifteen shillings. Port Nelson on the Hudson Bay — the natural shipping point of all this region — is * With careful husbandry much better results are obtained. A yield of forty to fifty bushels is common, and a j)rize was recently awarded to a farmer whose land yielded one hundred and five bushels I 422 TJIE PUUVINCES OF TJIE N(JUTH-WEST. eighty miles nearer tlian New York is to Liverpool and the markets of England. • The valley of the Winnipeg has been hitherto practically in- accessible. The Red River expedition spent three months on the journey. Many of the settlers had required even longer time to reach the secluded paradise which they sought. To a vp; "^ majority of the British people the existence of this territory is i:dll unknown. The boats of the Hudson Bay Company formed its only medium of connnunication with the outside world. Until the Winnipeg valley has been opened by railway or bv rleamboat, it must remain valueless for any better use tuau Ob ... preserve for the wild creatures which yield fur, and as a 'ii,i; . .or the Iiulians who pursue them. B'lt the ii\-ii'/ul facility of transport is now being gained; the clistfaucc ^'^hicli ;'hiit out the human family from this splen- did domain is xmw ourse of being abridged. Winnipeg, now grown into a town of fifteen thousand inhabitants, and rapidly increasing, has a direct railway connection Avith St. Paul, the chief city of Minmjsota. The Northern Pacific — a line whoso progress was delayed for years by financial disaster — is now advancing westward from its starting-point on Lake Superior, and will soon be opened two hundred and fifty miles beyond Winnipeg. The Canadian Pacific, largely subsidized by Govern- ment, is pushing its way westward towards Columbia and the ocean. The obstacles to navigation in the Nelson river have been carefully examined with a view to their removal, so that vessels of large size may pass from Lake Winnipeg to Europe. These increased facilities of transport have produced their expected result. A large inflow of settlers began two or three years ago, and continues year by year with gi-owing energy. Many thousand immigrants came to the Winnipeg valley in 1877-78. During the latter year three million acres of rich wheat-lands were put under the plough, adding to the supply of liuman food a quantity almost equal to the entire British im- - THK, PUOVINCKS OF THK NORTH-WEST. 428 Dol and the •actically in- I months on even longer ught. To a bhis territory \y Company the outside d by railway ly better use ield fur, and !j gained; the m this splen- /"innipeg, now ;, and rapidly St. Paul, the a line whose ister — is now ,ke Superior, miles beyond id by Govern- [nbia and the in river have [loval, so that to Europe, ■oduced their Itwo or three |wing energy, (eg valley in acres of rich |the supply of British im- port of wheat. The new settlers are, for the most part, experi- enced farmers, who have been attracted hither by the superior advantages of the soil. Some of them come from Pjurope, but a larger number come from the old Canadian provinces and from those States of the Union which lie near the frontier. Most of them are men who have sold the lands which they formerly owned, and come with capital sufficient to provide the most approved agricultural appliancea The price for which land can be obtained is inconsiderable ; and while the average holding does not exceed two liundred acres, many persons have acquinil large tracts. The rapid settlement of this central territory of Canada is one of the great social and political factors of the future for Canada and for Europe. The development of the vast resources of Manitoba must hasten the progress of the Dominion to wealth and consideration. To the growers of food on the limited and highly-rented fi(;lds of Europe it furnishes reason- able occasion for anxiety. To those who are not producers, but only consumers, it gives, in stronger terms than it has ever pre- viously been given, the acceptable assurance that the era of famine lies far behind — that the human family, for many gener- ations to come, will enjoy the blessing of abundant and low- priced food. Between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific there lies a vast tract of fertile land, possessing an area equal to six times that of England and Wales. This is British Colund^ia — the latest-born member of the confederation, which it entered oidy in 1871. The waters of the Pacific exert upon its climate tlu; same softening influence which is carried by the Gulf Stream to corres})onding latitudgr('SH is now ho iiipid ill munlx^rH and industrial d(n't*lo|iinent, and tlie wealth whidi lies around tlnnn is ho great, that y(»ar \>y year tliey must fill a larger place in the world's regard, and exercise a wider inlluence upon the course of liunian aflairs. At the beginning of the century they nund)ered scarcely a quarter of a million — tlu^ slow growth of two hundnnl years of niisgovernment and strife. Twenty-five years thereafter their nunihers had more than doul)led ; in the following (quarter of a century they had trebled. During the t(!n years from 1851 to 18G1 the annual increase was one hundred and twenty thousand ; in the following decade it was at the rate of sixty thousand, of which less than one-half was by immigration. The increase is mainly rural ; there ar(^ no very powerful influences favouring the growtli of gicat cities. Montreal has a population of on(! hundred and seven thousand ; Quebec, of sixty thousand ; Toronto lias grown to fifty thousand; Halifax to thirty thousand. All European nations are repre- sented on Canadian soil. Of English, Scotch, and Irish there are over two million ; of Frenchmen over on(^ million. (Germans, Russians, Dutchmen, Swiss make uj) the remainder. The fusion of races has yet made imperfect progress ; the characteristic as- pect and habits of each nationality remain with little modification. The Canadian people maintain a largo and growing commerce, one-half of which is with the mother country. Their exports are £18,000,000 ; their imports are £20,000,000. They pur- chase iron largely in England, the time having not yet come when their own abundant stores of this article can be made available. They import annually four million tons of coal ; but the approaching close of this traffic is already foreshadowed by the circumstance that they also ex})ort the product of their own mines to the extent of four hundred thousand tons. Textile manufactures are steadily gaining importance in Canada; but as yet the people clothe themselves to a large extent in the woollen and cotton fabrics of the old country. y 428 TIIK I'JIOOUESS OF THE CANADIAN NATION. Canada soils annually the produce of her forests to the extent of five million nterling, and of lu^r fields to th(i (!xt(;nt of four million. The harvest of the sea yields a value of over two million, of which one-lialf is sent abroad ; the furs which her hunters collect hear a value of half a million. She extracts from the maple-tree sugar to the annual value of four mi^^'on ; her frugal cottagers gather annually two million i)our. ^f honey from the labours of the bee. The lumber trade is the most characteristic of Canadian in- dustries. On the eastern portion of the Dominion, stretching northwards towards the Arctic regions, illimitable forests clothe the ground. For the most part these aro yet undisturbed by man. But in the valleys of streams which flow into the St. Lawrence, notably in the valley of the picturesque Ottawa, the lumber trade is prosecuted with energy. Year by year as autumn draws towards its close numerous bands of woodsmen set out for the scene of their invigorating labours. A conver''^nt locality is chosen near a river, whose waters give motio a saw-mill, and will in due time bear the felled timber dow^. to the port of shipment. A hut is hastily erected to form the home of the men during the winter months. The best trees in the neighbourhood are selected, and fall in thousands under the }iractised axe of the lumberman. When the warmth of ap- proaching summer sets free the waters of the frozen stream, the trees are floated to the saw-mill, and cut there into man- ageable lengths. They are then formed into great rafts, on which villages of huts are built for the accommodation of the returning woodsmen. The winter months are spent in cutting down the timber -, the whole of the summer is often spent in conducting to Quebec or the Hudson the logs and planks which have been secured. The forests of Canada are a source of great and enduring wealth. They form also the nursery of a liardy, an enduring, and withal a temperate population ; for the lumberman ordinarily dispenses with N. THE PUOQUESS OF THE CANADIAN NATION. i2\) > the extent ,(nit of four if over two \ which her )ho extracts 3ur ini'i''>n ; I pour. ji !>anadian in- 1, stretching orests clothe •bed by man. t. Lawrence, the lumber • as autumn smen set out i. conver'ent motio a iber dowi- co to form tho jest trees in s under the rmth of ap- 3zen stream, re into man- ^reat rafts, imodation of re spent in ner is often le logs and Canada are form also a temperate lenses with tho treacherous support of alcohol, anil is content to recruit his energitis by the copious use of strong tea and of salted l)ork. Tho occupation of about one-half of the Canadian people is agriculture. In the old provinces there are nearly five hundrcnl thousand persons who occupy agricultural lands. Of these, nine-tenths own the soil which they till ; only one-tenth })ay rent for th(^ir lands, and they do so for the most part only until they have gained enough to become purchasers. The agricul- tural labourer — a class so numerous and so little to be envied in England — is almost unknown in Canada. No more than two thousand persons occupy this position, which is to them merely a step in the progress towards speedy ownership. Land is easily acquired ; for the Government, recognizing that tho grand need of Canada is population, offers land to every man who will occupy and cultivate, or sills at prices which are litth? more than nominal. The oUl provinces are filling up steadily if not with rapidity. During flie ten years from 1851 to 1861 the land under cultivation had 'xicome greater by about one-half. During the following decaUo, the increase was in the same proportion. Schools of agriculture and model farms have been established by Government, and the rude methods by which cultivation was formerly carried on have experienced vast ameliorations. Agriculture has become less wasteful and mon; productive. Much attention is given to the products of the dairy. Much care has been successfully bestowed upon tho improvement of horses and cattle. The manufacture and use of agricultural implements has largely increased. The short Canadian summer lays upon the farmer the pressing necessity of swift harvesting, and renders the help of machinery specially valuable. In the St. Lawrence valley the growing of fruit is assiduously prosecuted ; and the apples, pears, plums, peaches, and grapes of that region enjoy high reputation. Success almost invariably rewards the industrious Canadian farmer. The rich 430 THE PROGRESS OF THE CANADIAN NATION. ! ,1 fields, the woll-fed cattle, the comfortable farm-houses, all tell of jirosperity and contentment. The fisheries of the Dominion form one of its valuable in- dustries. The eastern coasts are resorted to by myriads of fishes, most prominent among which is the cod-fish, whose pref erence for low temperatures restrains its further progress south- ward. Sixty thousand men and twenty-five thousand boats find profitable occupation in reaping this abundant harvest. A Minister of Fisheri(;s watches over this great industry, feeven national institutions devote themselves to the culture of fish, especially of the salmon, and prosecute experiments in regard to the introduction of new varieties. The Mercantile Navy of the Dominion is larger than that oi France. It comprises seven thousand ships, of the aggregate tonnage of one million and a quarter ; while the tonnage of Great Britain is six million. Canada has invested in her ship- ping a capital of seven and a half million sterling. She uses the timber of her forests in building ships for herself and for other countries. The annual product of her building-yards is considerably over a million sterling. The burden laid by taxation upon the Canadians is not oppressive. Taxation is raised almost entirely in the form of custom and excise duties, and amounts to foui million sterling. This is a:^ average rate of one pound for each of the population ; not differing appreciably from the rate of taxation in the United States, but being considerably less than one-half of that which now prevails in Groat Britain. Canada trusts for her defence against foreign enemies to her militia and volunteers, of whom she has nominally a large force. But only a handful of these are annually called out for a few days of drill, and the Dominion spends no more than £200,000 upon her military preparations. Her fleet is equally modest, and consists of a few small steamers which serve on the lakes and rivers, and mount in all about twenty guns. ses, all tell valuable in- myriads of whose pref sress south- isancl boats larvest. A try. feeveii Aire of tish, ;s in regard than that of tie aggregate 3 tonnage of [ in her ship- 2. She uses srself and for ling-yards is lians is not the form of ion sterling, population ; the United If that which enemies to |nally a large ailed out for more than let is equally |ch serve on guns. THE PROGRESS OF THE CANADIAN NATION. 481 Besides the outlays incurred in carrying on the ordinary business of Government, large sums, raised hy loan, are annu- ally expended on public works. Navigation on the groat rivers of Canada is interrupted by numerous rapids and falls. Unless these obstructions be overcome, the magnificent water-way with which Canada is endowed will be of imperfect useful- ness. At many points on the rivers and lakes canals have been constructed. The formidal)le impediment which the great Fall of Niagara offers to navigation is surmounted by the Wellantl Canal, twenty-seven miles in length, and on which, with its branches, two and a half million sterling have been expended. Much care is bestowed, too, upon the deepening of rivers and the removal of rocks and other obstructions to navigation. Tlie vast distances of Canada render railways indispensable to her development. The Canadian Government and people have duly appreciated this necessity. They have already constructed seven thousand miles of railway, and are proceeding rapidly with further extension. The cost of railways already made amounts to eighty million sterling, of which Government has provided one-fourth. Very soon Canada will have a length of railway equal to one-half that of Great Britain. But the dis- position to travel has not kept pace with the increased facilities which have been provided. The average number of journeys performed annually by each Englishman is seventeen, while the Canadian average is not quite two. There still remain in the various provinces of the Dominion about ninety thousand Indians, to represent the races who possessed the continent when the white man found it. Two- thirds of these are in the unpeopled wastes of Manitoba and British Columbia; the remainder are settled in the old provinces. The Indian policy of Canada has been from the beginning just and kind, and it has borne appropriate fruits. The Govern- ments of the United States have signally failtul in their manage- ment of their Indian population. Faith has not ])een kept with 432 THE PROGRESS OF THE CANADIAN NATION. 1^ i ! IP ' 'I' His li!i the savages. Treaties have again and again been made by the Government and violated by the people. Lands have been assigned to the Indians, and forcibly taken from them so soon as possession was desired by any considerable number of white men. Large grants of food and clothing have been given by the Government, and shamelessly intercepted by dishonest traders. Out of transactions such as these have sprung bitter hatreds, ruthless massacres, inflicted now by the red man, now by the white, and a state of feeling under which a Western American will, on slight provocation, shoot down an Indian with as little remorse as he would slay a stag. Canada has dealt in perfect fairness with her Indians. She has recognized always the right of the original occupants of the land. She has fulfilled with inflexible faith every treaty into which she has entered. The lands allotted to the Indians have been secured to them as effec- tively as those of the white settler, or have been acquired from them by fair process of sale and purchase. The Indians have requited with constant loyalty the Government which has treated them with justice. While the French ruled Canada there was perpetual strife with the Indians, as there is to-day in the United States. Canada under the British has never been disturbed by an Indian war. i ; The Indians of the older provinces have adopted settled habits and betaken themselves to agriculture. In Ontario they are steadily increasing in numbers and intelligence. Drunken- ness diminishes ; education is eagerly sought ; hunting gives place to farming; the descendants of the barbarous Iroquois have been transformed into industrious and prosperous citizens. In Quebec there is also progress, but it is less rapid, and the old drunken habits of the people have not yielded so completely to the influences which surround them. The Indians of British Columbia are still very drunken and. debased, and their num- bers diminish rapidly. In Manitoba and the whole North-West the condition of the Indians is very hopeful. Drunkenness is iN. THE PROGRESS OF THE CANADIAN NATION. 433 tiade by tho have been lem so soon )er of white fiven by the lest traders. iter hatreds, now by tho n American irith as little It in perfect lys the right ulfilled with itered. The tiem as effec- jquired from [ndians have which has lied Canada sre is to-day never been Dted settled >ntario they Drunken- iting gives IS Iroquois )us citizens, id, and th(? completely of British I their num- forth-West ikenness is almost unknown ; crime is very rare ; the demand for schools and for persons who can teach how to build houses and till the soil is universal and urgent. The buftalo has been the support of tho North- Western Indian. Its flesh was his food, its skin was his clothing, the harness of his horse, the property by whose sale all his remaining wants were supplied. The innumerable multitudes of buffalo which frequented the plains maintained in the Indian camp a rude aflluence. But the buffalo gives l)lace before advancing civilization, and the Indians in alarm hasten to find new means of subsistence. The problem which savage occupants present to the civilized men who settle on their lands has been solved in Canada by the simple but rare device of friendly and perfectly fair dealing. The red men of Canada live contentedly under the rule of the strangers, and prove that they are able to uphold themselves by the white man's industries. They adopt his language, often to the disuse of their own, his dress, his customs, his religion. Not only do the two races live in concord ; their blood has been largely mixed. The native race is prooail)ly doomed to disappear, but this will not be the result of violence or even of neglect. Tlie history of the Indian race in Canada will close with its peaceful absorption by the European races which possess the con* aent. Thirty years ago the Canadians, borrowing largely from their nc^ighbours of the United States, perfected their conmion-school system. Schools adequate to the wants of the population are provided. A Board chosen by the peoj)le conducts the school business of the district. The costs are defrayed by a local tax, supplemented by a grant from the treasury of the province. In general, no fees are charged ; primary education is absolutely free. The French Canadians manifest less anxiety for educa- tion than their British neighbours, and have not yet emerged from the ignorance which they brought with them from Europe, and in which they were suffered for generations to remain. In (687) 2S 484 THE PROGRESS OF THE CANADIAN NATION. Toronto and the maritime provinces the means of education are ample, and are very generally taken advantage of by the colonists. 111, 'i: A noble heritage has been bestowed upon the Canadian j)eople. Treasures of the sea and of the soil, of forest and of mine, are theirs in lavish abundance. Their climate, stern but also kindly, favours the growth of physical and mental energy. They enjoy freedom in its utmost completenesa Their peaceable surroundings exempt them from the blight of war and the evils of costly defensive preparation. For generations these in- estimable advantages were in large measure neutralized by the enfeebling rivalries which divided the provinces. But internal dissension has been silenced by confederation, and Canada has begun to consolidate into a nation. Differences of religion and of race still hold a place among the forces which are shaping out her future, but the antipathies which they once inspiretl have almost passed away. The distinctions of Catholic and Protestant, Englishman and Frenchman, are being merged in the common designation of Canadian, which all are proud to bear. The welfare of Canada, her greatness in the years of the future, are assured not merely by the vastness of her material resources, but still more by the spirit which animates her people. The destiny towards which the Canadian people are hastening is fittingly indicated by the eloquent words of one of the ablest of their Governor-Generals. " However captivating," said Lord Dufferin, " may be the sights of beauty prepared by the hands of Nature, they are infinitely enhanced by the contemplation of all that man is doing to turn to their best advantage the gifts thus placed within his reach. In every direction you see human industry and human energy digging deep the foundations, spreading out the lines, and marking the inviolable boundaries upon and within which one of the most intelligent and happiest offsets of the English race is destined 1875 A.D. \v\ THE PROGUESS OF THE CANADIAN NATION. 435 to develop into a proud ami grtuit nation. I'lio very atmos- ])here s(!ems impregnatcid with the exhilarating spirit of enter- prise, contentment, and hope. The sights and sounds which caressed the senses of the Trojan wanderer in Dido's Carthag(? are repeated and multiplied in a thousand different localities in Canada, where flourishing cities, towns, and villages are rising in every direction with the rapidity of a fairy tale. And better still, 2)ari 2>fissu with the development of these material evi- dences of wealth and happiness is to be observed the growth of political wisdom, experience, and ability, perfectly capable of coping with the diificult problems which are presented in a country where new conditions, foreign to European experience, and complications arising out of ethnological and geographical circumstances, are constantly requiring the application of a statesmanship of the highest order." ill SOUTH AMEEICA. i 111 1 1 SOUTH AMEEICA. -♦♦- CHAPTER I. DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST. OLUMBUS prosecuted, down to the close of life, the great work of discovery to which, as he never ceased to feel, God had set him apart. He occupied him- self almost entirely among those lovely islands to which Providence had guided his uncertain way ; seeing almost nothing of the vast continents, on the right hand and on the left, which he had gained for the use of civilized man. Once, near the island of Trinidad, he was suffered to look for the only time upon the glorious mainland, so lavishly endowed with beauty and with wealth. Once again he sailed along the coasts of the isthmus and landed upon its soil. But he scarcely passed, in his researches, beyond the multitudinous islands which lay around him on every side. He sailed among them with a heart full, at the outset, of deep, solemn joy, over the unparalleled victory which had been vouchsafed to him ; full, towards the close, with a bitter sense of ingratitude and perfidy. He had made his first landing on the little island of San Salvador. "Voyaging thence he quickly found Cuba, " the most beautiful island that eyes ever beheld, full of excellent ports and pro- IT 440 DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST. Mii found rivers." Then ho discovered Hispaniola and Jamaica, and a multitude of smaller islands. Tliirteen years of life were still left to him, and Columbus was content to expend them among the sights and sounds which had caressed his delighted senses at his first coming into this enchanted world. But there were other adventurers, allured by the success which liad crowned the efforts of Columbus, and hastening now to widen the scope of his inquiry. Five years from the first landing of Columbus, John Cabot had explored the northern continent from Labrador to Florida. Many navigators who had sailed with Columbus in his early voyages now fitted out small expeditions, in order to make fresh discoveries on the southern continent. Successive adventurers traversed its entire northern coasts. One discovered the great River of the Amazons ; another I)assed southwards along the coasts of Brazil. Before the cen- tury closed, almost the whole of the northern and eastern shores of South America had been visited and explored. Ten or twelve years after Columbus had discovered the main- land, there was a Spanish settlement at the town of Darien on the isthmus. Prominent among the adventurers who prosecuted, from this centre of operations, the Spaniard's eager and ruthless search for gold was Vasco Nuiiez de Balboa — a man cruel and unscrupulous as the others, but giving evidence of wider views and larger powers of mind than almost any of his fellows. Vasco Nuiiez visited one day a friendly chief, from whom he received in gift a large amount of gold. The Spaniards had certain rules which guided them in the distribution of the spoils, but in the application of these rules disputes continually fell out. It so happened on this occasion that a noisy altercation arose. A young Indian prince, regarding with unconcealed contempt the clamour of the greedy strangers, told them that, since they prized gold so highly, he would show them a country where they might have it in abundance. Southward, beyond the mountains, was a great sea ; on the coasts of that sea there DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST. in Jamaica, )f lifo were )eiul tlieiu J deliglitcil the success tening now )in the first le northern 3rs who had kI out small he southern ire northern ons ; another iore the cen- istern shores ■ed the main- »f Darien on prosecuted, and ruthless an cruel and wider views his fellows, im whom he janiards had of the spoils, ntinually fell ,y altercation unconcealed 1 them that, sm a country ^ard, beyond lat sea there 1513 A.D. Sept. 26. WHS a land of vast wealth, where the people ate and drank from vessels of gold. This was the first intimation wliich Europeans rcf jived of the Pacific Ocean and tlit) land of Peru on the west- ern shore of the continent. Vasco Nunez resolved to be tho discoverer of that unknown sea. Among his followers was Francisco Pizarro, who became, a few years later, the discoverer and destroyer of Peru. Vasco Nunez gathered about two hundred well-armed men, and a number of dogs, who were potent allies in his Indian wars. He climbed with much toil the mountain ridge which traverses the isthmus. After twenty-five days of difficult journeying, his Indians told him that he was almost in view of the ocean. He chose that he should look for tlie first time on that great sight alone. He made his men remain b(;liind, while he, unattended, looked down uj)on the Sea of the South, and drank the delight of this memor- able success. Upon his knees he gave thanks to God, and joined with his followers in devoutly singing the Te Deum. Ho made his way down to the coast. Wading into the tranquil waters, he called his men to witness that he took possession for the Kings of Castile of the sea and all that it contained — a large claim, assuredly, for the Pacific covers more than one-half the surface of the globe. Many of the adventurers realized large gains in gold and pearls, from their trading with the natives. But the hunger of the Spaniards for gold was still utterly unsatisfied. No con- siderable quantity of gold liad been found in tho islands ; but the constant report of the natives pointed to regions in the in- terior where the precious metals abounded. On the mainland, beside the Gulf of Paria, tho early voyagers were able to obtain more ample supplies. When Columbus explored the Mosquito country and Costa Rica, he found the natives in possession of massive ornaments of gold, on which they did not socm to place very special value. Still the natives spoke of a country > I 44*2 DISCOVKKY ANli CONQURST. m ' 1? t 1518 A. I). far away among tlio mountains whcn^ K^>1<^ n^^i'l procious Htonoa wore profuHc^ly a})un(lant. Tlu; HpanianLs continued to advanco in tlio direction to wliidi tlioHO rumours })ointed. Ah tlu^y approached tlio nortliern })ortionH of C(!ntral Anuu'ica, evidences of higher civilization and greater Wfialth multipliiid around them. The natives lived in houses solidly built of stone and lime, their t(unples were highly ornamented, tho soil was more carefully cultivated hens than elsowluTii ; ahovo all, there was much gold, which could Ix; ohtaiiwd in exchange for the worth- less trink(>ts ofl'ercd l)y the strangers. At hmgth the Spaniards arrived on the borders of Mexico, and held intercourse with th(i chit^f who ruled over the region to wliich they had conui. When the Spanish Governor of Culm heard of the tempting wealth of Mexico, ho determined to send out an (expedition sufficiently strong to effect the conquest of the country. Her- nando Cortes, then a young man of thirty-three, was intrusted with the guidance of this arduous enterprise. Cortes was a man of middle height and slender figure, with pale complexion and large dark eyes ; of grave asi)ect, and with an air of com- mand which secured prompt obedience ; of resolution which no danger could shake ; inexhaustibly fertile of resource, and emi- nently fitted, therefore, to lead men who were about to encounter unknown perils. Cortes having placed his fleet under the pro- tection of St. Peter, and having kindled the enthusiasm of his men by assurances of glory and wealth and divine favour, ik'iq' sf'ilt'*^ for the coast of Yucatan. His forces numbor'-l A.D. seven hundred Europeans and two hundr'-d ^ as. He had fourteen pieces of artillery. I? ad not yet seen the horse, and Cortes sought anxioii to ha Jio means of overawing them by the sudden attack of cavalry. But horses were scarce, for they had still to be brougl.. from Europe; and only sixteen mounted men rode in his ranks. These diminutive forces were embarked in eleven little ships. PI ions ntoncs to advanco Ah tlu^y , ovulonccH (!(l around Ktono and 1 was moro , thero "Nvas the wortli- ; Spaniards intcrconrso svliich tlicy e tcniptincf expedition itry. Her- is intrusted )rtes was a complexion air of coni- n whicli no e, and enii- encounter er the pro- iasm of his ine favour, numV)evn(l d T ad o lui^ the f civalry. •uirli. from his ranks. ttle ships, DISCOVKHY AND ('6 reach there stretched along the slopes of the surrounding hills the tents which sheltered the Peruvian army. The Spaniards had reached their destination. They had reached the city of Cassamarca, and they were almost in presence of the Inca Atahualpa, whom they had come to subdue and destroy. In the stoutest heart of that little party there was for the moment " confusion, and even fear." But no retreat was possible now. Pizarro formed his men in order of battle, and with unmoved countenance strode towards the city. The Inca knew of the coming of his visitors, and had made some preparations for their reception. Quarters were assigned to them in a range of buildings which opened upon a vast square. It was evening when they arrived; ^mnn but Pizarro lost no time in sending one of his brothers, with Fernando de Soto and a small troop of horsemen, to wait upon the Inca and ascertain his dis- positions. The ambassadors were admitted to the royal presence and informed that next morning the monarch with his chieftains would visit Pizarro. Riding back to their quarters, the men thought gloomily of the overwhelming force into whose presence they had rashly thrust themselves. Their comrades shared the foreboding which the visit to the Peruvian camp had inspired. When night came on they looked out al- most hopelessly upon the watch-fires of the Peruvians, which seemed to them " as numerous as the stars of heaven." Happily for the desponding warriors, the courage of their chief was unshaken by the dangers which surrounded him. Pizarro did not conceal from himself the jeopardy in which he stood. He saw clearly that ruin was imminent. But he saw, too, how by a measure of desperate boldness he might not only save his army from destruction, but make himself master of the kingdom. He would seize the Inca in presence of his army. Once in possession of the sacred person he could make his own terms. He could wait for . ! li ■'■■■' [jH. ,1" I V'l I J i!l! .ill If i^'ii iiii.ii 456 DISCOVERY AND CONQU^;ST. th(! reinforcements which his succeBB was sure to bring ; at the worst, he couhl purchase a safe retreat to the coast. IFe informed the sohliers of his purpose, and roused tlieir sinking courage by assurances of divine favour and j)rotection. At sunrise next morning Pizarro began to make his ' ' preparations. In the halls which formed the ground- floor of the buildings beside the grand square he disposed his horsemen and footmen. His two pieces of artillery were planted on the fortress which looked down on i\w S(iuare. The arms of the men were carefully examined, and the chief made himself sure that swords were sharp and arquebusses loaded. Then mass was said, and tlie men, who stood ready to commit one of the foulest crimes in history, joined devoutly in the chant, " Rise, O Lord, and judge thini; own cause." About noon the sentinel on the fortress reported that the Inca had set out from his camp. He himself, seated on a throne of massive gold, was borne aloft on the shoulders of his principal nobles ] before him moved a crowd of attendants whose duty it was to swe(!p every impurity from the path about to be honoured by the advance of royalty ; on either hand his soldiers gathered towards the road to guard their King. At a little distance from the city, Atahualpa paused, in seeming doubt as to the measure he was adopting, and sent word to Pizarro that he would defer his visit till the morrow. Pizarro dreaded to hold his soldiers longer under the strain which approaching danger laid upon them. He sent to entreat the Inca to resume his journey, and the Inca complied with the treacherous request. About sunset the procession reached the gates of the square. The servants, drawing aside, opened an avenue along which the monarch was borne. After him a multitude of Peruvians of all ranks crowded into the square, till five or six thousand men were present. No Spaniard had yet been seen ; for Pizarro apparently shunned to look in the face of the man whom he DISCOVEHY ANT) CONQUKST. 157 ) bring ; afc coast Ho leir Rinking on. ,0 make his the ground- ! he disposed of artillery *vn on the imined, and sharp and 3 men, who in history, judge thine 3SS reporteil iself, seated le shoulders f attendants path ahout [• liand his ing. At a in seeming nt word to Pizarro rain which entreat the I with the the square. ong which Peruvians thousand 'or Pizarro whom he had betrayed. At length his chaplain advanced and brgan to explain to the astonished monar(!h the leading doctrines of the Christian religion. As his exi)Ositi()n proc«!eded, it was notic(Ml that the Peruvian troops were drawing closer to the city. Pizarro hastened now to strike the blow which he had prepared. A gun was fired from the fortress. At tliis appointed signal the Spaniards rushed from their hiding-places. The musketeers plied their deadly weapons. The cavalry spurred liercely among the unarmed crowd. High overhead flashed the swords of the pitiless assailants. The ground was quickly heaped with dead, and even flight was impossible until a portion of the wall which bounded the square yielded under the pressure of the crowd and permitted many to gain the open country. Around the Inca a fierce battle raged, — such a battle as can be fought between armed and steel-clad men and others without arms, offering their defenceless bosoms to the steel of the slayer in the vain hope that thus they might purchase the safety of their master. The bearers of the Inca were struck down, and he himself was taken i)risoner and instantly secured. TIk; cavalry, giving full scope to the fierce passions which the fight aroused, urged the pursuit of the fugitives far beyon.(! faith, promising in that e\ent tho leniency of death by the cord instead of tho flame. Atahuali)a accepted the offered grace, and abjured his idolatry. He was instantly baptized under the nanu; of Juan, in honour of John the r>aptist, on whose day this conversion * The prisoner was charged with Iiavinj,' usurpeii tho crown and assassinated his brother ; with having .s(iuandered tho leyenues of tlie country ; with idolatry and jiolyg- amy ; with attempting to incite insurrection against the S]>anittrds. 460 DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST. [iff was achieved. With his latest breath he implored Pizurro to have pity on his little children. While he spoke, the string of a cross-bow was tightened around his neck, and, with the rugged soldiers muttering "credos" for the repose of his soul, the last of the Incas submitted to death in its most ignominious form. Next morning they gave him Christian burial in the little wooden church which they had already erected in Cassamarca. His gi'eat lords, as "we are assured, "received much satisfaction" from the honour thus bestowed ui)on tlieir unhappy jirince.* Almost immediately after tlu^se occurrences Pizarro J^' marched southward and possessed himself easily of the Peruvian capital — "the great and holy city of Cusco." Although the cajntal had i)arted with much of its trea- sure in obedience to the requisition of its captive monarch, there still remained a vast spoil to enrich the plunderers. In espec ....', mention is made of ten or twelve statues of female figures, «>? life size, made wholly of fine gold, " beautiful and well-formed as if they had been alive." The Spaniards appropriated these and much besides. The groat Temple of the Sun was speedily rifled ; for the piety of the conquerors conspired with th(,'ir aAarice to hasten the do\vnfall of idolatrous edifices. In this temple the embalmed bodies of former Incas, richly adorned, sat on golden thrones beside the golden image of the Sun. Tlu,' venerated mummies were now •: tripped and cast aside. The image of the Sun became the i)rize of a common soldier, by ^\'hom it was quickly lost in gambling. Pizarro claime(i the land for the Church as well as for the King. He overthrew temples ; he cast down idols ; he set u\) crosses on all highways; he erected a Christian place of worshij) in Cusco. Cusco was the worthy capital of a great empire. It was of vast extent, and contained a population variously estimated at * The gullant Be Soto, in later )'ears the discoverer of the Mississippi, was absent from the camp wlien Ataluialpa was put to death. On Jiis return lie reproached his chief for the unhappy transaction, and niaintaincd that the Inca iiad been ba«ely slandered. Pizarro, seemingly penitent, admitted tliat he had been precipitate. DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST. 4(U rizarro to he string of I the rugged )ul, the last nious form. II the little Cassaraarca. satisfaction" 7 prince.* iices Pizarro easily of the y of Cusco." I of its trea- onarch, there In espec^i lie figures, •>" I well-formed priated these was speedily :1 with their Ices. In this hly adorned, ,ie Sun. The aside. The |ii soldier, hy claimet. the e overthrew |all highways; It was of [estimated at UiiU'i. ^"■s absent lie reproached his had been basely hrecipitntc. from two to four hundred thousand persons. The streets crossed regularly at right angles ; the houses were built mainly of stone, with light thatched roofs. The immerous palaces* were of great size, and splendid beyond anything the conquerors had seen in Europe. A mighty fortress, built upon a lofty rock, looked down on the city. It was formed of enormous blocks of stone, fi*ted with such care that the point of junction could not be discovered. Two streams descending from the moun- tains flowei through the city m channels lined with masonry. This noble city was the pride of all Peruvians. It was to them all that Jerusalem was to the ancient Jews or Rome to the liomans. The natives offered no considerable resistance to the entrance of the conquerors. Vast multitudes had gathered out of the neighbouring country. They looked with wonder and with awe upon the terrible strangers who had slain their monarch, who were now marching at their ease through the land, claim- ing as their own whatever they desired. They heard the heavy tramp of the war-horse and the strange thrilling notes of the trumpet. They saw tho mysterious arms before whose destruc- tive power so many of their countrymen had fallen, and the bright mail within whose shelter the Spaniard could slay in safety the undefended Indian. They may well have regarded the tierce bearded warriors as beings of supernatural strength and super- natural wickedness. But the time came when they could no longer endure the measureless wrongs which had been heaped upon them ; when tiiey were impelled to dash themselves against the mailed host of their conquerors and perish under their blows if they could not destroy them. No injui-y which it was possible for man to inflict upon his fellows had been omitted in their bitter experience. Their King had been betrayed and igiiominiously .slain ; their temples had been j)r()faned and plundt;red ; tlieir * No Inca inhabited tho jnUacc of his predecessor; cuoli built fur hiuiself. in DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST. 1 .|. ) M h-.h: Vi. Jan. 1535 A.D. possessions had been seized or destroyed ; dishonour had been laid upon them in their domestic relations ; they themselves had been subjected to compulsory service so ruthlessly enforced that many of them died under the unaccustomed toil. They were now to make one supreme effort to cast off this oppression, which had already gone far to destroy the life of their nation. Pizarro — raised to the dignity of Marquis — had retired to the coast, where ho occupied himself in founding and embellishing the city of Lima. His brother Fernando — a stout-hearted and skilful captain — was left in charge of Cusco. Danger was not apprehended, and the garri- son of Cusco was no more than two hundred Spaniards and a thousand native auxiliaries. While the Spaniards enjoyed their lordly repose in the splendid i)alaces of the fallen mon- archy, the Peruvian chiefs organized a formidable revolt. From all the provinces of the empire multitudes of armed natives gathered around Cusco, and took up position on hills where they were safe from the attack of Spanish horsemen. x.Iany of them were armed with lances or axes of copper tempered so that they were scarcely less effective than steel. Every man in all those dusky ranks was prepared to spend his life in the effort to rescue the sacred city from this abhorred invasion. They set fire to the city ; they forced their way into the * streets, and fought hand to hand with the Spaniards in desperate disregard of the inequality of their avms. They fell slaughtered in thousands ; but in six days' fighting they had gained the fortress and nearly all of the city which the flames had spared. The Spaniards held only the great square and a few of the surrounding houses. Some despaired, and began to urge that they should mount and ride for the coast, forcing their way through the lines of the be- siegers. But tlie stout heart of Fernando Pizarro quailed not. in presence of the tremendous danger. In his mind, li<' told them, there wna not find tlicrc h.id not Ix^cn any f<'ar. Tf ho ])I.SCOVERY AND CONQUEST. 463 • had been themselves ly enforced toil. They oppression, 3ir nation. \ retired to funding and »r Fernando eft in charge id the garri- liards and a irds enjoyed fallen mon- evolt. From rmed natives I hills where n. Many of tempered so Every man \s life in the ced invasion. way into the ISpaniards in their avms. in six days' ll of the city leld only the luses. Some lunt and ride l>s of the he- quailed not |iind, 1i" told f(>ar. Tf he were left alone he would maintain the defence till he died, rather than have it said that another gained the city and he lost it. The Spaniard of tliat day was unsurpassed in courage, and his spirit rose to the highest i)itch of daring in r(!S})onse to the appeal of a trusted leader. The men laid aside all thouglit of flight, and addressed themselves to the capture of the great fortress. This strong position was fiercely attacked, and defended with unavailing heroism. Many Spaniards w(!ro slain, among whom was Juan, one of the Pizarro brothers, on whose undefended head a great stone inflicted fatal injury. The slaughter of Indians was very great. At length ilunr annnuni- tion failed them — the stones and javelins and arrows with which they maintained the defence were exhausted. Their leader had compelled the admiration of the Si)aniards by his heroic bearing throughout the fight. When he had struck his last blow for his ruined country he flung his club among the besiegers, and, casting himself down from the height of the battlement, perished in the fall. " There is not written of any lloman such a deed as he did," says the Si)anish chronicler. The defence now ceased ; the Spaniards forced their way into the fortress, and slaughtered without mercy the fifteen hundred men whom they found there. For several weeks longer the Indians blockaded Cusco, and the Spaniards were occasionally straitened in regard to supplies ; but always at the time of new moon the Indians withdrew for the performance of certain religious ceremonies, and the Spaniards were able then to replenish their exhausted granaries. The siege languished, and finally ceased, but not till the S})an- iards had practised for some time the cruel measure of putting to death every Indian v.oman whom tliey seized. But now misi^ry in a r(^w form came upon this unhajipy country. Fierce strifes arose among the conquerors themselves. Pizarro had i^ained higher honours arid niiqilcr plunder than i May 1536 8'i i I! 464: DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST. ■i I !l 1 |i \l W'k n I t t - liatl fallen to the share of his partner Almagro, and it does not seem that he was scrupulous in his fulfilment of the contract hy whose terms an equal division of spoil was fixed. Almagro appeai'ed on the scene with an overwhelming force, to assert his own rights. For ten or twelve years from this time the history of Peru represents to us a country ungoverned and in confusion ; a native population given over to slavery, and wasting under the exactions of ruthless taskmasters ; fierce wars between the conquerors devastating the land. Tranquillity was not restored till a large portion of the native population had perished, and till all the chiefs of this marvellous conquest had difil as 1537 miserably as the Indians they had destroyed. Ai agro entered Cusco, and made prisoners of the two brothers Fernando and Gonzalo Pizarroj whom, however, he soon liberated. He, in turn, fell into the hands of Fernando, 1 ^^R by whose orders he was brought for trial before a tri- A.D. -^ . » _ bunal set up for that occasion in Cusco. He was con- demned to die ; — partly for his " notorious crimes ;" partly because, as the council deemed, his death " would prevent many other deaths." On the same day the old man, feeble, decrepit, and begging piteously for life, was strangled in prison and afterwards behead(xl. Immediately after this occurrence Ff nando Pizarro sailed for Spain, where his enemies had gained the ear of the King. Fernando was imprisoned, and was not released for twenty-lhree years, till his long life of a hundred years was near its close. Three years after the death of Almagro, the Marquis Pizarro, now a man of seventy, was set u})on in his own house in Lima and murdered by a band of soldiers dissiktisfied with the portion of s})oil which had fallen to their share. The close of that marvel- lous career was in stranmi contrast to its brilliant course. After a stout defence against overwhelming force, a fatal wound in the throat prostrated th(; brave old man. He asked for a confessor, and received for answer a blow on the face. With his finger he i m ;ii. DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST. 465 I it does not ! contract l)y [. Ahnagro to assert his e the history in confusion ; isting under between the 5 not restored shed, and till had (lif'1 as id. A- .igro two brothers /er, he soon of Fernando, before a tri- He was con- Imes;" partly ould prevent man, feeble, gled in prison [lis occurrence enemies had prisoned, and llong life of a ■ears after the 10 Nv a man of in Lima and the portion of If that marvel- Icourse. After wound in the ir a confessor, li his finger ho traced the figure of a cross on the ground, and pressed his dying lips on the hallowed symbol. Thus passed the stern conqueror and destroyer of the Peruvian nation. A f(!\v 1548 A.n. years after the assassination of the Marquis, his biotlu-r Gonzalo was beheaded for having resisted the authority of Spain; and he died so poor, as he himself stated on the scailbld, that even the garments he wore belonged to the executioner who was to cut off his head. The partnership whicli was formed at Panama a quarter of a century before, had brouglit wealth and fame, but it conducted those who were chiefly con- cerned in it to misery and shameful death. From Peru the tide of Spanish conquest flowed southwanl to Chili. The river Plate was explored ; Buenos Ayres was founded ; and communication was opened from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Forty years after the landing of Columbus, the margins of the continent bordering on the sea had l)een subdued and possessed, and some progress had been made in gaining knowledge of the interior. There had been added to the dominions of Spain vast regions, whose coast-line on the west stretched from Mexico southward for the distance of six thousand miles — regions equal in length to the whole of Africa, and largely exceeding in breadth the whole of the Russian Empire. It has now to be shown how ill-prepared was S})ain for this sudden and enormous addition to her responsibiliticns — • how huge have been the evils which her possession of the new continent inflicted upon mankind. (687) m I i i mil: 1: tf- 111 w f ' I > 1 li^i, ,-v I* is » it II i ' H&k," CHAPTER II. THE INDIANS OF SPANISH AMERICA. HE native populations witli whicli the Spaniiiids wore brought into contact difiered vvid(ny, in respect of the degree of civilization to which they hud attained, from the Indians of the Northern Con- tinent. The first colonists of Virginia, Massachusetts, and the St. Lawrence valley found the soil possessed by fierce tribes, wholly without knowledge of the arts of civilized life. The savages of the north supported themselves almost entirely by the chase, regarding agriculture with contempt ; their dwellings were miserable huts ; their clothing was the skins of the beasts which they slew ; they were without fixed places of abode, and wandered hither and thither in the forest as their hopes of success in hunting directed. They left no traces of tlicar presence on ^he land which they inhabited — no cleared forest, nor cultivated field, nor fragment of building. They were still savage and lebased in a degree almost as extreme as humanity has ever ])een known to reach. The inhabitants of the islands where Columbus first lambed were the least civilized of the southern races. But the genial conditions of climate under which they lived, and the abun- dance with which nature surrounded them, seemed to have softened their dispositions and made thom gentle and inolfensiv(» and kind. They were scarcely clothed at all, but they liv(^d in well-built villages and cultivated the ground. Their wants THE INDIANS OF SPANISH AMKRICA. Hi) wcro f((W ; and as tlio spontaiK'ouH bounty of nature for tho most part supplicil tlx^sc, tlicy spcnit tluur days in simple, liarm less indolence. Land amont; them was " as common as the sun and wat(^r." They gave willingly,^and without hope of n^com- ])ense, any of tludr i)OSsessions which visitors d(!sir(»d to obtain. To the pleas(!d eye of Columbus they seemed " to live in tho golden world without toil ; living in op(^n gardens, not in- trenched with dikes, divided by lunlges, or defenchid with walls." The natives of Central America were of a fi(^rcer character and more !i"Ustomed to war than those of the islands. They had also made greater progress in tho arts ; and tli(* ornaments of gold which tho Spaniards received from tlu^m evidfinced considerable skill in working tho precious nustals. Thty won; mantles of cotton cloth, and must, therefore, have mastered the arts of spinning and weaving. Their achiev(nnents in architecture and sculpture still remain to excite; the wonder of the antiquary. Here and there, wrai)ped almost impenetraldy in the profuse vegetation of the forest, there have been found ruined cities, once of vast extent. These cities must have been protected by great walls — lofty, massive, skilfully built. They contained temples, carefully plastered and painted ; and numer- ous altars and images, whose rich sculjitures still attest the skill of th(i barbarian artist. It was, however, in the ancient monarchies of Mexico and P(!ru that American civilization reached its highest develop- ment. The Mexican iieople lived under a despotic Government ; but their rights were secured by a gradation of courts, with judges appointed by the Crown, or in certain cases elect(Ml by the people themselves, and holding their offices for life. Evidence Avas given on oath, and the proceedings of the courts were regularly recorded. A judge who accepted bribes was put to death. The marriage ceremony was surrounded with the sanctions of religion, and divorce was granted only as the 1 1 jj ( I I .1 I' Ml ti I: ' .' I Uii t f fi' h ilr Hf^i Hiff , . i i 401 THK INDIANS OF SPANISH AMKUICA. rosult of careful investigation by a tribunal set up for tlint Hpeciul business. Hluv(!ry existed ; but it was not hereditary, and all Mexicans were born hvi\ Taxation was inn»ose(l according to fixt'd rates, and regular accounts were kept by an ofHcer apj)ointed to that siU'vice. Tlie Mexicans had made no inconsiderable ]»rogress in manufactures. Tluy wove cotton cloths of (ixceedingly fine texture, and adorned them witli an embroidery of feather-work marvfjllously beautiful. They produced paper from the leaf of the Mexican aloe ; they extracted sugar from the stalk of the Indian corn. They made and beautifully (unbellished vessels of gold and silver ; they produced in abundance vessels of crystal and earthenware for domestic use. They had not attained to the use of iron ; but they understood how to harden coi)per with an alloy of tin till it was litted both for arms and for mechanical tools. Agriculture was their most honourable employment, and was followed by the whole population excepting the nobles and the soldiers. It was i)rosecuted with reasonable skill — irrigation b(ang practised, land being suffered to lie fallow for the recovery of its exhausted energies ; laws being enacted to prevent the destruction of the woods. The better class of dwellings in cities were well-built houses of stone and lime ; the streets were solidly paved ; public order was maintained by an effective police. Europe was indebted to the Mexicans for its know- ledge of the cochineal insect, whose rich crimson was much used for dyeing fine cotton cloths. The Mexicans were with- out knowledge of the alphabet till the Spaniards brought it ; but they practised with much skill an ingenious system of hieroglyphic painting, which served them fairly well for the transmission of intelligence. Montezuma was informed of the coming of the Spaniards by paintings which represented their ships and horses and armour. Notwithstanding the industrial progress of this remarkable people, their social condition was, in some respects, inex- THK INDIANS <)K SPANISH AMKIUCA. 4e» |tr('Hsiltly (l(^l)a.so, •oKo ; heyond tlu narrow circle of the aristocracy eulsory ; the duration of life and the increase of pojiulation wre not restrained, as in Northern America, by severity of climat(> and the toil necessarily undergone in the etlbrt to procure foinl. Cortes, on his way to I^Iexico, came to a valley where for a distance of twelve miles there was a continuous lin(? of hous<'s. Kvery where near the coast the Spaniards found large villages, ami often towns of considerable size. Peru was undoubtedly a populous State ; and the great plateau over which Mexicc ruled contained many tributary cities of imi)ortance. One Spanish writer estimates that forty million of Indians had perished within half a century after the conquest ; — beyond doubt an extravagant estimate, but the use of such figures by an intelligent observer is in itself (»vidence that the continent was inhabited by a vast nmltitudo of human beings. The power of resistance of this great population was wholly insigniticant. The men were not wanting in courage ; the Peru- vians, at least, were not without a rude military liisciplincf : but they were infm'ior in physical strength to their assailants ; they were without hoi-ses and without iron ; their solitary hopt; lay in their overwhelming numbers. They were powerfully reinforced by the diseases which struck down the invaders ; but their own poor efforts at defence, heroic and self-devoted as these were, sufficed to inflict only trivial injury upon their well-defended conquerors. A vast continent, with many 474 THE INDIANS OF SPANISH AMERICA. I 'II millions of men ready to die in defence of their homes, fell before the assault of enemies who never at any point numbered over a few hundreds. The invaders claimed the continent and all that it held as the property of the Spanish Sovereign, upon whom these great l)Ossessions had been liberally bestowed by the Pope. The grant of his Holiness conveyed not only the lands but also the infidels by whom they were inhabited ; and the Spar.iards assumed without hesitation that the Indians belonged to them, and were rightfully applicable to any of tlunr i)urposes. Upon this doctrine their early relations with the natives were based. The demand for native labour was immediate and urgent. There was gold to be found in the; rivers a. id mountains of the islands, and the natives were com})elled to labour in mining — a description of work unknown to them before. There was no beast of burden on all the continent, excepting the llama, which the Peruvians had trained to carry a weight of about a hundred pounds ; but the Spaniards had much trans})ort work to do. When an army moved, its heavy stores had to be carried for great distances, and frequently by ways which a profuse tropical vegetation rendered almost impassable. Occasionally it hap- pened that the materials for vessels were shaped out far from the waters on which they were to sail. Very often it pleased the lordly humour of the conquerors to be borne in litters on men's shoulders when they travelled. The Indian became the beast of burden of the Spaniard. Every little army was accompanied by its complement of Indian bearers, governed by the lash held in brutal hands. When Cortes prepared at Tlascala the materials of the fleet with which he besieged Mexico — when Vasco Nunez prepared on the Atlantic the materials of ships which were to be launched on the Pacific, tlie deadly work of transport was |>erformed by Indians. The native allies were compelled to rebuild the city of Mexico, carrying or dragging the stones and timber from a distance, suffering all the while the miseries of THE INDIANS OF SPANISH AMKHKA. 475 faiuiiio. liulians niiglit often have boon seen Ix^ariiig on liKM-tling HhouUlers tho litter of a Spaniard — Honie ruffian, it might well liap))on, fresh from t\w jails of Castile. The Indians — esiMicially those of the islands, feehlo in consti- tution and unaccustomed to labour— perished in multitu|>allinj; calamities first fell. They fell with a crushing power which speedily amounted to ext(!rinination. When Columbus first looked u[»on thcj luxuriant beauty of Hispaniola, and rec(uved the hospitality of its g(Mitlo and docile people, that ill-fated island contained a po[)ulation of at least a million. Fift(»en years later tlu; num b(T had fallen to sixty thousand. Th(! inhabitants of other islands witc kidnapped and carried to Hispaniola, to take up the labours of \wr unhappy peoj)le, and to perish as tlu^y had done. In thirty years more there were only two hundnnl Indians left on this island. It fared no better with many of the others. At a later j)eriod, whon most of these possessions fell into the hands of the English, no trace of the original l)Opulation was left. On the mainland, too, enormous waste of life occurred. No estimate lower than ten million lias ever been offered of the destruction of natives by the Spanish con- quest, and this number is probably far within the appalling truth. Human history, dishonoured as it has ever been by tluj record of blood causelessly and wantonly shed, has no page so dreadful as this. But although there prevailed among the conquerors a terrible unanimity in this barbarous treatment of the natives, there were some who stood forward with noble courage and i>ersist- ency in defence of the perishing races. Most prominent among these was Bartholomew de Las Casas, a young priest, who came to the island of Hispaniola ten years after Columbus had landed there. He was a man of eager, fervid nature, but wise and good — self-sacrificing, eloquent, bold to attack the evils which surrounded him, nobly tenacious in his life-long efforts to protect the helpless nations whom liis countrymen were destroying. He came to Hispaniola at a 1502 A.D. THK INDIANS OF SPANISH AMKHICA. 477 Ami yi't er. iiiiieH first ainouutf*! upon tluj spito,Uty of ontain<'*l a • the lunn bs of other to take up IS they had vo humlrtsd ith nrnuy of possessionH the original )us waste of ,n has ever ■Spanish con- ic appalling been hy th<5 no page so 3rs a terrible fitives, there and persist- linent among st, who came olumbus had Irvid nature, Lnt, bohl to licious in his whom his janiola at a 1611 A.D. time when tho islauil was being rapidly dopopulatiul, an. he search fof here aros(^ a iinaud was a iidiau auhjects men who had It. The King yas an accept- Lms of expcct- 1 conscience \)y [but might be llation of the It their rights md they scnit SPANISH noVEHNMKNT OF THK NKW WOULD. 481 1512 A. I). mesHengerH to the Kin/,( to refjuost that their TiidinuH should l>e given to them in perpetuity, or at h'ast for two or three generations. Tlieir i»ray»«r was not granted ; but the King summoned a Junta, and the Iiidiuns became, for the first time, the subjects of formal legislation. The legality of the sy8tour was now clearly establisluHl. In other respects the laws were intended, for the most part, to ameliorate the condition of the labourers. Hut it was only at a few points the n«'W regula- tions could be enforced. Dy most ot the colonists they were disregarded. Thirty miserable years jtassed, during which, although the inces.sant lal>oui's of Las Casas gainer by personal [ourers, under but this must be their own voluntary act. For many years the Spaniards yielded a most imperfect obedience to these salutary restrictions, but gradually, as the machinery of administration spread itself over the continent, the law was more strictly enforced. The Spanish Government is entitled to the praise of having done its utmost to protect the native poi)ulations. In the early days of the conquest, Queen Isabella watched over their interests with a special concern for their conversion to the true faith. As years passed, and the gigantic dimensions of the evil which had fallen on the Indians became apparent, her successors attempted, by incessant legislation, to stay the progress of the ruin whicli was desolating a continent. None of the other European Powers manifested so sincere a purpose to promote the welfare of a conquered people. The rulers of Spain were continually enacting laws which erred only in being more just and wise than the country in its disordered condition was able to receive. They continually sought to protect the Indians by regulations extending to the minutest detail, and conceived in a spirit of thoughtful and even tender kindness.* In all that the Government did or endeavoured to do it received eager sup]»ort from the Church, whose record throughout this terrible liistory is full of wise foresight and noble courage in warning and re- buking powerful evil-doers. The Popes themselves interposed their authority to save the Indians. Las C'asas, when he became a bishop, ordered his clergy to withhold absolution from men who held Indians as slaves. Once the King's Preachers, of whom there were eight, presented then^selves suddenly before the Council of the Indies and sternly denounced the wrongs inflicted upon the natives, whereby, .saitl they, the Christian religion was defamed and the Crown disgraced. * A regulation laid down by the Royal Order of ITiOl Illustrates the ai)lrit which pervades Spanish legislation. Leave is given to employ Indians in the cultivation of coca. But inasmuch as coca is grown in rainy districts and on humid ground, and the Indians in consequence become ill, the master of the ]>lantation is forbidden, under penalties, to allow Indians to begin work until they are provided with a change of clothes. 1520 A.D. I m m 'Hi ui :'i 484 .SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF THE NEW WORLD. il ii| '5 Gradually efforts such as these sufficed to mitigate the sorrows of the Indians ; but for many years their influence was scarcely perceived. The spirit of the conquerors was too high for sub- mission to any limitation of prerogatives which they had gained through perils so great ; their hearts were too fierce, their orthodoxy too strict to admit any concern for the sufferings of unbelievers. They were followed by swarms of adventurers — brave, greedy, lawless. Success — unlooked for and dazzling — attended the search for gold. Conquest followed conquest with a rapidity which left hopelessly in arrear the efforts of Spain to supply government for the enormous dependencies suddenly thrown upon her care. Every little native community was ■given over to the tender mercies of a man who regarded human suffering with unconcern ; who was animated by a consuming hunger for gold, and who knew that Indian labour would pro- cure for him the gold which he sought. In course of years, the persistent efforts of the Government and the Church bridled the measureless and merciless rapacity of the Spanish colonists. But this restraint was not established till ruin which could never be retrieved had fallen on the Indians ; till millions had perished, and the spirit of the survivors was utterly broken. When the English began to colonize the northern continent of America, their infant settlements enjoyed at the hands of the mother country a beneficent neglect.* The early colonists came out in little groups — obscure men fleeing from oppression, or seeking in a new world an enlargement of the meagre forlTune which they had been able to find at home. They gained their scanty livelihood by cultivating the soil. The native popula- tion lived mainly by the chase, and possessed nothing of which * This neglect was continued al.nnst to the close. The Duke of Newcastle, who had charge of the colonies during Sir Robert Walpole's administration, neglected his duties so entirely that he ceased even to reail the letters which came to him from America. " It would not be credited what reams of paper, representations, memorials, petitions from that quarter of the world lay mouldering and unopened in his office." SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF THE NEW WORLD. 485 3 sorrowB 8 scarcely I for sub- md gained ?rce, their offerings of enturers — dazzling— nquest witU of Spain to es suddenly munity was ,rded human Bt consuming r would pro- 5 of years, the lurch bridled lish colonists, which could till millions tterly broken. em continent the hands of jarly colonists )m oppression, ^leagre f oriTune gained their native popula- [hing of which I Newcastle, who had neglected his duies Ihlm (rotn America. 'jemorialB. petitions 1 office." they could be plundered. The insignificance of these commu- nities sufficed to avert from them the notice of the monarchs whose dominions they had quitted. And thus they escaped the calamity of institutions imposed upon them by ignorance and selfishness ; they secured the inestimable advantage of institu- tions whicli grew out of their own requirements and were moulded according to their own character and habita In the unhappy experience of Spanish America all these con- ditions were reversed. There were countries in which the precious metals abounded, and many of wliose products could be procured without labour and converted readily into money. There was a vast native population in whose hands much gold and silver had accumulated, and from whom, therefore, a ricli spoil could be easily wrung. There were powerful monarchies, the romantic circumstances of whose conquest drew the atten- tion of the civilized world. Spain, marvelling much at her own good fortune, hastened to bind these magnificent possessions closely and inseparably to herself. The territories which England gained in America were re- garded as tlie property of the English nation, for whose advan- tage they were administered. Spanish America was the pro perty of the Spanish Crown. Tlie gift of the Pope was a gift, not to the Spanish nation, but to Ferdinand and Isabella and their successors. Tlie Government of England never attempted to make gain of her colonies ; on the contrary, large sums were lavished on these possessions, and the Government sought no advantage but the gain which colonial trade yieldeil to the nation. The Sovereigns of Spain souirht direct and immediate profit from their colonies. The lamls and all the peoi)le who inhabited them were their own ; theirs necessarily were the products of these lands. No Spaniard might set foot on American soil without a license from the House of Trade. No foreigner was suffered to go, on any terms whatever. Even Spanish subjects of Jewish or Moorish blood were excluded. 'k' •'- 1^ !' 486 SPANISH OOVEllNMENT OF THE NEW WORLD. The Sovereigns claimed eh their own two-thirds* of all the gold and silver which were obtained, and one-t solace 'ai)al Bull, ecclosiasti- ■ting rigor- he Spanish ly exceeded lisappointed scovery had i\, after his n" accounts ndless possi- l the adven- iprecedented and loaded e ; the young conveyance ned without nturers, and to himself a irration, that len to supply in possession 3n for which ivided. simplicity of il which exer- 1511 A.D. ciaed absolute authority over the new possessions, and con- tinued in its functions so long as South America accepted government from Spain. This body framed all the laws and regulations according to which the atluirs of the colonies were guided ; nominated to all offices ; controlled the proceedings of all officials. Two Viceroys* were appointed, who maintained regal state, and wielded the supreme authority with which the King invested them. The early colonial policy of all European nations was bastnl on the idea that foreign settlements existed, not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of the nation to which tliey belonged. Under this belief, colonists were fettered with numerous restrictions which hindered their own j)rosperity in order to promote that of the mother country. S[)ain carrit^d this mis- taken and injurious policy to an extreme of which there is no- where else any example. The colonies were jealously limited in regard to their dealings with one another, and were absolutely forbidden to have commercial intercourse with foreign nations. All the surplus products of their soil and of their mines nmst be sent to Spain ; their clothing, their furniture, their arms, their ornaments must be supplied wholly by Spain. No ship of their own might share in the gains of this lucrative traflic, which was strictly reserved for the ships of Spain. Ship-build- ing was discouraged, lest the colonists should aspire to the pos- session of a fleet. If a foreign vessel presumed to enter a colonial port, the disloyal colonist who traded with her incurred the penalties of death and confiscation of goods. The colonists were not suffered to cultivate any product vhich it suited t\w mother country to supply. The olive and the vine flourished in Peru ; Puerto Rico yielded pe})per ; in Chili there was abundance of hemp and flax. All these were suppresscid that the Spanish growers might escape competition. That the trade (^ '|i b-flfth, and flnaUy * These were increased to four, and finally to six, as the colonics became more populous. il 488 SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF THE NEW WORLD. ; I, 11 of the colonies might be more carefully guarded and its revenues more completely gathered in, it was coniined to one Spanish port No ship trading with the colonies might enter or depart elsewhere than at Seville, and afterwards at Cadiz. For two centuries the interests of the colonies and of Spain herself lan- guished under this senseless tyranny. Those cities which were endowed with a monoi>oly of colonial trade enjoyed an exceptional prosperity. Seville attracted to herself a large mercantile community and a flourishing manu- facture of such articles as the colonists required. She became populous and rich, and her merchants affected a princely splen- dour. And well they might Tli(i internal communications of Spain were, as they always have been, extremely defective, and the gains of the new traflic were necessarily reaped in an emi- nent degree by the districts which lay around the shipping port. Once in the year, for nearly two hundred years, there sailed from the harbour of Seville or of Cadiz the fleets which maintained the commercial relations of Spain with her American depen- dencies. One was destined for the southern colonies, the other for Mexico and the north. They were guarded by a great force of war-ships. Every detail as to cargo and time of sailing was regulated by Government authority ; no space was left in this sadly over-governed country for free individual action. In no year did the tonnage of the merchant-ships exceed twenty-seven thousand ton& The traffic was thus inconsiderable in amount ; but it was of high importance in respect of the enormous profits which the merchants were enabled by their monoi)oly to exact The southern branch of the expedition steered for Carthagena, and thence to Puerto Bello ; the ships destined for the north sought Vera Cruz. To the points at which they vere expected to call there converged, by mountain-track and by river, innu- merable mules and boats laden with the products of the country. A fair was opened, and for a period of forty days an energetic exchange of commodities went on. When all was concluded, SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF THE NEW WORLD. 489 enues depart )r two If lan- solonial cted to nmnu- becanie y splen- ^tions of ;ive, and an eini- ing port- re sailed sdntained depen- ihe other •eat force liling was It in this In no ity-seven amount ; (US profits to exact ihagena, ihe north expected er, innu- country. energetic oncluded, 1804 A.D. the colonial purchasers carried into the interior the European articles which they had acquired. Tlie gold and silver and pearls, and whatever else the colonies supplied, having been em- barked, the ships met at the Havana and took their homeward voyage, under the jealous watch of the armed vessels which escorted them hither. Tlie treasure-ships of Spain carried vast amounts of gold and silver ; and when Spain was involved in war, they were eagerly sought after by her enemies. Many a bloody sea-fig^.t has been fought around these precious vessels ; and many a galleon whose freight was urgently required in impoverished Spain found in the Thames an unwelcome termination to her voyage. On one occa- sion England, in her haste not waiting even to declare war, })ossessed herself of three ships containing gold and silver to the value of two million sterling, the property of a nation with which she was still at peace. Brit her hostile neighbours were not the only foes who lay in wait to seize the remittances of Spain. During the seventeenth century, European adventurers — English, French, and Dutch — flocked to the West Indies. At first they meditated nothing worse than smuggling; but they quickly gave preference to piracy, as an occupation more lucrative and more fully in accord with the spirit of adventure which animated them. They sailed in swift ships, strongly manned and armed ; they recre- ated themselves by hunting wild cattle, whose flesh they smoked over their boucanes or wood-fires — drawing from this practice the name of Buccaneer, under which they made themselves so terrible. They lurked in thousands among the intricacies of the West India islands, ready to spring upon Spanish ships ; they landed occasionally to besiege a fortified or to plunder and burn a defenceless Spanish town. In time, the European Govern- ments, which once encouraged, now sought to suppress them. This proved a task of so much difficulty that it is scarcely sixty years since the last of the dreaded West India pirates was hanged. Ml. i SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF THE NEW WORLD. Spain sought to preserve the dependence of her American possessions by the studied promotion of disunion among her subjects. Tlie Spaniard who went out from the mother country was taught to stand apart from the Spaniard who had been born in the coloniea To the former nearly all official posi- tions were assigned. The dependencies were governed by Old Spaniards; all lucrative offices in the Church were occupied by the same class. They looked with some measure of contempt upon Spaniards who were not born in Spain ; and they were requited with the jealousy and dislike of their injured brethren. There were laws carefully framed to hold the negro and the Indian races apart from each other. The unwise Sovereigns of Spain regarded with approval the tleep alienations which their policy created, and rejoiced to have rendered impossible any extensive combination against their authority. The supreme desire which animated Spain in all her dealings with her colonies was the acquisition of gold and silver, and there fell on her in a short time the curse of granted prayers. The foundations of her colonial history were laid in a destruc- tion of innocent human life wholly without parallel; influences originating with the colonies hastened tlie decline of her power and the debasement of her people. But gold and silver were gained in amounts of which the world had never dreamed before. The mines of Hispaniola were speedily exhausted and aban- doned. But soon after the conquest the vast mineral wealth of Peru was disclosed. An Indian hurrying up a mountain in pursuit of a strayed llama, caught hold of a bush to save him- self from falling. Tlie bush yielded to his grasp, and he found attached to its roots a mass of silver. All around, the moun- tains were rich in silver. The rumoured wealth of Potosi attracted multitudes of the adventurous and the poor, and the lonely mountain became quickly the home of a large population. A city which numbered ultimately one hundred and fifty thou- sand souls arose at an elevation of thirteen thousand feet above SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF THE NEW WORLD. 401 werican )ng her country ad been ial poHi- i by GUI upiecl by 3ontempt hey were brethren. I and the ereigns of liich their ssible any er dealings silver, and id prayers, a destruc- inftuences her power [silver were ^ed before, and aban- eral wealth iiountain in save hini- id he found I, the moun- of Potosi >or, and the population, fifty thou- feet above sea-level: several thousand mines were opened by the eager crowds wlio hastened to the spot. A little later the yet more wonderful opulence of Mexico was discovered. During the whole period of Spanish dominion over the New World the production of the precious metals, es[)ecially of silver, continued to increase, until at length it reached the large annual aggre- gate of ten million sterling. Two centuries and a half passed in the interval between the discovery of the Western mines and the overthrow of Spanish authority. During that period there was drawn from the mines of the New World a vahu^ of fifteen hundred or two thousand million sterling. When this flood of wealth began to pour in upon the country, Spain stood at the highest pitch of her atreiigth. The divisions which for many centuries had enfeebled her were now removetl, and S[)ain was united under one strong monarchy. Her people, trained for many generations in perpetual war with their Moor- ish invaders, were robust, patient, enduring, regardless of danger. Their industrial condition was scarcely inferior to that of any country in Euroi)e. Barcelona produced manufactures of steel and glass which rivalled those of Venice. The looms of Toledo, occupied with silk and woollen fabrics, gave employment to ten thousand workmen; Granada and Valencia sent forth silks and velvets; Segovia manufactured arms and fine cloths; around Seville, while she was still the only i)ort of shipment for the New World, there were sixteen thousand looms. So active was the demand which Spanisli manufacturers enjoyed, that at one time the orders held by them could not have been executed under a period of six years. Spain had a thousand merchant ships — certainly the largest mercantile marine in Europe. Her soil was carefully cultivated, and many districts which are now arid and barren wastes yielded then luxuriant harvests. But Spain proved herself unworthy of the unparalleled opjmr- tunities which had been gi-anted to her. Her Kings turned the national attention to military glory, and consumed the lives 'It 4M SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF THE NEW WORLD. 1492 A.D. and the subBtance of the people in aggroHsive wars upon lUMgh- bouring 8tatea Her Church suppreBsetl freedom of thouglit, and thus, step by step, weakened and debased the national intellect. The Jews were expelled from Spain, and the country never recovered from the wound which the loss of her most industrious citizens inflicted. Tlie easily- gained treasure of the New World tired the minds of the people with a restless ambition, which did not harmonize with patient industry. The waste of life in war, and the eager rush to the marvellous gold-fields of America, left Spain insufficiently sup- plied with j>opulation to maintain the industrial position which she had reached. Her manufactures began to decay, until early in the seventeenth century the sixteen thousand looms of Seville had sunk to four hundred. Agriculture shared the fall of the sister industries; and ere long Spain was able with diffi- culty to support her own diminished population. Her navy, once the terror of Europe, was ruined. Her merchant ships became the prey of enemies whose strength had grown as hers had decayed. The traders of England and Holland, setting at defiance the laws which she was no longer able to enforce, supplied her colonies with manufactures which she in her decline was no longer able to produce. The North American possessions of England became an ines- timable blessing to England and to the human family, because they were the slow gains of patient industry. Their ownership was secured not by the sword, but by the plough. Nothing was done for them by fortune ; the history of their growth is a record of labour, undismayed, unwearied, incessant. Every new settler, every acre redeemed from the wilderness, contri- buted to the vast aggregate of wealth and power which has been built up slowly, but upon foundations which are inde- structible. The success of Spain was the demoralizing success of the fortunate gambler. Within the lifetime of a single generation 8PANISH QOVKRNMENT OF THE NKW WORLD. 498 on noigli- thought, •ased the »m Spain, incl whicli he easily- tlie people til patient ush to the ently sup- tion which 3cay, until d looms of red the fall B with diffi- Her navy, chant shipH own as hers setting at to enforce, her decline ten or twelve million of H[)aniardH came into possession of advantages sucli as had never before been bestowed upon any people. A vast region, ton tiinoH larger than their own country, glowing with the opuhmce of tropical vegetation, fell easily into their hands. Products of field and of forest whicli were eagerly desired in Europe were at their call in boundless quan- tity. A constant and lucrative market was opened for their own productions. Millions of submissive labourers spared tliem the necessity of personal effort. All that nations strive for as their chief good — territorial greatness, power, wealth, am})le scope for commercial enterprise —became suddenly the coveted possession of Spain. But these splendours served only to illus- trate her incapacity, to hasten her ruin, to shed a light by which the world could watch her swift descent to the nether gloom of idleness, depopulation, insolvency, contempt. me an ines- ily, because ownership Nothing ir growth is ,nt Every ess, contri- which has are inde- kess of the generation Ilil CHAPTER IV. UKVOLUTION. OR tliree hundred years Spain governed the rich poHsesHions whicli slie l>ad ho easily won. At the close of that period the population was about six- teen million — a number very much smaller than the conquerors found on island and continent. Tlie increase of three centuries had not repaired the waste of thirty years. Of the sixteen million two were Spaniards; the remainder were Indians, negroes, or persons of mixed descent. S{)ain ruled in a spirit of blind selfishness. Her aim was to wring from her tributary provinces the largest possible advan- tage to herself. Her administration was conducted by men sent out from Spain for that purpose, and no man was eligible for office unless he could prove his descent from ancestors of unblemished orthodoxy. It was held that men circumstanced as these were must remain for ever true to the pleasant system of which they formed part, and were in no danger of becoming tainted with colonial sympathies. This expectation was not disappointed. During all the years of her sordid and unintelli- gent rule, the servants of Spain were scarcely ever tempted, by any concern for the welfare of the colonists, to deviate from the traditional policy of the parent State. Corruption fostered by a system of government w^hich inculcated the wisdom of a rapid fortune and an early return to Spain was excessive and auda- cious. Those Spaniards who had made their home in the colo- REVOLUTION. 495 the rich At the about six- aUcr than increase oi years. Of iuder were aim -was to i\)le advau- icl by nion as eligible incestors of [cumstanced tnt system >f becoming [on was not id unintelli- tempted, by ,te from the fostered by of a rapid |e and auda- in the colo- nioB were admitted to no share in the administration. Many of tliem had amassed great wealth ; but yielding to the influences of an enervating climate and a repressive Government, they had become a luxurious, languid class, dovoid of enterprise or intel- ligence. In course of years the poor remnants of the native population which had been bestowed, for a certain number of lives, upon the conquerors, reverted to the Crown, and their annual tribute formed a considerable branch of rev(nm(\* The Indians had been long recognized by the law as freemen, but they were still in the remoter districts subjected to compulsory service on the fields and in the mines. They were no longer, however, exposed to the unrestrained brutality of a race which they were too feeble to resist. Officers were appointed in every distr'ct to inquire into their grievances and protect them from wrong. In their villages they were governed by their own chiefs, who were salaried by the Si)anish Government; and they lived in tolerable contentment, avoiding, so far as that was possible, the unequal companionship which had brought misery so great upon tljeir race. In the early years of the conquest, negroes were imported from Africa on the suggestion of Las Ca.sa8,t and for the pur- pose of staying the destruction of the native population. Negro labour was soon found to be indispensable, and the importation of slaves became a lucrative trade. The demand was large and constant ; for the negroes perished so rapidly in their merciless bondage that in some of the islands one negro in every six died annually. France enjoyed for many years the advantage of supplying these victims. But England having been victorious over Spain in a great war, wrung from her 1713 A.D. * This tribute varied in the different provinces. In Mexico it was about four shil- lings annually, levied on every male between eighteen and fifty years of age. It produced latterly about half a million sterling from all the colonies, and was collected with difficulty, owing to the extreme poverty of the Indians. t A suggestion of which the good man bitterly repented, when the enormous evils which sprang from it began to develop themselves. ':■(. II 490 UFA'OLirrioN. ii : t1i(> guilty |trivil('j;(* of procurinj^ for licr the hIjivoh who woro to toil and «lio in \\or crurl HPrvicc. Aft^T tlm Ticaty of rtrcclit, tli(^ Spimisli colonisiH w<'n( forbidden to j)urcliaHO nt'ijrocH excepting fiuun l'iiijj;lish vrssi'ls. Down to tlu' period of tin* ccnKpiest (lie Indians lia. World a Spaniard introduced cattle. On tho boundless plains of the south(»rn contin(^nt the increase of both rac«»s was enormous, in course of years countless millions of horses ai\d of cattle wandered mastcrle.ss amon^ tlu^ luxuriant vegetation of the pampas. Their prescuice introduced an ele- nuMit which was wanting before in the population. Tho pas- toral natives of the pampas, to whose ancestors tluj horse was unknown, have become the best liorsemen in tho world. They may ahnost b(» said to live in the saddle. They support them- selves mainly by hunting and slaughtering wild cattle. The submissivenesa of their fathers has passed away. They are rude, passionate, fierce ; and, as tho Spaniards found to their cost, they furnish an ellective and formidable cavalry for tho purpos(»s of war. A few thousands of such horsemen would have rendered Spanish conquest impossible, and given a widely ditVerent course to tho history of the continent. In spite of the indolence of the colonial Spaniards and the nnschievous restrictions imposed by the mother country, the trade of the colonies had largely increased. Especially was UKVOUJTION. i»7 who woro 'rr«'at.y of [) purcUivHO had utterly •Hiicati', aiul ThriH^ waH It waH tho UliorH Nv'hich \h\ Si)anianlH eir succoHH in in hattle, or ^pcd into tho y of tho Now the hoinulh'ss rcaso of V>oth •sa ininioi»« of tho luxuriant iilucod an olo- |on. The ^as- tho horso was worhl. Thoy Isupport thon\- [l cattlo. Tho ,y. Tlioy are fouiul to their lavah-y for tho ,rsenieu would Uvcu a widely Lniards and the ir country, the Especially was thJH tho case wlien (MTtaiii amcliorationH, wlueh oven Hpaiu t;oulrmitt4'd to trade freely with one another, and a . . A.I). f(^w y(!ars later they wen; jiermitted to trailer with the islands. Those tardy concessions to tlu; jjrowing (!nligl»t<'ninent of mankind resulttid in imnutdiate expansion, and increased the colonial traflic to dimensions of vast imitortance. At tlu; time when the colonies raised tin; standard of nsvolt th(;ir 1809 annual i>ur'. Next year d as she best lin. pendence was 3, and now a rht under the jlonies on the orious close of dth him sym- quietness the a offered his rt in some of new rulers of he sought to le Venezuelan cl English and trymen would were not yet >roved for the [foundations of .rmitted to see ktriot arms had •e entertained ; te, which over threw several towns and destroyed twenty thousand lives. The priests interpreted this calamity as the judgment of Heaven upon rebellion, and the credulous people accepted their teach- ing. The cause of independence, thus supernatural ly dis- credited, was for the time abandoned. Miranda himself fell into the hands of his enemies, and perished in a Si)anish dungeon. His lieutenant, Don Simon Bolivar, was the destined vindi- cator of the liberties of the South American Continent. Bolivar was still a young man ; his birth was noble ; his disposition was ardent and enterprising ; among military leaders he claims a high place. His love of liberty, enkindled by the great deliverance which the United States and France had lately achieved, was the grand animating impulse of his life. But his heart was unsoftened by civilizing influences. Under his savage guidance, the story of the war of independence becomes a record not only of battles ably and bravely fought, but of ruthless massacres habitually perpetrated. For ten years the war, with varying fortune, held on its destructive course. Spain, blindly tenacious of the rich pos- sessions which were passing from her grasp, continued to squander the substance of her people in vain efforts to reconcjuer the empire with which Columbus and Cortes and Pizarro had crowned her, and wliich her own incapacity had destroyed. She was utterly wasted by the prolonged war which Napoleon had forced upon her. She was miserably i)oor. Her unpaitl soldiers, inspired by revolutionary sympathies, rose in mutiny against the service to which they were destined. But still Spain maintained the hopeless and desolating strife. When the terrors of the earthquake had passed away, the patriots threw themselves once more into the contest, with energy which made their final success sure. On both sides a savage and ferocious cruelty was constantly practised. The Royalists slaughtered as rebels the prisoners who fell into their hands. Bolivar announced that "the chief purpose of ^lii r ;• ItMn(Ml to declare against thcni, and they were being driven from tho field with a defeat which must soon have become a rout. At that perilous moment an English general commanding the Republican cavalry struck with all his force on the Hank of the victorious but disordered Spaniards. Tho charge could not bo resisted. The Spaniards lied from the Held, leaving their artil- lery and many prisoners, among whom was tho Viceroy. A final and decisive victory had been gained. The war ceased; Peru and Chili were given over by treaty to the friends of liberty, and the authority which Spain liad so vilely abused had no longer a foothold on the soil of the gi-eat South American Continent. The process by which Spain was strip})ed of her American possessions, and of which we have now seen the close, had begun within a hundred years after the conquest. When she ceased to obtain gold and silver from the islands of the Gulf of Mexico, Spain ceased to concern herself about these portions of her empire. The other nations of Europe, guided by a wiser estimate, sought to possess themselves of the neglected islands. Soon after the death of Queen Elizabeth, the English estab- lished themselves on Barbadoes, and began industriously to cultivate tobacco, indigo, and the sugar-cane. A little later, the French formed settlements on Martinique and Guada- loupe, as the English did on St. Christopher, and held them against all the efforts of Spain. Oliver Cromwell seized Jamaica, and peopled the island with " idle and disaffected" persons, who were sent out with slight regard to their own wishes.* The buccaneers formed many settlements, which * Cromwell interested himself much in tlie welfare of this island. Thirty years after the Pilgrim Fathers had settled in Massachusetts, ho invited them to remove to IIEVOLUTION. 607 , than onc- liuli'lH'U- Kceun'tl to rivou iro\\\ ,ine a rout. aiuUng tlio lank of the ,uia not bo their artil- •oy. Atiiial cased; Vavw s o£ liberty, mcl no longer Continent. ler American .10 close, bad When sbe i tbc Gulf of Ise portions of ,1 by a wiser Iccted islands. Inglisb estab- [ustriously to little later, anil Guada- ad bebl tbem .mwell seized [d disaffected" to their own [ments, which Thirty years after Ihcm to remove to were as-sttiltnl but could not be (ixtirpatinl. One of thes«', on the island of St. Doiuiuf^o, whs taken untler tlie j)ro- ]>y island. S[)ain was able at lengtli to crush out the rehellion and maintain hrr grasp over this poor remnant of her Amer- ican emjiire. Cuba (iinergtul from those miserable years in a state of utter exhaustion. Many of her p(iople had j)erished by famine or by the sword ; many others had fled from a land blightiul by a government which tlu^y w<>re not able either to reject or to endure. Spain sought to make Cuba defray the costs of her own subjugation, and taxation became enormous. Tlie expenditure of Cuba is at the rat(! of fifteen pounds for each of the })opulation, or six times the niU". of tliat of Great Britain. Only three-fourths of tin? total sum can be wrung from the impoverished i)eople, even by a severity of taxation wliicli is steadily crushing out the agriculture of tlm island ; and a large annual deficit is rapidly increasing the public debt.* Already that debt has been trebled by the rebellion and its consequences. None of tlie devices to which (listres.sed States ai-e accustom<'d to resort have been omitted, and an inconvertible currency, so large as to be liopelessly unmanageable, presses heavily upon the sinking industries of Cuba.! Spain is the largest producer and the smallest consumer of * The expenditure of 1878 was £10,000,000, while the revenue did not oxocod ,i;ii,oo(),ooo. t The Cuban paper currency amounts to €13,000,000. Oreat Britain would he in lite same position if slio had an inconvertible and depreciated currency of £460,000,000. 510 REVOLUTION. sugar. A Spaniard uses only one-sixth of the quantity of sugar which is used by an Englishman. Spain has made the article high-priced, in utter disregard of colonial interests, for the pur- pose of cherishing her home production. The sugar of Cuba, loaded with heavy taxes before shipment, and further dis- couraged in the markets of Spain by excessive import duties, is unable to support those iniquitously imposed burdens, and this great industry is falling into ruin. There are sixteen thousand Government servants in Cuba — nearly all Spaniards ; all underpaid ; all permitted to make livings or fortunes by such means as present themselves. They maintain themselves, and many of them grow rich, by corrup- tion, which there is no public opinion to rebuke. Tlie ignorance of the people is unsurpassed — not more than one-tenth of their number having received any education at all. A few poor newspapers, living under a strict censorship, supply the literary wants of Havana, a city of two hundred and thirty thousand souls. No religiouH teaching, excepting that which the Church of Rome supplies, is permitted within the island. Justice is administered according to the irresponsible pleasure of ignorant Spanish officials, incessantly eager to be bribed. Slavery lingers in Cuba after its rejection by all American and European States, and is here characterized by special brutalities. Recent English travellers have witnessed the flogging of young slave- women, from whose arms lately-born children were removed in order that the torture miffht be inflicted. 'r \ \l \ r- ' ' ^B f ; ; ■If ! P Liiii i . 1 ML k The States of the Spanish mainland suffered deeply in their struggle against the power of the mother country, but they gained the ample compensation of independence. Unhappy Cuba endured miseries no less extreme, but she found no de- liverance. The solace of freedom has been withheld ; the ab- horred and withering despotism survives to blight the years that are to come as it has blighted those that are past. y of sugar the article )r the pur- • of Cuba, irther cUs- •t duties, is IS, and this i in Cuba— ;d to make Ives. They , by corrup- iie ignorance :nth of their A few poor r the literary rty thousand \x the Church Justice is |e of ignorant >d. Slavery jul European ies. Recent or slave- youn emoved in eeply in their [ry, but they Unhappy I found no de- leld ; the ab- tht the years oast. CHAPTER Y. INDEPENDENCE. HEN the thirteen English colonies of the Northern Continent gained their independence, they entered upon a political condition for which their qualities of mind and their experience amply fitted them. They were reasonably well educated ; indeed there was scarcely any other population which, in this respect, enjoyed advantages so great. They were men of a race which had for centuries been accustomed to exercise authority in the direction of its own public affairs. Since they became colonists they and their fathers had enjoyed in an eminent degree the privilege of self-government. The transition by which they passed into sovereign States demanded no fitness beyond that which they inherited from many generations of ancestors and developed in the ordinary conduct of their municipal and national interests. With the Spanish settlements on the Southern Continent it was altogether different. The people were entirely without education ; the printing-press was not to be found anywhere on the continent excepting in two or three large cities. They were of many and hostile races. There were Spaniards — European and native. There were Indians, classed as civilized, half -civilized, and wild. There were Negroes ; there were races formed by the union of the others. The European Spaniards alone had any experience in the art of government, and they were driven from the continent with all possible speed. The 512 INDEPENDENCE. I i *,f f;!i. 11 i I i li II others were wholly unpractised in the management of their own national concerns. Spanish officials supplied, according to their own despotic pleasure, the regulation which they deemed needful ; and the colonists had not even the oppor- tunity of watching and discussing the measures which were adopted. No i^eople ever took up the work of self-government under a lieavier burden of disadvantage and disqualification. It is not surprising that their success thus far has been so imperfect. Nor is their future to be despaired of because their past is so full of wasted effort, of incessant revolution, of blood lavishly shed in civil strife which seemed to have no rational object and no solid result. Mankind must be satisfied if, beneath these con- fusions and miseries, there can be traced some evidences of progress towards that better political and industrial condition which self-government has never ultimately failed to gain. The early legislation of tl; ^>outh American States expressed genuine sympathy with the cause of liberty, and an unselfish desire that its blessings should bo enjoyed by all. Slavery was abolished, and for many years the absence of that evil institution from the emancipated Spanish settlements was a standing rebuke to the unscrupulous greed which still maintained it among the more enlightened inhabitants of the Northern Conti- nent. Constitutions were adopted which evinced a just regard to the rights of all, combined, unhappily, with an utter dis- regard to the fitness of the population for the exercise of these rights.* Universal suffrage and equal electoral districts were established, and votes were taken by the ballot. Orders of nobility were abolished, and some unjust laws which still retain their place in the statute-book of England, as the laws of entail and primogeniture. Entire religious liberty was decreed, and * In Venezuela, where writing was almost unknown, it was necessary to allow votes to bo given orally. For weeks before an election the priests taught their list of candi- dates ns a scliool exercise to Indians and other ignorant persons who were under their influence. T ; of their according hicli they the oppor- hich were jnt under a It is not rfect. Nor is so full of vishly shed ject and no h these con- 3vidences of ial condition ,0 gain. :es expressed an unselfish Slavery was il institution a standing aintained it •thern Conti- just regard ,n utter dis- •cise of these istricts were Orders oi !h still retain laws of entail decreed, and -ary to allow votes [heir list of candl- ) were undeir ^^^^^ INDEPENDENCE. il3 it was not long till the interference of the Pope in such eccle- siastical concerns as the apj)ointment of l)ishoj)s was resented and repelled. The punishment of death for political oflences was aholislicd. In course of time an educational system, free and compulsory, was sot uj) in some of the States. The people of South America had been animated in their i)ursuit of in- dei)endence by the example of the United States and of France, and they sought to frame tlicur political institutions according to the models which these countries suppjied. The institutions which were then set up remain in their great outlines unchanged. But the wisdom and moderation which are essential to self-government are not suddenly bestowed by Heaven ; they are the slowly accumulated gains of long ex- perience. There did not exist among the South Americans that reverential submission to majorities which self-governing nations gradually acquire. Here, as elsewhere, two opposing parties speedily revealed themselves. One was zealously liberal and reforming — seeking progress and desiring in each country a federation of States as opposed to a strong centralized Government ; the other preferred centralization and a main- t(^naiice of existing conditions. Among a people so utterly unpractised in political life no method of settling these dilFei'- ences other than the sword suggested itst^lf. During lialf a century the continent has been devastated by perpc^tual wars around questions which, among nations of larger experience, would have merely formed the theme of peaceful controversy. And in a large number of instances the original grounds of contest were forgotten — exchanged for an ignoble personal struggle to gain or to hold the advantag(;s of power. The South American States perceived the desiraljleness of a popularly chosen Li'gislature, but their political knowledge carried them no furtlua*. They consented to an autocratic Executive. They ])lac{^d Dictators in supreme authority. Theirs was the idea which Napoleon in modern times originated and (^S7) 33 w p; - i if r ■: 0" ;; ■ h f:' •Vj 1:;' r ;:!5 '•I Hi j 1 ij I I! i 514 INDKPENDENCR which his nnphew d(5Volop(»d — tho idea of a despotism hased on universal sufrrag(\ Th(!y intrusted their libertii^s to a selfish oligarchy. When the struggle for independtnice was victoriously closed, they had still to conquer tluur freedom, and the contest lias b(!en more prolonged and bloody than that which they waged against the tyranny of Bpain. The three northern States of Venkzuela, New Granada, and EcuAnoR began their independent career by forming themselves into a great ftuhisral Republic. Their possessions (ixtisnded over an area six times larger than that of France ; thinly peopled by men of diverse races ; severed by mountains well-nigh impas- sable, without connection of road or navigatful river. The task of gov(4'nm. influences of the n^volutions in Europe roused the energies of the people. They wen; able to wring from the Oovr'rn- ment large prouiises of n^forin, and a decnn; for the (ixpulsion of the Jesuits. Some years followtnl, dark(;n('d by incessant revolts and th(! alternating victory and defeat of the opposing parti(;s. At length the Liberals took tlu; field with a "regenerating army" of twenty thousand men, and w(4'e utt(!rly defeated. The Conservatives were now in the ascendant. But the tenacious Lib(!rals, re- fusing to accept d(;feat, maintained for seven yeans a war in which, after a hundr_vrows from year to year. The industrious habits of the pe«""''u irav.' no reinforcement from necessity ; for in that rich H(..\ a .u genial climate the lal)our of a single month will uiaint 'n a tai t'v iu conuort for a whole year. Nevertheless, ilie people rf • . ''ndiistrious ; and they are honest, cheer- ful, and hospitable. 1 ..", iendency to redress political wrongs by violence seems to lose its power as these wrongs diminish in number and intensity ; and the pros})ect of a peaceful future, with growing intelligence and increase of industrial well-being, steadily improves. When the Mkxicans gained their independence, they raised to the throne a popular young officer, whom they styled the Emperor Augustine First. They were then a people utterly priest-ridden and fanatical; and the clergy whom 1822 A.D. * President Blanco asks from his Congress (May 1876) a law which shall " declare the <'hurch of Venezuela independent of the Roman Ei)iscopate, and order that i)arisli priests shall be elected by the faitliful, tlie bishops by the rectors of parishes, and arch- bishops by Congress, returning to the usage of the primitive Churcli, founded by Jesus Christ and his Apostles." Congress replies: " Faithful to our duties, our convictions, and the holy doctrines of the religion of Jesus, we do not hesitate to emancipate the Church of Venezuela from that Kpiscopate whicli pretends, as an infallible and om- nipotent power, to absorb the vitality of a free people." Tlie leading newspaper of Venezuela discriminates with equal accuracy between the Papacy and Christianity — between " the genuine religion of Christ and those adulterations of his law which sub- stitute the reign of vanity, pride, and contempt for mankind, for the doctrine of gentle- ness, meekness, and love." IN DKPKN HENCE. S^ n prof ouiwl uragement. ; civil mar- is l)e«i^ *^^^' on has \^eeM 1 in ten can I developing erous roads, pulation has not yet con- ous habits of • for in that le month will Nevertheless, lionest, chef>r- )litical wrongs ron<^s diminish lof a peaceful of industrial jendence, they [jei' whom they They were then le clergy whom L shall " declare the Id order that vansh \ parishes, and arch- l\l founded by Jesxis |to8,ourconvicUonB le to emancipate the In infallible and om- IcadinK newspaper of \y and Christianity-- If his law which sub- Ihe doctrine of geutlc- 1824 A.l>. they superstitiously revered were a corru|)t and debased class. Tlie reformers had avowed the opinion that the Church was the origin of njost of the evils which atllicted the country. Tho Emperor, while lie offered equal civil rights to all the inhabitants of Mexico, sought to gain the clergy to his cause ])y guaranteeing the existence of tho (Jatholic Church. IJut a monarchy proved to be impossibh^, and in h^ss than a year a republican uprising, headed by Santa Anna, forced the Emperor to resign. A F(^d(!ral Republic was then organized, with a constitution based on that of the great Republic whose territories adjoined those of Mexico. For the next thirty years Santa Anna is the prominent figure in Mexican politics. He was a tall thin man, with sun-})rowned face, black curling hair, and dark vehement eye. He j)ossesse(l no statesmanship, and his generalship never justified the con- fidence with which it was regarded by his countrymen. Rut he was full of reckless bravery and dash, and if his leading was faulty, his personal bearing in all his numerous battles was irreproachable. His popularity ebbed and flowed with the exigencies of the time. He repelled an invasion 1828 39 by Spain and an invasion by France, and these triumphs raised him to the highest pinnacle of public favour. Then his power decayed, and he was forced to flee from the country. When new danger's threatened the unstable nation, he was recalled from his banishment, r-nd place3 ., aiul uliaro tioii of tlio ^)ul)lic debt jjortion no lIs rcvouuo. ouo-luilf *^'fi i in hintlcTwl moHt urgent d bo brought this nccossity bruction of a ut the works 18 ; and avIicu acconiplisbcd [lino. Whilo wcro stoi *^d ly tho L 1 is slow 111 a IS seven years l)lo distance of nine, there are ay yet opened roducc during \y importance. 1 three million [exico exports id mahogany, ive and a half lof two-thirds [eighbour the 1833 A.D. If Mexico has bj'cii ihv least fortunate of all the Sj)miish provincf^H of Anu'rica, OillLi furni.slies tho best (ixainple of a W(ill-ordor(Hl, settled, and prosperous Stat(\ Its area is only one iiftli and its i)opulation one-fourth that of Miixico, but its foreign counnerco is ncuirly one-half larger.* For this coni- nu^rco its situation is peculiarly favourable. Chili, a long and narrow country, lies on tluj Pacific, with which it communicates by upwards of fifty Kea-jwrts. It is tluirefori? only in snuiU measuHi dep(!n(h!nt for its progn^ss upon railways and navigable rivers. For sixteen years after throwing oil' the Spanish yoke,t Chili was governed, despotically, without a constitution. During those years constant disordei-s prevaihid. At length th(5 general wish of tho nation was gratified. A constitu- tion was promulgattnl, under which the franchise was bestowed on every married man of twenty -one; years, and on every unmarried man of twenty-fi\(! who was able to read and write. With this constitution tho peoj)le hav(! been s!itisfi(!d. The government has becui throughout in the hands of a moderate Conservative party, which has lirected public aflairs with firm- ness and wisdom, and has manifested zeal in the correction of abuses. Opposing parties liavo not in Chili, as in the neighbour- ing States, wasted the country by their fierce contentions for ascendency. In the exercise of a wise but rare moderation, th(^ views of either party have been modifi(!d by those of tho other. A method of government has thus been reached which men of all shades of opinion have been able to accept, and under which the prosi)crous development of the country has advanced with surprising rapidity. * In twenty-two years (from 18.15 to 1877) her foreiprn conuncrco— imports and exports together—had doubled, rising from seven and a lialf to fifteen million sterlinff. t Chili was wise enough to offer the command of her fleet during this struggle to an English hero whom a less wise but scarcely more ungrateful English (Jovernment had wronged and cast out. Lord Cochrane, who combined in a singular degree prudence with daring, performed so many marvellous achievements that the terror of his name seemed to paralyze the enemy. Ultimately, with the inconsiderable force under Ids command, he drove tho Spanish fleet away, and was supreme on tho Chilian coast. 524 INDEPENDENCE. mi During the last thirty years the i)oi)ulation of Chili has quadrupled, and her revenue has increased still more largely. Immigration from Europe, especially from Germany, has been successfully promoted. Formerly almost all land was held by large owners. This pernicious syst<.m has been in great measure destroyed. Estates have been subdivided, and the system of small proprietorship is now widely prevalent. The public debt of Chili is twelve million sterling; but as she, uidike her sister republics, meets her obligations punctually, her name stands high on the Stock Exchanges of Europe. The educatiori of her people receives a fail- measure of attention Of her revenue of three and a half million, she expends a quarter million upon schools — a proportion not equalled in Europe. But this liberal expenditure is recent, and has not yet had time to produce its proper results. Only one in twenty-four of the population attends school ; only one in seven can read. Even in the cities the proportion is no greater than one in four. II I I Tlie neighbouring State of Peru has an area four times that of Chili, but her population is scarcely larger. And while Chili has a very inconsiderable proportion of Indians, it is estimated that fifty-seven per cent, of the Peruvian population are of tiie aboriginal races, and twenty-three per cent, are of mixed origin. The remainder are native Spaniards, Negroes, Chinese, with a very few Germans and Italians. I'rom a nation so composed, a wise management of public affairs can scarcely be hoped for. The government of Peru has been, since the era of independence, a reproach to humanity. Elsewhere on the continent there has been the hopeful spectacle of a people imperfectly enlightened, but animated by a sincere love of liberty, and struggling against tremendous obstacles towards a happier political situation. The incessant strifes which have devastated Peru have no such justi- fication. They have no political significance at all ; they do not originate in any regard to national interests. Turbulent mili- i.ii INDEPENDENCE. 525 I Chili has lore largely. y, has been ,vas hekl by [•eat measure te system of i public debt ke her sister name stands cation of her er revenue of million upon ut this liberal bo produce its le population n in the cities >ur times that i\(\. while Chili it is estimated lion are of trie mixed origin. Ihinese, with a so composed, be hoped for. independences Lent there has enlightened, jggling against ttuation. The no such justi- ; they do not irbulcnt miU- 1866 A.D. tary cliiefs have, in constant succession and with shameless selfishness, contended for power and i)lunder. A debased and slothful people, wholly devoid of i)olitical intelligence, have be- come the senseless weapons with which these ignoble strifes have been waged. Tlie vast wealth with which Nature has endowed the land has lain undeveloped ; the labour, with which tlio country is so inadequately supplied, has been absorbed by tlie wars of a vulgar and profligate ambition : Peru remains almost worthless to the human family. Spain took courage, from the disorders of Peru, to nieditato the restoration of her lost colonial empire. She attacked Peru ; but her fleet was utterly defeated, after a severe en- gagement. This victory roused the spirit of the Peruvian people, and for a short space it seemed as if impulses had been counnunicated which would open an era of progress. For some years real industrial advance was made. But the fair prospect was quickly marred. Two Presidents, who manifested a patriotic desire to begin the work of reform, were murdered. An insane war against Chili was begun. Chili had imposed certain duties on products imported from Bolivia; and Peru, disapproving of these duties, went to war to avenge or annul the proceeding. The fortune of that war has been decisively against the aggressor. Chili has i)roved not merely equal to the task of holding her own ; she has dt;- feated her enemy in many battles ; she has seized portions of li(;r territory ; she has captured her most powerful iron-cUid ship of war. The progress of Peru has utterly ceased. Her linances are in the wildest disorder. ITer jiaper currency is worth no more than one-tenth its nominal value. 1880 Her ports are blockaded ; her commerce is well-nijjrh . . . . . A.D. abolished. Bu^^^ her misguided rulers will listen to no suggestion of peace, and seem resolved to maintain this dis- creditable contest to the extremity of prostration and misery. Peru is believed to extract silver from her mines to tho i!l I 526 INDEPENDENCE. annual value of a million sterling ; an amount somewhat smaller than these mines yielded down to the war of independence. Peru exports chiefly articles which can be obtained without labour or thought. The guano, heaped in millions of tons on the islands which stud her coasts, was sold to European specu- lators, and carried away by European ships. But these vast stores seem to approach exhaustion. Fortunately for .this spendthrift Government, discovery was made some years ago of large deposits of nitrate of soda, from the sale of which an important revenue is gained. For Peru, lying chiefly between lofty mountain ranges re- mote from the sea, railway communication is of prime imi)ort- ance. In the time of one of her best Presidents there was devised a scheme ot singular boldness ; and by the help of borrowed money, pn which no interest is paid, it has been partially executed. A railway line, setting out from Lima, on the Pacific, crosses the barren plain which adjoins the coast, climbs the western range of the Andes to a height of nearly sixteen thousand feet, and traverses the table-land which lies between the great lines of mountain. When completed, it will reach some of the tributaries of the Amazon, at points where these become navigable — thus connecting the Pacific with the Atlantic where the continent is at the broadest. There are, in all, about fourteen hundred miles of railway open for traftic in Peru, three-fourths of which are Government works. Paraguay, a State with an area nearly twice that of England, and a population of a million and a half, had the good fortune to assume her independence without any resistance from the mother country, and therefore without requiring to undergo the sacrifices of war. For nearly thirty years she was ruled by a despotism not less absolute than that of Spain. Dr. Francia became Dictator for life. He had been educated as a theologian, and was a silent, stern, relentless 1811 A.D. INDEPENDENCE. 627 at smaller jpenclence. d without of tons on )ean npecu- these vast y for .tliis ears ago of I which an I ranges re- rime import- ,s there was the help of it has been ■om Lima, on ns the coast, ght of nearly Ld which lies pleted, it will points where Icific with the There are, in ,en for traffic orks. it of England, croocl fortune lesistance from It requiring to )y thirty years than that of I He had been E?rn, relentless 1862 A.D. man, who inspired his people with such fear that even after liis death they scarcely ventured to pronounce his name. Francia did something to develop the resources of the State. But pro- gress wf,s slow, for the Dictator permitted no intercourse with other n itions. Paraguay was to suj)ply all her own wants — depending for nothing on the outside world. Whosoever came within her borders must remain ; he who obtained permission to go out mif(ht not return. When this strange ruler 1 Q.A{\ died his power fell to Carlos Lopez, who maintained for twenty-two years a despotism not less absolute, but guided by a policy greatly more enlightened. He encouraged intercourse with foreigners ; he constructed roads and railways ; he cared for education ; he created defences and a revenue. Before he died he bequeathed his authority to his son. This new ruler had been sent, when a young man, to Europe to acquire the ideas which animated the erdightened Powei's of the Old World. He arrived at the time of the Crimean War, to find a love of glory and of empire occupying the public mind of England and of France. He was not able to withstand the malign influence. He went home resolved to emulate the career of the Emperor Napoleon. He, too, would become a conqueror ; he, tc j, would found an empire. He occiq)ied him- self in forming a large army, in accumulating military stores. When the death of his father raised him to absolute authority, he lost no time in attacking Brazil, which ho had marked as his first victim. The Argentine Re- public and Uruguay made common cause with Brazil against a disturber of the peace, in whose ambition they recognized a common danger. The war continued for five years. It brought upon Paraguay calamities more api)alling than have fallen in modern times on any State. Her tcsrritory was occupied by a victorious foe, and one-half of it was taken awav from her for over. Her ifil i 1 :... :■ 1 ■■ 1 ^ 1 f i' ■ k I! ,1 I' '* h '[ii , i\ r>28 INDEPENDENCE. debt had swelled to an amount which utterly precluded hoix) of payment,* Her population had sunk from a million and a lialf to two hundred and twenty thousand. Of these it was estimated that four-fifths were females. War and its attendant miseries had almost annihilated the adult male population.! Paraguay yielded herself as the base instrument of an insane ambition, and she was destroyed. Buenos Ayues, a city founded during the early years of the conquest, was the seat of one of the vicc^-royalties by which the Spaniards conducted the government of the continent. It stands on the right bank of the river Plate, not far from the ocean. Tlie Plate and its tributary rivers flow through vast treeless plains, where myriads of horses and cattle roam at will among grass which attains a height equal to their own. When the dominion of Spain ceased, Buenos Ayres naturally assumed a preponderating influence in the new Government. The prov- inces which had composed the old vice-royalty formed them- selves into a Confederation, with a constitution modelled on that of the United States. Buenos Ayres was the only port of shipment for the inland provinces. Her counnercial import- ance as well as her metropolitan dignity soon aroused jealousies Avhich could not be allayed. Within a few years the Con- federation was repudiated by nearly all its members, and for some time each of the provinces governed itself independently of the others. The next experiment was a representative Republic under President-General Rivadavia, with Buenos Ayres as the seat of Government. Rivadavia was a man of en- lightened views. He encouraged immigration, estab- lished liberty of religion, took some steps to educate the people, entered into commercial treaties with foreign powers. But 1821 A.D. ' Tho debt of Piiraguay is £117,000,000. t The Dictator liimself perished by the lance of a Brazilian soldier. ini)Epenj:>knce. 529 utled hop(5 ilioti and a esc it was i aitendant opulation. t an insane rears of the s by which itinent. It ni the ocean, vast treeless t will among When the y assumed a The prov- ormcd them- modcUed on he only port a-cial import- ed jealousies xrs the Con- fers, and for ^idependently i)ublic under [A.yres as the man of en- [ation, estab- le the people, Dwers. But koWier. 1827 A.l>. Tlieso 1829 A.D. his liberal policy was regarded unfavourably by a people not sufficiently wise to comprehend it ; and he resigned his office after having held it for six years. The influence of Buenos Ayres now waned, and the provinces of the interior gained what the cajntal lost, provinces were occupied by a half-savage race of mixed origin, who lived by the capture and slaughter of wild cattle. Those fierce hunters were trained to the saddle almost from infancy, and lived on horseback. Excellence in horsemanship was a sufficient passport to their favour. The government of the country now fell into the hands of General Bosas, a Gaucho chief, whose feats in the saddle have probably never been equalled by the most accomplished of circus-riders.* For twenty-three years this man — cruel, treacherous, but full of rugged vigour — maintained over the fourteen provinces a despotism which soon lapsed into an absolute reign of terror. One of the methods of this wretched man's government was the systematic employmer, j of a gang of assassins, who murdered according to his orders, and under whose knives many thou- sands of innocent persons perished. His troops ov<;rran the neighbouring province of Uruguay ; but Monte Video, the capital of that State, was successfully held against him, chielly by the skill and courage of Garibaldi. France and England declared war against the tyrant, and for several years vaiidy blockaded the city of Buenos Ayres. At length (1848) a de- termined rebellion broke out and raged for four years. A great battle was fought ; the army of Rosas was scattered ; tlu; capital, wild with joy, received the thrilling news that the tyrant had fled t and that the country was free. * Some of his achievements were eminently fitted to bind to his cause a rndo and daring people. Standing once over a gateway, throiigli which a trooi) of wild liorscs were being driven at full sjjced, he dropped on to the back of one previously selected. He bore in his hand a leathern rein, whicli he fastened securely round the mouth of tlie terrified and madly-galloping horse ; and in half-an-hour he rode back, the animal now trembling and subdued. t Rosas made his way to England, where he spent the remaining twenty-six ycard of his life. (tW7) 3.i 1852 A.D. )30 INDEPENDENCE. w ' V The twenty-three years of despotism had done nothing to solve the political problems which still demanded solution at the hands of the Argentine people. The tedious and painful work had now to be resumed. The province of Buenos Ayres declared itself out of the Confederation, and entered upon a separate career. The single State was wisely governed, and made rapid progress in all the elements of prosperity. In especial it co})ied the New England common-school system. The thirteen States from which it had severed itself strove to repress or to rival its increasing greatness. But their utmost efforts could scarcely avert decay. They declared war, in the barbarous hope of crushing their too pros- perous neighbour. Buenos Ayres was strong enough to inflict defeat upon her assailants. She now, on her own terms, reentered the Confederation, of which her chief city became once more the capital. The career of the reconstructed Confederation has not been, thus far, a wholly peaceful one. There has been a lengthened war with Paraguay. There was a Gaucho revolt, which it was not hard to suppress. The important province of Entre Bios rose in arms, and was brought back to her duty after two years of war. Still later (1874) a 1870-72 • rebellion broke out on the election of a new President. But the energy which formerly inspired revolu- tionary movements seems to decay, and this latest disorder was trampled out in a campaign of no greater duration than seventy- six days. A milder temper now prevails, especially in the cities of the Confederation. There are still divisions of opinion. One party is eager to promote a consolidated and effectively national life ; another would maintain and enhance provincial separa- tions ; a third — the party of disorder, whose strength is being sapped by the growing prosperity of the country — seeks to fo- ment revolutionary movements in the hope of advantage, or in sheer restlessness of spirit. But these antagonisms have in 1859 A.D. 1861 A..D. 1865 A.D. INDEPENDENCE. 631 nothing to solution at and painful lenos Ayres red upon a v^erned, and perity. In lool system, elf strove to But their 'hey declared eir too pros- ugh to inflict •r own terms, er chief city has not been, e has been a as a Gaucho 'he important lUght back to [later (1874) a levv President, •ired revolu- disorder was than seventy- ly in the cities ipinion. One vely national incial separa- Lgth is being -seeks to fo- k^antage, or in lisms have in large measure lost the envenomed character which they onco bore. The only habitual disturbers of the national tranquillity are the Indians, who are suffered to hold possession of almost one-half the Argentine territory, and against whom murderous frontier wars are incessantly waged. It is, however, obvious that the union of the fourteen prov- inces rests upon no satisfactory or permanent basis, and that tlie final adjustment can scarcely be effected otherwise than by the customary method of force. The province of Buenos Ayres, although it contains only one-fourth of the population, contains three-fourths of the wealth,* and bears fully nine- tenths of the taxation of the confederate provinces. The other thirteen provinces have absolute control over the government ; and the expenditure has largely increased, as it needs must when the persons who enjoy the privilege of expending funds are exempt from the burden of providing them. This arra.ige- ment is highly and not unreasonably displeasing to the rich province of Buenos Ayres ; and it seems probable that the people of this province will sooner or later force their way out of a Confederation whose burdens and whose advantages are so unequally distributed. The fourteen provinces of the Argentine Confederation cover an area of 515,700 square miles, and are thus almost equal to six countries as larg(! as Great Britain. Tluj po])ulation which occupies tliis huge territory numbers only two million. Every variety of temperature pi-evails within their borders. In South Patagonia the cold is nearly as intense as that of Labra- dor. Southern Buenos Ayres has the climate of England ; farther north the dt^licious climate of the south of France and the north of Italy is enjoyed. Yet farther north comes the fierce heat of the tropics. Westward, on the slopes of the * It has been said, with pardonable exaggeration, that " tlie Argentine Kepublic consists of the province of Buenos Ayres and thirteen mud-lnits." Tlie thirteen provinces are so poor tliat for many years regular monthly rcniittaucrs have been sent them from Buenos Ayres to defray tlio expense of the local governments. 682 INDEPENDENCE. II 11,.;, Andes, little rain falls ; eastward, toward the sea, the rainfall is excessive. The Argentine States have promoted immigration so suc- cessfully that they have received in some years accessions to their numbers of from sixty to ninety thousand persons — British, Italian, French, German, and Swiss. They have thus the presence of a large European element, which gives energy to every liberal and progressive impulse. The great city of Buenos Ayres is, to the extent of half its population (of 220,000), a city of Europeans. In most of the other cities this European element is present and influential. Far in the in- terior al-e many little colonies composed of Europeans, settled on lands bestowed by Government, engaged in sheep or cattle farming, growing rich by the rapid increase of their herds on that fertile soil. Full religious liberty is enjoyed, and all the various shades of Protestantism are represented in the chapels of Buenos Ayres or in the rural colonies of the interior. Two thousand five hundred miles of railway are in operation ; direct telegraphic communication with England is enjoyed ; the prov- inces are being drawn more closely together by the construc- tion of roads and bridges ; the vast river systems of the Confederation are traversed by multitudes of steamers. The people have entered, seemingly, with earnestness on the task of developing the illimitable resources of the great territory which Providence has committed to their care. Our survey of South American history since the era of In- dependence discloses much that is lamentable. It discloses nothing, however, that is fitted to surprise, and little that is fitted to discourage. We see priest-directed and therefore utterly ignorant people throwing aside the yoke of an abhorred tyvanny. We see them assume the function of self-government without a single qualification for the task. We see them be- come the prey of lawless and turbulent chiefs, of a selfish INDEI'ENDKNOE. 533 he rainfall on so suc- cessions to persons — have thus Lves energy •eat city of ulation (of T cities this • in the in- sans, settled ep or cattle sir herds on and all the the chapels :erior. Two ition; direct [1 ; the prov- ihe construc- ems of the iners. The on the task at territory era of In- It discloses little that is Id therefore Ian abhorred l-crovernment lee them be- of a selfish military and i)riestly oligarchy. We ■\Viitch their struggles as they grope in blind fury, but still under the guidance of a healthy instinct, after the fnsedoin of which they have been de- frauded. At length we are permitted to mark, with rejoicing, that they begin to emerge from the uni)recedented difficulties by which they have been beset. The path by which tlu^y must gain the position of orderly and prosperous States is y«>t long and toilsome. It is now, however, at least ])0.ssibl(> to believe that they have entered \i\)on it. ' [The disturbed condition of the Western States continues without abatement, and without pro.spect of settlement Both Peru and Bolivia are practically at the mercy of Chili. The war is over, but peace is made impossible by the anarchy that prevails in the vanquished States. The President of Peru is a fugitive. The President of Bolivia has absconded. There is no settled government in either country with which the Chilians can safely make terms. What seems most certain is, that the provinces which yield most abundantly that nitrate of soda about the export of which the war originated will be. perma- nently annexed to Chili. Indeed, these districts are now ad- ministered by Chilian functionaries. The Conservative counter-revolution in Mexico, under Diaz, lasted till 1880, when General Gonzalez was elected President. An insurrection in the capital had to be suppressed before his installation could take place. In Buenos Ayres, nationalism has had a further struggle with provincialism, and another triumph over it. In August 1880 the national troops forcibly entered the Provincial Assembly, and ejected the deputies at the point of the sword. A few days afterwards. General Boca, the new President, entered the capital. — Ed.] CHAPTER VI. THE CIIUUCII OF HOME IN SPANISH AMERICA. '' f. h ' T the time wIkmi tlio disco very and possession of tho N<;\v World occupied the Spaniards, the Church of Rome exercised over that people an influence which had no parallel elsewhere in all her wide dominion. A religious war of nearly eight centuries had at length closed victoriously. Twenty generations of Spaniards had spent their lives under tho power of a burning desire to expel unbelievers from the soil of Spain, and win triumphs for the true faitli. The minister's of that religion, for which they were willing to lay down their lives, gained their boundless reverence. To the ordinary Spaniard religion had yet no association with morals ; it exorcised no control over conduct. It was a collec- tion of beliefs ; above all it was an unreasoning loyalty to a certain ecclesiastical organization. To extend the authority of the Church, and, if it had been possible, to exterminate all her enemies, formed now the grand animating motives of the Spanish nation. No Spaniard of them all was more powerfully influenced by these motives than tho good Queen Isabella. At the bidding of her confessor she set up the Inquisition, for the destruction of heretics ; she consented to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, and the virtual confiscation of their property. She gave encouragement to the enterprise of Columbus, in the hope of extending the empire of the Church over benighted nations. THE CHURCH OF ROME TN SPANISH AMERICA. rnn Hsion of tlio ic Church of [ucncc which de dominion, length closed ,d spent thoir :;1 unl)cliov(>rs le truo fixith. crc willing to vorence. a o ociation with was a colloc- g loyalty to the authority ^terminate all otives of the inllucuced hy the bidding ,G destruction lie Jews from . She gave the hope of 'hted nations. The King hiuiHclf stated, in later years, that tlie conversion of Indians was tlie chief purpose of tlu! concpiest. The Queen sent missionaries to begin this great work so soon as she heai'd of tlie discovery. In all her otlicial correspondence her chivont tlicy liastt'nocl to erect churclies. VVliiU; tho conquc^st of Pt-ru was yet inconi- pleto, there was a cliurch in Caxanialeo to wliich tlio devout ►Spaniards assigned a liberal slmre of tl»e gold of which they so villanously plundered the unhapj)y Jnca. Tlu^ nuigniHc'r('(l ii pantlicr in tlio wildrrnoss, tlioy l)ogan, under tlio inlluciuM^ of somo uiK^xplaiiKul suix^rstition, to disclosci their iiiicjuitieH to tlu^ savRfife luvist. A peoph? so inclined wiilconiod a religion wliich oU'ered tlic^in free access to tlio enjoyment of their cherished })rivilefj;e. They nmnifested, in r(><^ard to this ordinance of the Church, "a dove-like Hiinjdicity, an incredible fervour." Oral confession was to thes(i sinipk; souls an insulllcient r(>li(^f. They l)rou«.(ht to the confes.sor a jtictorial represcMitation of the special transgr(\ssions which hurdencul them. Later, when many of tlunn had learned to write, they horo with tluMu elaborate catalogU(\s of their evil doin^js. The moidvS attempted to bestow upon the children under their care tlu? elements of a simple education. To each monastery a school was attached. P(>ter of (Jhent, a Flemish lay-brother of noblo dcnotedness, caused the erection of a larj^e building, in which he taught six hundred Mexican children to read, to write, and to sing.* This good man knew the IVh'xican language well, and could preach when need was. lie spent fifty toilsonu? years in labours for the instruction of the concpiered p(K)plo ; and there W(>re many of his brethren equally diligent. But among the teeming millions of South America, these ellbrts, so admirable in quality, were wholly insignilicant in amount. Tlu^y were thwarteil, too, by the murderous cruelty which the Spaniards exi>rcisod, and the peo[)le nnnained utterly uninstructi>d. The conversion of the country made progress so rai)id that in a few years the native religions disapjH>ared, and the Indians seemed univ(>rsally to have accepted Christianity. But the change n'stid in large na^asure upon fi^ar of their tyrants, or love to th(nr teachei-s, or the authority of chiefs who had d(>emed it expedient to adopt the faith of men who were always victorious in l)attle. It wa» only in a few instances the result of intelligent conviction. The priests b"i)tized readily " Votor reportctl of his pupils that " llioy leiirn tmickly, fast precisely, and pray fervently." 'A. THE f'liuuc'ir OF home in spantsti amet^toa. 539 uudt'i* iho close, tlirir I -wiilcouuHl cnjoynu'iit in rcgavil iiplicity, an iimplo Kouls r a pictorial \i \)unlen('(l » write, tbtiy lin^H. I uiuler their monastery a [ly-brother of i buiUUn}?, in ■ead, to write, ivnguage well, iifty t()ils(nne iTerecl people ; tnt. iiuerica, these Isiii'niticant in lerouH cruelty lainecl utterly lie progrc>ss so kpp(>ar(>(l, and Christianity, fear of their of chiefs who lien who were instances the |)tizecl readily leciscly, and pray all natives wlio would permit tlu; ceremony, heeause that was a sure provision for their eternal welfare. Ihit th«! o[)inion was cntca'tained from an eai'ly pt^riod that tlui nativ(>H w(n*e ineapaMt! of comj)reh(>nding th(i first principles of tlu^ faith. Acting uikUt this h(^lief, a council of Lima (l(!cr(;e(l tlu^ir ext;lusion from tlu? Kacram(>nt of the I'jucharist. Down to the close of Spanish dominion few Indians were allowed to connnunicatt^, or to become nuimbers of any nsligious order, or to be ordained as priests. UndijriuNith the profession of Christianity the Indians have always n^tained a secret love for the pagan faith of tlwlr fathers, and still secretly practise its rites.* The moni, confession was a 1537 A. 1), necessary of life. ^Phe Popii himself pronounced the doom of (>xcomuunncation against all who reduced Indians to slavery or deprived tlu^m of their goods. We hav(^ scM'n how nobly and how vaiidy the good Las Casas int(M'- posed in d(ifgions which it was not his intention to seek. After forty-fivti days of voyaging he saw before him an unknown and unexpcictf.'d land. In searching for the Cape of Good Hope, he had reached the shores of the great South American Continent, and he hastened to claim for the King of Portugal the territory ho had found, but regarding the extent of which he had formed as yet no con- jecture. Three Spanish captains had already landed on this part of the continent and asserted the right of Spain to its ownership. For many years Spain maintained languidly the right which priority of discovery had given, I'ut Portugal, to whom an interest in the wealth of the New World was an object of vehement desire, took eiiective possession of the land. ^687) 35 i; 546 BRAZIL. She sent out soldiers ; she built forts ; she subdued the savage natives ; she founded colonies ; she established provincial governments. Although Spain did not formally withdraw her prcitensions, she gradually desisted from att(nn})ts to enforce them ; and the enormous territory of Brazil became a recognized appanage of a petty European State whose area was scarcely larger than the one-hundredth part of that which she had so easily acquired. For three hundred years Brazil remained in colonial subor- dination to Portugal. Her boundaries were in utter confusion, and no man along all that vast frontier could tell the limits of Portuguese dominion. II(!r Indians were fierce, and bore with impatience the inroads which the strangers made upon their possessions. The French seized the bay of llio de Janeiro. The Dutch conquered large territories in the north. But in course of years these difficulties were overcome. The foreigners were expelled. The natives were tamed, partly by arms, partly by the teaching of zealous Jesuit missionaries. Some progress was made in opening the vast interior of the country and in fixing its boundaries. On the coafiC, population increased and numerous settlements sprang up. The cultivation of coffee, which has since become the leading Brazilian industry, was introduced. Some simple manu- factures were established, and the country began to export her surplus products to Europe. There was much misgovernment ; for the despotic tendencies of the captains- general who ruled the country were scarcely mitigated by the authority of the distant Court of Lisbon. The enmity of Spain never ceased, and from time to time burst forth in wasteful and bloody frontier wars. Sometimes the people of cities rose in insurrection against the monopolies by which wicked governors wronged them. Occasionally there fell out quarrels between different provinces, and no method of allaying these could be found excepting war. Once the city of Rio de Janeiro was 1654 A.D. 1750 A.D. miAZIL. 647 savago irovincial draw her ) enforce ecognizccl 3 scarcely he liad so lial suljor- confusion, c limits of . bore with upon their le Janeiro, h. But in 3ome. The ere tamed, ilous Jesuit 12 the vast 3s. On the sprang up. the leading niplc manu- began to There was he captains- ,ted by the ity of Spain astef ul and ies rose in ll governors ?ls between ;e could be aneiro was 1711 A.D. sacked by the French. I'razil had h(!r full sliaro of the nus(!ri('S which the foolishness and the evil t(!Uiper of men have in all ages incurred. Tli(\se hind(!r(!d, but did not al- together frustrate, the development of her enormous re- sources. During the eighteenth century the Brazilian people began to estimate more justly than they had done before the elements of national greatness which surrounded them, and to p(!rceive how unreasonable it was that a country almost as large as Europe should remain in contented de})endence on one of the most inconsid(H-able of European States. The English colonies in North America threw olF the yoke of the mother country. The air was full of those ideas of liberty which a yisar or two later bore fruit in the French Revolution. A d(\sire for indepcni- dence spread among the Brazilians, and expressed itself by an ill-conceived rising in the province of Minas Geraes. But the movement was easily suppressed, and the Portuguese Govern- ment maintained for a little longer its sway over this noblest of colonial possessions. During the earlier years of the French Revolution, Portugal was permitted to watch in undisturbed tranquillity the wild turmoils by which the other European nations were attticted. At length it seemed to the Emperor Napoleon that the possession of the Portuguese kingdom, and especially of the Portuguese fleet, was a fitting step in his audacious progress to universal dominion. A French army entered Portugal ; a single sentence in the Moniteiir informed the world that " the House of Braganza had ceased to reign." The French troops suflfered so severely on their march, that ere they reached Lisbon they were incapable of ofFensive operations. But so timid was the Government, so thoroughly was the nation subdued by fear of Napoleon, that it was 'determined to ofTer no resistance. The cai)ital of Portugal, with a po})ulation of three hundred thousand, and an army of fourteen thousand, opened 1807 A.D. 648 nilAZIL. pi its razil should cease. Hlw was now raised to tho dignity of a kingdom united with Portugal under the same Crown. Her commerce and agriculture increased; she began to regard as her inferior the country of which she lately had been a dei)endency. The changed relations of the two State's were displeasing to the people of Portugal. The Council by which tin; allairs of the kingdom were conducted b(!came unpopular. Tho 1820 A.D. « ' demand for constitutional government extended from Spain into Portugal. Tlu^ Portuguese desinid to see their King again in Lisbon, and called loudly for his re- * There were in all fifteen thousand persons ; and it was said that tliey carried with tlieni one-half tlie eoinaj?e then in circulation in Portugal. t He also irdered a iirinling-jiress to be jiurchaseil in Kngland at a cost of .ClOO. No such apparatus had heretofore existed within llraziliiui t"rritory. .1 nuAZii,. .Mil icuchmoii, uiitry int" lishod, the 'tl('CtS,lUul rh(> iuHauo Aon l>y the t'lunily, all \\\n)n th<^ I of heroic 10 capital of [>(l people of en they had :1 to rec(.'ivc e industrial a few years lian ports to Seven years liial existence aised to the (>r the same she began to (;ly had been lispleasing to Lh(! all'airs of jpular. The Itended from •sired to see for his re- Ihey carried with Lostof.ClOO. No turn. Tlio TCin«]f consented to the wisli of Ids people reluc- tantly; for besides other and gi'aver reasons wliy he should 1821 A.I). not (juit Ih'M/il, his majesty greatly fearecl the discom- forts of a sea-voyage. His son, the heir to his thione, he(;ame Regent in llrazil. The Jh*a/.ilians resented (he de])artin'e of the King. The Portuguese meditatf>d a y<'t deeper hundliation for thc^ Stat(» whos(! recent ac(juisition of dignity was still an ollencc" to them. TIkto came an onh-r from tlie Cortes that the Prince lU'gcnt also should return to Europe. Th(^ Hrazilians were now eager that the tie which bound them to the mother country should b(^ dissolved. Tlie Prince R(>g(nit was urged to disregard tli(^ summons to return. After some Iiesitation lu> gave oll'ect to tlu^ gen(;ral wish, and intimated liis puri)oso of remaining in Bi'a/il. A f(^w months later he was proclaimed Emperor, and the union of th(i two kingdoms cc^ased. (constitu- tional government was set up. But the admiidstration of the Emperor was not sufHciently lilx'ral to satisfy the wishes of his ])eoj)lo. After nine yc^ars of deepening unpopu 1822 A.l>. 1831 A.l). larity, he resigned the crown in favour of liis son, then a clnld live years of age, and now (18S1), although still in nuddhi life, tlio oldest monarch in tlie world, P»ra/il covers almost one-half the South America i Tfontinent, and lias therefore an area nearly equal to that of t1i<^ eight States of Spanish origin by which she is bounded. She is as large as the British dondnions in Noi'th AnuM'ica ; she is larger than the Tmited States, (excluding the untrodden wastes of Alaska. One, and that not the largest, of her twenty provinces is ten times the siz:(^ of England. Finally, hor area is equal to five-sixths that of Euro[)e.* She has a sea-coast line of four thousand nules. Slu^ has a marvellous svstem of river com munication; the Amazon and its tributari(>s alone are navigable * Tlio aroa nf Enropn is r^.SlS.ono sqiifiro niilos ; that of Urazil U 3,287,000 Rqnarn miles, altliougli Homo estimates place it mucli liiglier. I ■'?f 'M fiSO BRAZIL. for twonty-fivo tliouHaud iniloH within limziliMi territory. TFor iniiu!ral woalth is ho ainph^ that tlio ^ovornor of one of her proviiicoH was wont, in religious proccHsions, to rido a liorso whoso sliocs woro of gold ; and tho diamonds of th(! lloyal Family aro estimated at a value of three million st(!rling. Ifer soil and elimat*? coiisjtiro to bestow upon lier agriculture an opulonco which is unsurpassed and }»rohal)ly unecpialled. An acre of cotton yields in Brazil four tiuu^s as much as an aero yields in the United States. Wheat gives a return of thirty tf> seventy fold ; maizes, of two hundred to four hundred fold ; rice, of a thousand fold. IJrazil supplies nciarly one-half the coll'eo which the human family consunuis. An (mdless variety of plants thriv(5 in her genial soil. Sugar and tobacco, as well as cotton, cofFeo, and tea, are staple productions. Nothing which the tropics yield is wanting, and in many portions of the em})iro tho vegetation of tlu? tcsmpc^rate zones is abundantly pro- ductive. Tho en(!rgy of vegctabh* life is everywhere excessive. The mangrove seeds send forth shoots before they fall from tho parent tree ; tho droo})ing branches of trees strike roots when they touch tho ground, and enter ujyon independent existence ; wood which has been split for finices hastens to juit forth leaves ; grasses and other plants intertwine and form bridg(^s on which the traveller walks in safc^ty. But the scanty population of Brazil is wholly insullicient to subdue the enormous territory on which they have settled and make its vast capabilities conduce to the welfare of man. The highest estimate gives to Brazil a population of from eleven to twelve million.* She has thus scarcely four inhabitants to every square mile of her surface, while England has upwards of four hundred. Vast forests still darken her soil, and the wild luxuriance of tropical undergrowth renders them well-nigh impervious to man. There are boundless expanses of wilder- * Of those, it is officially estimated that one million arc untamed Indians without any fixed jilace of abode. HHAZIL. 551 •y. ^Tor le of her ! a horso [\(! lloyal ulturo an lied. An as an aero i thirty tft fold ; ric(\ th<^ cotU'o variety of as w(41 as lihijj; which ons of th(^ dantly pro- e excessive. vU from the roots when existence ; lorth k>aves ; s on which IsutVicient to setthnl and man. The Ini eleven to habitants to upwards of Ind the wihl ^1 well-nigh of wilder- [lulians without nefts imperfectly (explored, Htill roamed over hy iintam(»d and often hostile Indians. Pc^rsistcnt hut not eminently successful cllorts liav(< been made to induce Kuro{>ean and now to induce Ohines(! innMi;^'ration. Tlui ])opulution continuc^s, however, to increase! at such a rate that it is Iar<,'er hy neai'ly two million than it was ivn years ai^o. Hut these accessions ant trivial when vi(!wed in relation to the work which lias still to he accomplished. Ft is said that no more than the one hunn abandoned by all othe^r Christian States. Not till b'^71 was Brazil shamed out of the inicjuitous system. In that year it was enacted that the childnui of slave; women should be; free — sub- ject, however, to an apprenticeship of twenty-one ye^ars, durinir wdiich they must labour for the; owners of their mothe'rs. Since that law was passed, there has l)ee'n voluntary emancipation to a considerable extent; and the; slaves in Brazil, who numbcireel at one time two and a half millie)n, are now about one millie)n. f The freedmen shun tielel-wen-k, anel the places which they ejuit are scarcely filled by immigration or natural increase. Agri- cultural progre'ss is thus frustrated — an evil which will probably be felt still more; acutely as the emanci[)ation of vhe ne-groes draws towards its completion. No suthcieint le-meely for this * The imports nf Drazil are £19,000,000; hor exports, e21,000,000. t Tills is tlio statement made by eiovernment. 'J'he Abolitionists, however, ace aso the eJovemnient of acting in bad faith regarding emancipation, and assert that tlio number of slaves has not diminished. 55-2 IIHAZIL. evil can Ix^ liopcd for so Joiin; as any remnants of slavery lin^^cr on the soil. The ])ra/ilian IiO<;islat.uro is eloctcd by tlio people, the qualifi- cation of 0. voter being an annual income of twenty pounds. Three candidates for tlie office of Senator are chosen by each constituency, and the Emperor d(>termines which of the three shall gain the ap})ointment. The members of the Lower House are chi/Sen by indirect election. Every thirty votei's choose an electoi', and the electors thus chosen appoint the deputies. The exercise of the riglit of voting is compulsory ; neglect to vote is })unished by tlic infliction of penalties. Each of the twenty provinces into which the emj)ire is divided has its own L(>gis- latur(>, witli a President appointed by the general Government, '^rhe powers exercised by the provincial governments are neces- sarjly large. The constituti(^n confcM's upon the Emperor a " moderating power," which enabh^s him, when he chooses, to frustrate the Avishes of his Chambers. He may dismiss a minister who lias lai'ge majorities in both Houses ; he may withhold his sanction from measures which have been enacted by the Legislature, Brazil has no hereditary nobility; but there is a lavish distribu- tion of distinctions which (>ndure only for the lifetime of the re- cipient. It is held that the power of bestoAving these coveted honours invests the Emperor with a measure of authority which is not unattended with danger to the public liberties. liut the career of the Bra.'^ilian Empire has been marked in large measure by tranquillity and progress, and the masses of the })eople manifest no desire for change. They have suflered from foreign war* and from domestic strife ; but their suflerings have been trivial when compared with those of the Spanish States which adjoin them. Thus far their quiet and unad- venturous Government has given tliem rejiose, and thus fur thev tiro sntisficd. Three fourths of the Brazili peop The Pivriigniiyiui Wiir cost r.nizil cr)0,(H)ti,(HH). Hi Hi PUAZIL. 56S qualifi- pounds. by oat-li ho throo nr IT oil so :',liooso an ies. Tho to voto is lO tNV(Mlty ^n L(?gis- rernmont. arc noces- lodorating strato tlio r who has s sanction gislaturo. 1 n sairn, which for grandeur and for ])erma- nonce can compare with tho discovery of tho American Continent by Christopher Columl)Us. This is a largo claim, but indisput- ably a just one. The discovery of America ushered in an epoch wholly dillerent from any which had pi'ocodod it. Nearly one- third of tho area of our world was practically worthless to tho human family — wand(!rod over by savages who supported tlieir unprofitable lives by tho slaughter of arhnals scarcely more savage ^han themselves. Suddenly tho lost continent is fomid, and its incalculable wealth is added to the sum of human possessions. Europe supported with difficulty, by lier rud(^ i)ro- cosses of agriculture, oven tho scanty population Avliich she con- tained ; hero were honu s and maintenance sufliciont foi- all. Europe was governed by methods y(!t more bai-barous than her agriculture ; hero was an arcnia worthy of tho groat ex]iorimont of human freedom on which the best of her poo})l(^ longed to enter. Europe was connnitted to many old and injui-ions institutions — tlie legacy of the darkest ag(>s — no on^' of which could bo overthrown save; by wasteful sti'ife ; here, free fi'oni * In 1S74 tho imhii'! sdinols wen; attonilud liy only ouo liiiiidi-cd iind fcirty thrms.unl liuplls. m 554 BRAZIL. I ■ H h the einbarrassmeiits which time and error had created, there couhl be established the institutions wliich the wants of new generations calh'd for, and Europe coukl inform herself of their quality before she proceeded to tlieir adoption. The human family was very poor ; its lower classes were crushed down by poverty into wretchedness and vice. At once the connnon heritage was enormously increased, and i)Ossibilities of well- being not dreamed of before were o}»ened to all. The brave heart of Columbus beat high as he looked out from the deck of his little ship upon the shores of a new world, and felt with solemn thankfulness that («od had chosen him to accomplish a great work. We recognize in this lonely, much-enduring man, the grandest human benefactor whom the race has ever known. Behind him lay centuries of oppression and suffering, and ignorance and d(^basement. Before him, unseen by the eye of man, there stretched out, as the result of his triumph, the slow but steadfast evolution of influences destined to transform the world. It fell to three European States, whose unitt^d area was scarcely larger than one-foi'tieth }»art of the American Continents, to complete tiie work which Columbus had begun ; to preside over and direct the vast revolution which his work rendered inevi- tabl{>. England, Spain, a,nd Portugal were able to possess them- selves of the lands which lie between the Atlantic and the Pacific ; and they assumed the respo^rsibiliry of shajiing out the futu 'e of the nations by which thos(i lands must ultimately be peopled. They entered u})on the momentous task under V .0 influence of motives which were exclusively selfish. A niagnifi- cent prize had come into their hands ; their sole concern was to extract from it the largest })0ssible advantage to themselves. These enormous ])ossessions n-ere to remain for ever colonial dependencies ] their inhabitants were to remain for ever in the imi)ei-fect condition of colonists — men who labour partly for their own benefit, but still more for that of t)ie mother country. BRAZIL. 555 The European owners of America were alike in tlie sclfislmess of their aims, in their utter misconception of the trust Avhich liad devolved upon them. But they differed widely in regard to the methods by which they sought to give effect to their })ur- poses; and the difference of result has been correspondingly great. The American colonies of England were founded by the best and wisest men she possessed — men imbued with a passionat(^ love of libcty, and resolute in its dc^fcnce. These men went forth to find hones in the New World, ai.d to maintain themselves by honest ,abour. England laid unjust restrictions upon tlusir commerce, and suppresstnl their manufactures, that she herself might profit by the supply of their v/ants. l>ut so long as lujr merchants gathered in the gain of colonial traffic, she suffered the government of the colonies to be guided by the free spirit of her own institutions. The colonists conducted their own public affairs, and gained thus the skill and nioderation whicii the work of self-government d«!mands. In cours(5 of years they renounced allegiance to the mother country, and founded an independent government, under which no privileged class exists, and the equality of human rights is asserted and maintained. To-day the English colciues form one of the greatest nations on the Earth, with a population of fifty million, educated, in the enjoyment of every })olitical right, more amply endowed than any other peoph have ever been with tlu; elements of mi't"rial well-being. In the progress l)y which the English colonies in Ameiica have advanced to tin; commanding position which tliey now occupy, they have given forth lessons of inestimable value to Europe. At a very early period in her history there came back from America influences powerful to overthrow the evils which men liad fled then^ to avoid. The liberty of conscience over which the (^arly Pilgrims never ceasfd to exult, not only drew many to follow thcui, lait emboldened those who remain<>d for the successful assertion of tln'ir rights. The vindication bv |r >l I 55C T^TIAZIL. f(( ■ | i <. h ' the colonists of tlioir ])olitical indopondonce quickenod all free impulse's in Europe, and prepared the fall of despotic govern- ment. Europe watched the rising greatness of a nation in which all men had part in framing the laws under which they lived ; in which perfect freedom and equality of opportunity were enjoyed hy all-, in which religion was becomingly upheld liy the spon- taneous liberality of the individual worshippers; in which stand- ing armies were practically unknown, and the substance of the people was not wasted on military preparations. Throughout th(^ long and bitter contest in which Western Euroi)e vanquished despotism, the example of America confirmed tlie growing b(ilief that liberty was essential to the welfare of man, and strengthened every patriot heart for the efforts and the sacrifices which the noble enter[)rise demanded. The history of Spanish America presents, in' nearly every respect, a striking and gloomy contrast to that of the Northern Continent. The Spanish conquerors were m(ni of unsurpassed capability in battle ; but they were cruel, superstitious, pro- foundly ignorant. They went to the New World with tlie purpose of acquiring by force or by fraud the gold and precious stones ii; which the continent was I'ich, and then of hastening homeward to live splendidly in Spain. In their greedy search, they trampled down the native population with a murderous cruelty which is a reproach to the liuman name. The natives, on the other hand, were oppressed by the home Government. Their commerce was fettered : no influence was permitted to them in the conduct of their own public affairs ; no action was taken to dispel tlu; ignorance which brooded over the ill-fated continent. They learned to hate the Government which thus abused its trust ; and when they rose in arms for its overthrow, tluy disclosed an untamed ferocity which the conquerors them- selves scarcely surpassed. Their half century of independ(»nee has been iilh^l with destructive civil wars, which have hindered .and almo.st forbidden progress. • I iilU/IL. med all freo )otic govern- ion in which loy lived ; in vere enjoyed tiy the spon- which stand- itance of the Throughout B vanquished the growing 3f man, and the sacrifices nearly every he Northern unsurpassed stitious, pro- rid with the and precious of hastening reedy search, a murderous The natives, Government, permitted to lo action was r the ill-fated it which thus ts overthrow, "jiierors tliem- independ<'nro lave hindered '■'57 Ui)t any .ubstantiul „u-a.sua., to tl„, w,.Ifaro of nuinki.ul Tl,i lia ml. an.l has been reuclured almost worthies.,. It may .vlson ■My bo h„,o.. that a h.,t... future i. i„ sto.-c f„/s .^ i Amenca ; but its ,«»t .nust be .■e.ar.lecl „« a ..-.antie fu Tlli: ENU w • |1, r* i < i t-. 4- INDEX. -♦♦- Abraham, Heights of, 70, ;!14, 345. Acts of the English Parliament, Burning of, 84. Adams, Samuel, 'M. Agriculture in Canada, 420. Aix-la-Chapelle, I'eace of, '/;>. Alabama, The, 279; Settlement of the Dispute, 280, 281. Alatamaha, The, 55. Alexander, William, Lord Stirling, 115. Alexandria, 75, 70, 211, 212. Almagro, 451, 458, 459, 404. Alvarado, I'edro de, 447, 450. America, British, The Six Colonies of, 394. America, Discovery of, by Columbus, 13; by the Cabots, 14. Amsterdam, New, 48. Anderson, Major, 200. Andre, Major, 124. Annapolis (Port lloyal), 401. Anna, Santa, Mexican Commander, 174. Antietam, Battle of, 228. Anti-Slavery Society, Formation of, 107. Argall, Samuel, 337. Argentine Confederation, The, 531. Arkansas, 184. Arkwright, Richard, 81, 155, 288. Arlington Heights, 212. Arnold, Commander of AVest Point, 123. Atahualpa, Inca of Peru, 455, 4(iO. Atlanta, Cajiture of, 247. Augustine First, Emperor cf Mexico, 516. Ayacucho, Battle of, 506. Baptists, Persecution of, 40. Barbadoes, 50(5. Beauregard, General, 212. Bladensburg, 148. ' Blanco, Cuznian, 515, 510. ' Bland Silver Hill, The, 303. Blockaae of Southern Ports, 212, 2LM. I (087) 36 Board of Trade, Cioveniment of the Colonics by the, 360. Bolivar, Don Simon, 501, 505, 514. Booth, Murderer of Pros. Lincoln, 257. Boston, 29, 38, 45; Boston Common, 86, 88, 90,91, 95,97, 99, 101, 103, 146, 107, 209. "Boston Massacre," The, 89. Jlraddock, (Jencral, 75, 339, 340. Brandywino lliver, 115. Brebteuf, Jean de, 326, 328, 332, Brewster, 29, 30. Brock, (ieneral, 369. Broke, Captain, 140. Brooklyn, Engagement at, 108. Brown, The Honourable George, 395, 3!J6. Brunswick, Duke of, luT. Buccaneer, Origin of the word, 489. Buchanan, President, 200. Buenos Ayres, 528, 529. Buenta- Vista, Battle of, 174. Bunker Hill, fortified by tlie Americans, 97 ; taken by the Englis^h, 99, 100. Burgoyne, General, 97, 117. Burke, Edmund, 72, 86, 91. Burnside, General, 229. Cabot, John and Sebastian, It, 311, 440. Cabral, Pedro Alvarez, 545. Calhoun, John C, 161. ' Cambridge, Massachu.setts, 98, 99, lOO, Canada, 73; Invasion of, 78; ceded to England, 80; appealed to by the States, 03; invaded by tie Americans, 145; the Fou:.der of, 318; Original Extent, 321; Climate and Animals, 322; Eaily Inhabitants, 323; a British I'ossession, 340; Bevenue and Exi)orts, 349; Pro- gress of, 3f>5; Government, 3.^0, 371; Population, 359 v.; the Quebec Act, 360; Invasion of by Americans 302; In- ij ni i80 INDEX. t'l! 1 >.: H; I! : !?■ crease of Population, 3(MI, 373; Pitt's Bill, 307; another American Invasion, 308; Education in Lower, 374 ; in Upper, 37ri; Tnion of the Two Provinces, 387; Effects of Free Trade. 38S); ({rand Trunk Railway, 393; Financial Position, 393; Tlio Dominion, 397; its Political Con- stitution, 398 ; Area and Population, 42() ; Commerce, 427 ; the Lumber Trade, 428 ; Agriculture, 429; Fisheries, 430; Mer- cantile Navy, 430; Taxation, 430; the Educational System, 433. Cape Breton, taken by the P]nglish, 341, 401. Cape Cod Bay, 31. Carabobo, Bolivar's Victory at, .')02. Carleton, Governor of Canada, 302. Carolina, North, M, 81, 90, 121. Carolina, South, .'J4, 01, 81, 121, l.''i9, 190. Cartier, Jacques, 314, 315. " Carting, The Inconvenient Habit of, " 84. Carver, John, 32. Cassamarca, a City of Peru, 4(K). Census, The American, of 1800, 190; of 1870, 275 ; of 1880, 303. Census of Canada, 1831, 378. Champlain, Samuel de, 317-321. Chancellorsville, Fighting v.i, 23,'i. Charles I. of England, 33. Charles II. of England, 65. Charles V. of Spain, 59. Charleston, 196. Chesapeake Bay, 127. Chesapeake, The Frigate, 146. Chili, 523, 524. Cholula, Massacre at, 444. Christian Commission, The, 268. Civil Service Reform, 304. Clay, Henry, 177, 184. " Clergy Reserves," The, 376, 391. Clinton, General, 97, 123, 127. Coalition Government. Tlie Canadian, of 1864, 396. Cochrane, Lord, 523 n. Colombia, The RepuMic >f, 514. Colonial Department of English Govern- ment, 360. Colonies, The Four United, of New Eng- land, 37. Colonization, American, the Result of Op- pression in Europe, 21. Columbia, British, 423. 424. Columbus, Christopher, 12, 439, 476, 479, 480, 553. Commerce, American, Restrictions on, 85. Compass, The Mariner's, 12. Concord, The Village of, 94, 95. Confederacy, The States of the, 197. Congress, 87, 92, lol, ICi, 110, 111, 118, 122, 129, 130, 132, 138. Connecticut, 37, 54, 9(i, 108. Convention of Delegates from the Tliirtcen Original States, 134. Cook, James, the Navigator, 78. Cornwallis, Lord, 11.''), 127, 128. Cortes, Hernando, 442-440, 448, 449. Cromwell, Oliver, 33, 38, 65. Crown Point, The Capture of, 302. Cuba, .'i07 -510. Cusco, the Capital of Peru, 460, 462, 403. Darien, The Spanish Settlement of, 440. Davis, Jefferson, 197, 201, 202, 2.')2, 2Kl, 262. Debt, The War, of the General (iovern- nient and of the States, 139 ; at the Close of the Federal War, 276. Debtors and the English Law, 55. Declaration of Independence, 72, 152. I3elaware, Lord, 20. Delaware River, 52, ."JS. Delaware State, .54, 105. Oe Leon, Ponce, Expedition of, 15. I3elfthaven, 30. De Luque, 451, 453. De Soto, Ferdinand, Expedition of, 15-17. Dickenson, John, 93. Dorchester, The Heights of, 102. Dufferin, Lord, Viceroy of Canada, 434. Du Quesne, Fort (Pittsburg), taken, 341. Early, General, 247. East India Company sends Tea to America, 89; The Tea thrown into the Sea, 91. Ebenezer, Tlie Town, 56. Ecuador, 514. Education, Progress of, in New England, 30, 82; in Southern States, 82; in tlie Union, 293-298; in Canada, 351, 374, 375, 433. Elgin, Lord, Governor-General of Canada, 388, 390. Eliot, John, Apostle of the Indians, 47. Elizabeth, (iueen of England, 60. English, Early Settlements of the, 333 ; Wars with French Settlers, 338, 340; Conquests of, 342. Erie, Lake, Naval Fight on, 370. Exports, American, Restrictions on, 85. Exports of America, The, 291, 292. Falmouth, 44. Family Compact (Canadian), 376, 381. Farming, American, 284. Farragut, Admiral, 222. Federal Army, Disbanding of the, 203. Feudalism in Canada, 350 ; Abolished, 391. Fisheries of Canada, 430. ; ^^i INDEX. 681 1 tho Thirteen ition of, 15-17. eral of Canada, I of the, 2C3. lAbolished, 391. Florida, its Discovery, 1,1; ceded to Eng- land, SO. Fort Detroit, 145. Fort Du Quesne, 75. Fort Necessity, 74. Fort Pitt, 7«. Fort Sumpter, Bombardment of, 206. Fox, George, 42. France, American Possessions of, 15, 73; her Sympathy with America, 112 ; her Treaty with America against England, 120; her Aid to America, 127 ; Surrender of her Possessions, 34G. Francia, Dr., Dictator of Paraguay, 526. Franklin, Benjamin, 71, 72, 70, 84, 80, 115, 120, 134, l.-iO. Frederick of Prussia, 107. Fredericksburg, Disaster at, 220. Freedmcn's Bureau, 249. Fremont, 7. Lovojoy, Mr., 1(18. Lumber Trade, 428. Liindy's Lane, Battle of, U71. Luther, Martin, 14. Mackenzie, William Lyon, 381, 884. Maiias8a.s, Battle at, '2V.\, 2J8. Manliattan Island, 48. Maria Tlierosa, linipress of Au.stria, 07. Maryland, M, 184. Massaclmsetts, 37, 3!), 4.''), 47, 1)4, 88, 01, 130. Mniiflnwer, Tlie, 31, 32, .08. Maximilian, Enii)eror of Mexico, .')20-.')22. M'Clcllan, (ieneral CJcorgo U., 210, 2l!», 225, 228, 221), 2,'')0. M'Dowell, General, 213. Alcado, (ieneral, 23(i. "Mean Whites" of tlic Southern States, 180. Mexico, niS, 170, 445, 449, 473, 51fl, 519, 520-.'i22. Milton, John, 33, 38. Miranda, Francis, 500, 501. Mississippi, Discovery of the, 1(1. Monctory Panic of 1873, 275. Monitor, Tho Turret-Ship, 221. Monopolies In Canada, 351. Montcalm, Maniuis do, 79, 340, 342, 343. Monte Video, 529. Montezuma, King of Mexico, 443, 446. Montgomery, The City of, 210. Montreal, (Capture of, by the Americans, 302 ; Evacuation of, 363 ; Attempt by tho Americans to seize, 369, 370 ; Pro- gress of, 379 ; Political Disturbances at, 383; ceases to be tho Seat of (lovern- ment, 388. Mount Vernon, 131. Navy, The Mercantile, of Canada, 430. Neck, Boston, 97 ; Cliarlestown, 97, 99. New Brunswick, Progress and Resources of, 404 ; Settlement of tho Boundary, 405. New England States, Early Government of, 65 ; Commerce of, 81 ; Educational System of, 82; Riots in, 86; Muster of Men at Boston, 96; wrested from England, 103; invaded by a Britisli Army, 117. Newfoundland, 311, 321 ; taken Possession of by England, 400, 407; Area and Pop- ulation of, 407 ; the Natives of, 408 ; Re- sources of, 408. New Granada, 514. New Hanipsliire, 54. New Haven, 37. Now Jersey, its Acquisition, 50, 54. New Orleans, ir>0, 222. Now Plymouth founded, 31. New World, Tlie, 312, 313, 333. New York, 48, 50, 53, 54, 06, 81, 87, 89, 107, 109, 121, lf)0. Nor-tli, Lord, 91. Nova Scotia (Acadie), a Possession of France, 321, 400; a I'osscssion of Eng- land, 338, 401; Progress and Resources of, 402, 403. f)glethorpo, James, .54 Ohio, Valley of the, 73. Ontario, Lake, 3()5. Ordinance of tlio Convention of Soutli Carolina, dissolving tho Union, 196. Ottawa, 389. Pacific Ocean, Di.scovery of, 441. Paine, Thomas, 105. Pakenhani, Sir Edward, 1.50. Papineau, Louis Josepli, 383. Paraguay, 520-528. Paris, Mr., 44. Paul Jones, 121. Paul le Jeuno, Father, 326. Pea Ridge, Battle of, 222. Peninsula, The, 219. Pennsylvania, 54, 66, 81, 105, 130. Penn, William, 51, .52, 66. Penobscot Bay, 337. Perrot, Nicholas, 334. Peru, 455, 524-526. Petersburg, Siege of, 245. Pliiladulphia, 62, 53, 71, 89, 92, 110, 115, 121, 133, 168. Pilgrim Fathers, their leaving England, 29; Settlement in Holland, 29 ; Removal to New England, 31 ; their Hardships after landing, 32 ; their Political Consti- tution, 32 ; their Reinforcements from England, 34 ; their Peculiarities, 35 ; tlieir Virtues, 35. Pitcairn, Major, 94. Pittsburg, 76. Pitt, William, Earl of Chatham, 78, 82, 87, 88, 91, 92. Pizarro, Fernando, 402, 464. Pizarro, Juan, 463. Pizarro Gonzalo, 464, 465. Pizarro, Francisco, the Discoverer of Peru, 441, 451, 464. Plymoutli, 37. Pocahontas, 24. Polk, President, 173. Pope, General, 228. Port Hudson, Reduction of, 232. h'l IXDEX. MS 1, 87, 81), 107, 92, 110, 115, Iham, 78, S"2, liscovercr of Port Royal, Capturo of, 222. I'otomac, 71. Proscott, Colonel, OS. PrcBitlont, Klection and Powers of, 137. Princeton, 111. Protective Tariff, 2,sO. Providence, The City of, aO. I'uorto Rico, .'■>07. Puez, (ionerai, .M.'i. Putnam, Israel, IHJ, OS, i«), 108. Quaker.s, Pcrsoi-utioii of, 40, 41 ; Beliefs and Charactor, 42; Loyalty of, 10.''i. (Quebec, 78-80; Kirst Occupants of, lU,'') ; the Froncli Capital, ;J18; taken by England, 320; regained by France, 321; holeclaration o Knglish Risboiis and (,'rown Lawyers re gardlng tlio hulding of, O:?; the suffer Ings of, 02; F.nactment of Congres.s r." g.irding the Imixirtation of, (il ; the l.'ights of, 2(i5 ; the Kducation of, 294. Smitii, John, 23. Southern States recognized as a belligerent Power by F.ngland, 279. Si)ain, Dominions of, in the West, 405, 488, 489, 495, 49(1, 499. Spain, her Treaty with America against England, 120. Springtield, IJurial-idace of President Lin- coln, 258. Stamp Act, The, 72, 80, 87. Statcn Island, 108. States, The Secession, 197, 208. St. Domingo, 00, iW. Stephens, Alexander IL, 202. St. John, Island of, 341. St. Lawrence, Discovery of the, 31 1. Stuart, George IL, 2(J8. Stuyvesant, Petrus, 49. St. Vincent, Island of, 121. Subjects, Knglish and American, llie Law relating to, 142. Sumner, Charles, 191. Taxation, American, 284, and notn. Taxation in Canada, 430. Taxes Imposed on the Americans by the English Parliament, 85, 88. Taylor, General, 174. Tiascalans, Overthrow of the, 441. Ticonderoga, Capture of, 302. Tobacco, 20, 190. Townshcnd, Charles, 88. Tiviit, Rritish Mail-Steamer, boarded by the Americans, 279. Trenton, 110. Tripoli, Expedition against, 140. Union Bill, The Canadian, 387. ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A ^ vS 1.0 !.l ■^121 125 |5o "^* MB 12.2 us 1^ |: ii& 1-25 |l.4 |||.6 ^ 6" „ ^ V. ? \** 7 ^^*<-^ x1 Fhotographic Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WBSSTH.N.Y. MSIO (716) S72-4S03 '^ ^ ^% mmt 664 INDEX. Unltod Statw, Tb«, 64, 81, 188, 187, IBS, 188,878. VftUoy Forge, 116. Vmco NuA«i de Balbo*, 440. VenexaeU, the Confederation of, 600 ; the Bute of, 514. 616. Veraunni, John, 818. Viclraburg, Redaction of, 338, 238. Virginia, 64, 66, 74, 81, 96, 127, 160, 184, 212, 251, 837. Virginia, Iron-dad Friga'«, 220. Wall Street, 49. Walpole, 8ir Robert, 64, 85. Washington, Capital of the Union, cap- ture of, bj the BriUah, 149; threatened bjr the Confederate*, 211, 228. Washington, George, 68-70, 74, 76, 98, 93, 100, 101, 102, 106, 107, 108, 100, 110, 111, 116, le!. 122, 126, 128, 180, 181, 184, ^"8, 140, 160. Watt, James, 166. Wesley, Charles, 66. Wesley, John, 66. West Point, 123. Whitefleld, George, 67. Whitney, EU, Inventor of Cotton-OIn, 155. Wilderness, Federal Disaster in the, 234. WiUiam, Prince of Orange, sa Williams, Roger, 38; his Views on Re- ligious Toleration, 89; President of Rhode Island, 40. Winnipeg Valley, 421, 422. WoUe, General, 78, 348-346. Wolseley, Sir Garnet, Expedition to the Red River, 418. York, Duke of, 60. Yorktown, 127, 219. . 184, fS, i-Oln, 156. the, 234. V on Re- ddent of tn to tho ^^■^iBPCTwr'