Barnes m. flfcoffi'tt 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 GENERAL LIBRARY, BERKELEY 
 
\ 
 
 T 
 
 V 
 

 
 

 ' 
 

 f /^^ 
 
 (j%b*t*c&&j (^ft^f^T^^^f^ 
 
 ^^i ^^ ^ sy 
 
' w '^ r < T f '& f ^ 
 
 77 J&Q JL ^JA 
 

PICTORIAL HISTORY 
 
 AMERICA, 
 
Pizarro in Cuzco. 
 
 The Temple of Tolomeco. 
 
PICTORIAL HISTORY 
 
 or 
 
 AMERICA; 
 
 EMBRACING BOTH THE 
 
 NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN PORTIONS 
 
 OF THE NE WORLD 
 
 BY S. G. GOODRICH. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS 
 
 HARTFORD: 
 
 PUBLI-fitiED BY HOUSE & BROWN. 
 
 1851. 
 
TBRBOTYPBD BT 
 
 GEORGE A. CURTIS, 
 
 NBW BtfLAMD TTPB AMI STBHSOTTPS KODMDEY, BOSTOI 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL VIEW OF AMERICA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. , ia - 
 
 Geographical Description of North and South America 11 
 
 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY THE 
 NORTHMEN. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Account of the alleged Discovery of America by the Northmen, . . 21 
 
 DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS OF THE 
 SPANIARDS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 State of Geographical Science Efforts of the Spaniards and Portuguese 
 Proceedings of Columbus, , : . 27 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Columbus discovers America, .... .,-.' . 37 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Various Discoveries of Columbus in America Return to Spain, . . 46 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Second Voyage of Columbus to America His Third Voyage His Fourth 
 Voyage His return to Spain and his Death Sufferings of the 
 Natives, 57 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Spanish Discoveries on the Continent Proceedings of Cortez, . . 67 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Final Conquest, of Mexico Death of Cortez Guatimala, . ..76 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Discovery of the South Sea Conquest of Peru, . . */.,. 86 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Historical Sketch of the Peruvian Empire Proceedings of the Spaniards 
 
 in Peru, . . ' \'"~ . . f9 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Conquest of Chili Paraguay Rio de la Plata, . Ill 
 
 1* 
 
Vl CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. PASS 
 
 Proceedings in Venezuela and Guiana Commercial Operations in South 
 
 America, - ' 121 
 
 BRAZIL. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Discovery of Brazil Settlement and Progress, 137 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Progress of the Colony, . . . . ... . .145 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Progress of the Colony, . . . 152 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Flourishing Condition of Brazil The Mines Policy of the Government 
 
 Present State of the country, . , . ? ., . t . 162 
 
 WEST INDIES. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Porto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, &c. Slaves and the Slave Trade, . v . 167 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Buccaneers, .... . . . . . . .175 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 St. Domingo, .. . . 188 
 
 SPANISH SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 . 197 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Peru, continued, . . . ^ f . . . . . . 06 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Peru, continued, . . ...... 216 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 United Provinces Banda Oriental T . 223 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Paraguay Chili, 234 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Colomhia Venezuela New Grenada Ecuador Bolivia, . . .244 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 vii 
 
 PACK 
 
 252 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Mexico Texas Central America, ...... 
 
 BRITISH AMERICA, &,c. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Canada, . .. , : 262 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Canada, continued, . . 272 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Canada, continued, > 279 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Nova Scotia, ........... 285 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Nova Scotia, continued Hudson's Bay Territory Russian America 
 
 Greenland . . . . 295 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Florida, . ' 30J 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Florida, continued, . . . .313 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Florida, continued, f .323 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Virginia, ............ 330 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 Virginia, continued, ... . , 339 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 Virginia, continued, V '. 351 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 Massachusetts, .>,*.*. . . . . . 363 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX.. 
 
 Massachusetts, continued, . . 377 
 
Tiii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 Massachusetts continued Connecticut, ^ **-; v-Y 387 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 New England Colonies, . . . . '. vj '1 .1 ; '.; . 39 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 New Hampshire Connecticut Rhode Island New Haven, . . . 407 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 New York, . -. i ^ -. 413 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland North and South 
 
 Carolina Georgia, . . . 423 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 United Colonies of New England Philip's War, . . . t . .438 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 The Charters of the New England Colonies revoked Sir Edmund Andres, 443 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 Massachusetts, '. - '. '* '. . . 451 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 Witchcraft in Salem, . . V . . . . . . 400 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 New England, . . '. '. '-;V 471 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 Indian Wars hi the South, . * * . > 477 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 Collision with the Canadian Indians, ,.... 484 
 
 CHAPTER LII. 
 
 Same subject continued, 491 
 
 CHAPTER LOT. 
 
 The French War, '. .497 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 Troubles with England, ...... . 510 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 
 The same subject continued, . . . . . 520 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER LVL 
 
 The same subject continued, . - 
 
 CHAPTER LVII. 
 
 Battle of Lexington Opening of the Revolution , . 
 
 CHAPTER LVIII. 
 
 Progress of the Revolution, 556 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 Declaration of Independence Capture of New York, .... 564 
 
 CHAPTER LX. 
 
 Progress of the War, ' . . .674 
 
 CHAPTER LXI. 
 
 Burgoyne's Expedition and Capture, ,~ , . , ,. . <^ 587 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. 
 Negotiations with France, 608 
 
 CHAPTER LXIII. 
 
 Progress of the War, . . #..'"*' . . * -I' -. . 630 
 
 CHAPTER LXIV. 
 
 Arnold's Treason Progress of the War, .-.. ' , -* - 636 
 
 CHAPTER LXV. 
 
 Progress of the War Surrender of Cornwallis Peace,. * . 645 
 
 CHAPTER LXYI. 
 
 The Confederation The Constitution Washington President, &c., . 664 
 
 CHAPTER LXYII. 
 
 French Revolution Adams President Madison President War with 
 
 England, . G?4 
 
 CHAPTER LXVIII. 
 
 Progress of the War, , , GDI 
 
 CHAPTER LXIX. 
 
 Events of the War, . . . ^ . ; * V 7O3 
 
 B 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER LXX. PAGE 
 
 Progress of the War Negotiations at Ghent Hartford Convention 
 
 Peace, . ' 725 
 
 CHAPTER LXXI. 
 
 War with Algiers Monroe President John Quincy Adams President 
 
 Jackson President, . . . . . . . 743 
 
 CHAPTER LXXII. 
 
 Jackson's Administration, continued Van Buren President Harrison 
 
 President Administration of John Tyler, . . . . . 757 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIII. 
 
 Mr. Folk's Inauguration. Relations with Mexico. Proclamation of War 
 by the President. Discussion in relation to Oregon. Military Opera 
 tions Treaty of Peace with Mexico Inauguration of Zachary Taylor, . 770 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Early Notions respecting the American Indians Their Origin General 
 
 Remarks Indians of the United States, <-.. . . -. . f 1 
 
 CHAPTER 21. 
 
 Indians of Mexico Central America South America General Remarks, 24 
 

 PICTORIAL VIEW OF AMERICA, 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF AMERICA. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 
 THE continent of America includes an extent of territory equal 
 to one half of the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa ; and con 
 stitutes about three tenths of the dry land on the surface of the 
 globe. It is bounded east and west by the great Atlantic and 
 Pacific Oceans. On the west, the Pacific separates it from Asia, 
 and at Behring's Straits, in the north, the two continents come 
 almost in contact. On the north is the Arctic Ocean, divided by 
 huge frozen islands into bays and inlets. On the east, the Atlan 
 tic separates it from Europe and Africa. On the south, it presents 
 a storm-beaten cape to the expanse of the Southern or Antarctic 
 Ocean. The northern boundary of America is now found to ex 
 tend to about 70 north latitude. The southern extremity of the 
 
12 GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF AMERICA. 
 
 continent, on the Straits of Magellan, is in lat. 54 south. Hence 
 America comprehends the whole of the tropical and temperate, 
 with part of the Arctic climates, on both sides of the equator. Its 
 extent from north to south is about 9000 miles. This great con- 
 
 The Western Hemisphere. 
 
 tinent is nearly separated into two portions by the narrow Isthmus 
 of Panama. It will be more proper, therefore, to describe North 
 and South America separately. 
 
 North America extends from 8 to 70 north latitude, and from 
 55 to 168 west longitude, and contains an area of about 7,500,- 
 000 square miles, exclusive of the islands in the neighborhood of 
 Baffin's Bay and Barrow's Strait. Presenting a broad front to 
 the Arctic Sea, it gradually expands in width to about 50 north 
 latitude, when it again contracts its dimensions until it reaches the 
 Isthmus of Panama. ' Its winding outline presents a great extent 
 of seacoast, which is estimated to amount to about 9,500 miles on 
 the eastern, and somewhat more on the western side, in addition 
 to the frozen shores of the northern border. It may be divided 
 into five physical regions. 1. The table-land of Mexico, with 
 the strips of low country on its eastern and western shores. 2. 
 
GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF AMERICA. 
 
 13 
 
 The plain lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific 
 Ocean, a country with a mild and humid atmosphere as far north 
 
 as 55, hut inhospitable and barren beyond. 3. The great cen 
 tral valley of the Mississippi, rich and well wooded on the east 
 side ; bare but not unfertile in the middle ; bare, dry, sandy and 
 almost a desert on the west. 4. The eastern declivities of the 
 Allegany mountains, a region of natural forests, and of mixed, 
 but rather poor soil. 5. The great northern plain beyond 50, 
 four fifths of which is a bleak and bare waste, overspread with 
 innumerable lakes, and resembling Siberia both in the physical 
 character of its surface and the rigor of its climate. 
 
 South America lies between the 12th degree of north, and the 
 56th degree of south latitude, and extends in breadth from 36 to 
 81 of west longitude. It comprises 6,500,000 square miles. Its 
 coast is less indented by bays than North America, but it presents 
 the same tapering form to the south. Its greatest breadth, about 
 six degrees south of the equator, is 3,200 miles, and its length 
 2 
 
14 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF AMERICA. 
 
 4,500. South America may also be divided into five distinct 
 physical regions. 1. The low country on the shores of the Pacific, 
 
 
 
 about 4,000 miles in length, and from 50 to 200 in breadth. The 
 two extremities of this district are fertile ; the middle is a sandy 
 desert. 2. The basin of the Orinoco, surrounded by the Andes 
 and their branches, and consisting of wide plains nearly destitute 
 of wood, but covered with a high herbage during a part of the 
 year. 3. The basin of the Amazon, a vast plain, with a rich soil 
 and a humid climate, and exhibiting a surprising luxuriance of 
 vegetation. 4 The great southern plain of the Plata, in parts 
 dry and barren, and in parts covered with a strong growth of 
 weeds and tall grass. > 5. The high country of Brazil, ea^ward 
 of the Panama and the Uruguay, presenting alternate ridges and 
 valleys, thickly covered wi.th wood on the Atlantic slope. 
 
 Mountain ranges, characterized by their lofty boldness and im 
 mense extent, stretch across this continent, and give it a peculiar 
 and striking character. One chain, the longest on the face of the 
 
GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF AMERICA 
 
 15 
 
 globe, and with one exception the loftiest, appears to extend from 
 its northern to its southern extremity. By far the most distin 
 guished portion is that colossal range, which, under the name of 
 Andes, traverses South America along the shore of the Pacific. 
 Commencing at the Isthmus of Panama, and throwing some lateral 
 blanches along the northern coast, it continues in its progress 
 southward, always swelling in magnitude, till almost beneath the 
 equator it shoots up into the summits of Chimborazo and Antisana, 
 
 Chimborazo. 
 
 believed, till lately, the loftiest peaks on the globe; while it spreads 
 terror by the tremendous volcanoes of Pichincha and Cotopaxi. 
 In passing through Peru, it continues still very lofty, and on 
 reaching its southern region forms a vast knot or mass, amid 
 whose peaks tower Ilimani and Sorata, which recent observation 
 has proved to exceed even Chimborazo in height, though still 
 inferior to the highest summits of the Himmaleh. In its progress 
 behind Chili, this great chain continues to form an exceedingly 
 steep, though not very broad, ridge. It becomes less considerable 
 as it approaches the southern limit of the continent, and the pecu 
 liarly dreary and desolate aspect which it there assumes is owing 
 less to elevation than to the wintry severity of the climate. The 
 heights on the adjacent isle of Terra del Fuego do not exceed 
 6,000 feet; and even the formidable cliffs with which Cape Horn 
 faces the tempests of the Southern Ocean do not rise higher than 
 1.600 feet. 
 
16 6EOGRAFHICAL DESCRIPTION OF AMERICA. 
 
 The same chain extends from the Isthmus of Panama north 
 ward. The isthmus is occupied hy a ridge of moderate elevation ; 
 but after a short interval it swells into that great plain of table 
 land, upwards of 6,000 feet high, which covers the greater part of 
 Mexico and Guatemala, and converts the tropical climate of those 
 latitudes into a temperate one. From this level shoot up much 
 higher the snowy, conical peaks of Orizaba, Popocatepetl and 
 Toluca, the two former of which send forth formidable volcani* 
 eruptions. Beyond Mexico this great elevation is partly pro 
 longed in the great chain of the Rocky Mountains, which run 
 parallel to the northern Pacific, and bound on the west the valley 
 of the Mississippi. Though their cliffs are steep and rugged, they 
 by no means equal the elevation of the Andes, scarcely at any 
 point surpassing 12,000 feet Beyond the 55th parallel they rap 
 idly sink, though a branch, about 2,000 feet high, runs along the 
 western bank of the Mackenzie river, and even along the shores 
 of the Arctic Ocean. Yery high mountains are seen at different 
 parts of the shore of the northern Pacific, particularly in the 60th 
 parallel, where mount St Elias is supposed to exceed 16.000 feet 
 
 In North America an eastern chain, the Apalachians or Alle- 
 ganies, may be traced, in a continuous ridge parallel to the Atlan 
 tic. Detached and somewhat irregular branches spread through 
 Canada, Labrador and the vicinity of Hudson's Bay. -The moun 
 tains which, resting around the Gulf of Mexico, form the West India 
 islands, appear to be elevated summits of the same range. After 
 disappearing for a small interval in the delta of the Orinoco, it 
 appear^ -<?ain in numerous ridges, which spread wide over Guiana. 
 On the 9&J** *ide of the Amazon. Brazil is traversed by seve- 
 
ir 
 
 ral 
 
 La Plata, 
 
 the Pampas. AH 
 
 pared with die 
 
 2,000 to 3 ; 000f 
 
IS GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF AMERICA. 
 
 covered with unbroken forests, and tenanted by rude and savage 
 tribes. The extent of this plain is about 3,120,000 square miles. 
 In the northern quarter is the great plain of the Orinoco, estimated 
 at 348,OQO miles, covered with gigantic grasses, and almost uncul 
 tivated at the present day. In the southern part of the continent 
 is the immense surface of the Pampas, bordering the La Plata, 
 and trodden by numerous herds of wild cattle. This plain com 
 prehends 1,620,000 miles. 
 
 Lofty plains or table-lands form a characteristic feature in the 
 geography of the western continent. The principal one occu 
 pies the whole of Mexico and part of Guatemala : it is 6,000 feet 
 high. The Andes, within their lofty ridges, enclose very elevated 
 sites, on which numerous cities are built. 
 
 But the grandest natural features of America are her rivers, 
 which in magnitude far surpass those of the Other quarters of the 
 globe. They are unequalled both in the length of their course, 
 and the masses of water which they pour into the ocean. The 
 principal of these rivers take their rise in the great western chain 
 of mountains, from its eastern side, whence, being swelled by 
 numerous streams, they roll their deep and spacious waters across 
 the great interior plain, till they approach the eastern range of 
 mountains. Here they receive a fresh and copious series of tribu 
 taries, till, bearing the waters of half a continent, they reach the 
 ocean. The Missouri takes its rise in the Rocky Mountains, and 
 flows eastward into the great North American valley, where it is 
 joined by the Mississippi, and receives from the Allegany chain 
 the copious tribute of the Ohio : these combined floods, subse 
 quently augmented by tributaries from the eastern and western 
 ranges, thus bear southward into the Gulf of Mexico. In South 
 America, the Amazon, after a long course along the foot of the 
 loftiest Andes, rolls eastward across the great plain, receiving 
 ample* tributaries from the eastern ranges, till, on reaching the 
 Atlantic, it becomes almost an inland sea. The La Plata, with 
 its branches, collects all the southern waters of the Andes, and 
 flows southeast to the Atlantic in the magnitude of an immense, 
 gulf. Inferior to these, yet maintaining a rank among the great 
 rivers of the globe, are, in North America, the St. Lawrence, 
 which, witn the Mississippi, derives its ample store of waters not 
 from any mountain chain, but from that cold, watery region of 
 forests and swamps, forming the northern prolongation of the great 
 central plain, and the Oregon, rising in the western declivity 
 of the Rocky Mountains, and flowing west into the Pacific. In 
 South America, another great stream, the Orinoco, taking its first 
 rise in the Andes, is formed chiefly during its winding course 
 
GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF AMERICA. 19 
 
 among the inferior ranges that traverse the northern portion of 
 South America. Though inferior to the two other gigantic streams 
 in its neighborhood, yet, such is the store of waters it collects from 
 this region of forests and swamps, that it pours its ample flood 
 into the ocean by seven capacious mouths. The length of the 
 navigable waters of the Amazon and its branches is estimated at 
 50,000 miles; of the Missouri, 40,000; of the La Plata, 20,000; 
 of the Orinoco, 8,000; and of the St. Lawrence, 2,000. The 
 internal navigation of the western continent surpasses therefore, 
 beyond all comparison, that of all the rest of the globe. 
 
 Still another grand and characteristic feature of American 
 geography may be found in the lakes of this country. The lar 
 gest and most numerous are in North America. They are not 
 mountain lakes, nor formed by mountain streams. They origi 
 nate in those great, wooded, watery plains in which the Mississippi 
 and the St. Lawrence take their rise. The chain of connected 
 lakes on the upper course of the latter river, form the largest 
 bodies of fresh water in the world. 
 
 Finally, the western continent is superior to the eastern, not 
 only in its navigable waters, penetrating into its inmost recesses, 
 but also in its not being defaced with sandy deserts to any 
 remarkable extent. The desert of Atacama, in Peru and Chili, 
 comprises only a narrow strip of country on the Pacific Ocean. 
 The desert of Pernambuco, in the northeastern part of Brazil, is 
 more extensive ; but both are insignificant when compared with 
 those of the Old World. The wide tract at the eastern foot of 
 the Rocky Mountains, which has been called the American De 
 sert, and a similar tract at the eastern base of the Chilian Moun 
 tains, are traversed by large rivers, and produce an abundant 
 vegetation. The western continent, therefore, although only half 
 the size of the eastern, has at least quite an equal amount of 
 useful soil. Two thirds of the surface of the Old World are 
 unproductive, and much of the remaining soil is poor; while 
 more than two thirds of the New World are not only productive^ 
 but for the most part fertile to the highest degree. 
 
 We shall close this description of the western continent with a 
 brief view of its political divisions at the present day. The 
 northern part of America belongs to Russia and Great Britain, so 
 far as the right of discovery and the possession of a few settle 
 ments, thinly scattered over an icy and barren waste, afford those 
 powers a claim to the property. These regions are peopled by 
 wandering tribes of aborigines, but their numbers are few. The 
 European settlements are insignificant, except those of the British 
 on Hudson's Bay. South of this country is the more populous 
 
20 GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF AMERICA. 
 
 district of British America, extending to the 42d degree of lati 
 tude, containing the flourishing colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia 
 and New Brunswick. The inhabitants are mostly of European 
 descent, and the government is dependent on Great Britain. Next 
 lies the republic of the United States, extending from the Atlantic 
 to the Pacific, and from forty-eight degrees north, nearly to the 
 tropic. The eastern half of this immense territory is occupied by 
 the Anglo-American race ; the western is still in possession of the 
 aborigines, who however are daily receding and disappearing 
 before the rapid progress of civilization. South of the United 
 States is, first, the new republic of Texas, and next, the territory 
 of Mexico, almost equal to the United States in extent, but 
 less populous. This republic has a mixed population of Spanish 
 and Indian descent, and large portions of the country are still 
 in a savage state. Its limits extend to 'sixteen degrees of 
 north latitude. The narrow portion of the continent which 
 approaches the Isthmus of Darien is occupied by the republic of 
 Guatemala, the inhabitants of which do not materially differ from 
 those of Mexico. The West India islands, lying between North 
 and South America, are colonies of several of the European pow 
 ers, and are peopled by a mixture of the European and African 
 race. One of these islands, Hayti, is independent, and has a 
 population entirely African. 
 
 The northern part of South America contains the republics of 
 Venezuela, Ecuador and New Granada, with a few colonies in Gui 
 ana, belonging to the British, French and Dutch. Proceeding south 
 erly across the equator, we meet with the great empire of Brazil, 
 occupying more than one third of the Southern continent. This 
 empire, formerly a colony of Portugal, but now an independent 
 territory, is peopled on its Atlantic borders by inhabitants of the 
 Portuguese and African race. The interior is occupied chiefly by 
 tribes of Indians. On the western coast lie the republics of 
 Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chili. The republic of Buenos 
 Ayres, or the United Provinces, extends from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific. Between Brazil and this territory lie the two small 
 republics of Paraguay and Banda Oriental. All these republics 
 are inhabited by people of Spanish and Indian descent. 
 
 The continent now becomes narrowed toward a point, and offers 
 to our view the savage and inhospitable region of Patagonia, in 
 which few inhabitants, except the aborigines, are to Be found. 
 The southern extremity of America is formed by the craggy and 
 desert island of Terra del Fuego, tenanted only by a scanty 
 population of natives, as rude and savage as their own bleak and 
 Btorm-beaten shores. 
 
DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY THE NORTHMEN. 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Landing of the Northmen in America. 
 
 THE Welsh have a tradition of some celebrity, in virtue of 
 which they claim the discovery of the western world. Madoc, 
 a Welsh chieftain, in 1170, fitted out several vessels on a maritime 
 adventure. Proceeding to the westward, after a long navigation 
 he arrived at " a fair and large country," in which many wonder 
 ful things were seen. After leaving the greater number of his 
 companions there, he returned to Wales, and prevailed on a num 
 ber of his kindred and acquaintance to accompany him in a second 
 expedition, from which he never returned. This is the substance 
 of the Welsh tradition. There is no reason for serious belief that 
 the Welsh ever crossed the Atlantic. The state of their naviga 
 tion in the twelfth century was no way compatible with so long 
 and hazardous a voyage. No trace of a Welsh settlement has 
 ever been discovered in the western world. The resemblance 
 affirmed to exist between some of the American languages and 
 the Welsh is altogether fanciful. 
 
 The discovery of America by the Northmen, in 1001, rests on 
 stronger evidence; and strange as this may appear, the fact 
 
22 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY THE NORTHMEN. 
 
 becomes indisputable when we consider that the best authenti 
 cated Icelandic chronicles unanimously affirm it; that their rela 
 tions contain nothing that can admit of reasonable doubt; and that 
 they are supported by several concurrent testimonies. There was, 
 say those ancient chronicles, an Icelander, named Heriol, who, 
 with his son Biarn, made every year a trading voyage to different 
 countries, and generally wintered in Norway. Happening one 
 time to be separated from each other, the son steered his course 
 for Norway, where he supposed he should meet with his father ; 
 but, on his arrival there, found he had gone to Greenland, a coun 
 try but lately discovered, and little known to the Norwegians. 
 Biarn determined, at all events, to follow his father, and set sail 
 for Greenland; "although," says the chronicler, "he had nobody 
 on board who could direct him on the voyage, nor any particular 
 instructions to guide him; so great was the courage of the 
 ancients. He steered by the observation of the stars, and by 
 what he had heard of the situation of the country he sought." 
 During the first three days he bore towards the west, but the 
 wind varying to the north, and blowing strong, he was forced 
 to run to the southward. The wind ceasing in about twenty- 
 four hours, they discovered land at a distance, which, as they 
 approached, they perceived to be flat and low, and covered with 
 wood ; for which reason they would not go on shore, being con 
 vinced it could not be Greenland, which had been represented 
 to them as distinguishable at a great distance for its mountains 
 covered with snow. They then sailed away towards the north 
 west, and discovered a harbor which was formed by an island, 
 but did not stop there. After some days they arrived in Green 
 land, where Biarn met with his father. 
 
 The following summer, namely, in the year 1002, Biarn made 
 another voyage to Norway, where he informed one of the prin 
 cipal Idrds of the country, named Count Eric, of the discovery 
 he had made of some unknown islands. The count blamed 
 his want of curiosity, and strongly pressed him to proceed with 
 his discovery. In consequence of this advice, Biarn, as soon 
 as he had returned to Greenland, began to think seriously of 
 exploring those lands with more attention. Leif, the son of Eric 
 Rufus, who had discovered Greenland, and who was still ch'ef 
 of the colony settled there, being desirous of distinguishing him 
 self like his father, determined to go thither himself; and prevail 
 ing on Eric to accompany him, they fitted out a vessel with 
 thirty-five hands; but when the old man was setting out on 
 horseback to go to the ship, his horse happened to fall down 
 under him an accident which he considered as an admonition 
 
DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY THE NORTHMEN. 23 
 
 from heaven to desist from the enterprise ; and, therefore, return 
 ing home, the less superstitious Leif set sail without him. 
 
 He soon descried one of the coasts which Biarn had before 
 seen, that lay nearest to Greenland. He cast anchor and went 
 on shore, but .found only a flat, rocky region, without any kind of 
 verdure: he, therefore, quitted it, after bestowing upon it the 
 name of Helleland, or the "Stony Land." A short navigation 
 brought him to another place, which Biarn had also noted. In 
 this land, which lay very low, they saw nothing but a few scat 
 tered thickets and white sand. This he called Markland, or the 
 " Woody Land." Two days prosperous sailing brought them to 
 a third shore, which was sheltered to the north by an island. 
 They disembarked there in very fine weather, and found plants 
 which produced a grain as sweet as honey. Leaving this, they 
 sailed westward in search of a harbor, and at length entering the 
 mouth of a river, were carried up by the tide into a lake. As 
 soon as they landed, they pitched their tents on the shore, not yet 
 daring to wander far inland. The river afforded them plenty of 
 very large salmon; the air was soft and temperate; the soil 
 appeared to be fruitful and the pasturage very good. The days 
 in winter were much longer than in Greenland, and they had less 
 snow than in Iceland. Entirely satisfied with their new resi 
 dence, they built houses and spent the winter there. 
 
 But before the setting in of this season, a German of their com 
 pany, named Tyrker, was one day missing. Leif, apprehensive 
 for the safety of a man who had been long in his father's family, 
 and who was an excellent workman, sent all his people in search 
 of him. He was at length found, singing and leaping, and express 
 ing the most extravagant joy. The astonished Green! anders 
 inquired the reason of such strange behavior. Tyrker informed 
 them that he had discovered wild grapes. Excited by this news, 
 they immediately went to the place, and brought back several 
 bunches to their commander, who was equally surprised. Leif still 
 doubted whether they were grapes, but the German assured him 
 he was born in a country where the vine grew, and that lie knew 
 them too well to be mistaken. Yielding to this proof, Leif named 
 the country Vinland, or the Land of Wine. 
 
 Leif returned to Greenland in the spring, but one of his 
 brothers, named Thorwald, thinking the discovery yet imperfect, 
 obtained from Eric this same vessel and thirty men. Thorwald, 
 arriving in Vinland, made use of the houses built by Leif, and 
 living on fish, which were very plenty, passed the winter there. 
 In the spring he took part of his people and set out westward to 
 examine the country. They met everywhere with very pleasing 
 
24 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY THE NORTHMEN. 
 
 landscapes, all the coasts being covered with forests, and the shores 
 with a black sand. They saw a multitude of little islands, sepa 
 rated by small arms of the sea, but no marks either of wild beasts 
 or of men, except a heap of wood piled up in the form of a pyramid. 
 Having spent the summer in this survey, they returned in autumn 
 to their winter quarters: but the summer following, Thorwald 
 being desirous of exploring the eastern and northern coasts, his 
 vessel was a good deal shattered by a storm, and the remainder 
 of that season was taken up in repairing her. He afterwards set 
 up the keel, which was unfit for service, at the extremity of a 
 neck of land, thence called Kiellar Naes, or Cape Keel. 
 
 On his landing one day, attracted by the beauty of the shore 
 he discovered three little leathern canoes, in each of which were 
 three persons, seemingly half asleep. Thorwald and his com 
 panions instantly ran and seized them all, excepting one who 
 escaped ; and, by a ferocity as imprudent as it was cruel, put 
 them to death the same day. Soon afterwards, as they.lay on the 
 same coast, they were suddenly alarmed by the arrival of a great 
 number of these little vessels, which covered the whole bay. Thor 
 wald gave immediate orders to his party to defend themselves 
 with planks and boards against their darts, which quite filled the 
 air ; and the savages, having in vain wasted all their arrows, after 
 an .hour's combat betook themselves to flight. The Norwegians 
 called them in derision Skrsellings, or Mannikins. The chronicles 
 tell us that these men were small and timid, and that there would 
 be nothing to fear from a whole army of them : they add that 
 these Skrsellings are the same people who inhabit the western 
 parts of Greenland, and that the Norwegians who are settled on 
 those coasts, had called the savages there by the same name. 
 
 Thorwald was the only one who was mortally wounded, and 
 'dying soon after, paid the penalty that was justly due for his 
 inrmman conduct. As he desired to be buried with a cross at his 
 feet and another at his head, he seems to have imbibed some idea 
 of Christianity, which at that time began to dawn in Norwegian 
 Greenland. His body was interred at the point of the cape where 
 he had intended to make a settlement ; which cape was named 
 Krossa NCBS, or Cape Cross. The season being too far advanced 
 for undertaking the voyage home, the rest of the crew spent the 
 winter there, and did not reach Greenland till the following 
 spring. We are further told that they loaded the vessel with 
 vines, and all the raisins they could preserve. 
 
 Eric had left a third son, named Thorstein, who, as soon as he 
 was informed of his brother Thorwald' s death, embarked the same 
 year, with his wife Gudride and a select crew of twenty men. 
 
DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY THE NORTHMEN. 25 
 
 His principal design was to bring his brother's body back to 
 Greenland. But, during the whole summer, the winds proved so 
 contrary and tempestuous, that, after several fruitless attempts, 
 he was driven back to a part of Greenland far distant from the 
 colony of his countrymen. Here he was confined during the 
 rigor of the winter, deprived of all assistance, and exposed to the 
 severity of so rude a climate. These misfortunes were increased 
 by a contagious sickness, which carried off Thorstein and most 
 of the company. His widow took care of her husband's body 
 and, returning with it in the spring, interred it in the burial place 
 of his family. 
 
 Hitherto we have seen the Norwegians only making slight 
 efforts to establish themselves in Vinland. The year after Thor- 
 stein's death, proved more favorable to the design of settling a 
 colony. A rich Icelander, named Thorfin, whose genealogy the 
 chronicles have carefully preserved, arrived in Greenland from 
 Norway, with a great number of followers. He cultivated an 
 acquaintance with Leif, who, since his father Eric's death, was 
 chief of the colony, and with his consent espoused Gudride, by 
 whom he acquired a right to those claims her former husband had 
 on the settlements in Vinland. Thither he soon went to take 
 possession, having with him Gudride and five other women, 
 besides sixty sailors, much cattle, provision and implements of 
 husbandry. Nothing was omitted that could forward the enter 
 prise. Soon after his arrival on the coast, he caught a whale, 
 which proved very serviceable to the whole company. The pas 
 turage was found to be so plentiful and rich, that a bull they had 
 carried over with them became in a short time remarkable for 
 his fierceness and strength. 
 
 The remainder of that summer and the winter following were 
 spent in taking all necessary precautions for their preservation. 
 The next summer, the Skro3llings came down in crowds and 
 brought various merchandises for traffic. After staying there 
 three years, Thorfin returned home with a valuable cargo of 
 raisins and other commodities, the fame of which spreading 
 through the north, drew many adventurers to Yinland. 
 
 Such is the story of the settlement of Vinland; and it is a fortu 
 nate circumstance that these ancient accounts have preserved not 
 only the geographical descriptions, but also nautical and astrono 
 mical facts, which, besides substantiating the narrations, serve to 
 fix the position of the points of the American coast named above. 
 Helleland is the island of Newfoundland; Markland is Nova 
 Scotia; Vinland is Massachusetts and Rhode Island, in which 
 latter state the chief settlement appears to have been made. 
 3 D 
 
26 
 
 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY THE NORTHMEN. 
 
 Kiellar Naes is Cape Cod, which the Northmen describe with per 
 fect exactness as consisting of trackless deserts, and long, narrow 
 beaches and sand hills. Krossa Naes is either the Gurnet at 
 Plymouth, or Point Alderton at the entrance of Boston harbor. 
 Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands are also 
 described with an accuracy that leaves no doubt of their identity. 
 There is reason to suppose that the people of the north con 
 tinued to make voyages to Yinland for a long time, and the Ice 
 landic chronicles continue to speak of Vinland afterwards. A 
 Saxon priest, named John, passed over to Yinland with an inten 
 tion of converting the Norwegian colony; but we may conclude his 
 attempt did not succeed, since we find that he was condemned to 
 death. In the year 1121, Eric, a bishop of Greenland, went over 
 there on the same errand, but we know not with what success. 
 Since that time Vinland seems, by degrees, to have been forgotten 
 in the north, and that part of Greenland which had embraced 
 Christianity being lost, Iceland also fallen from its former state, 
 and the northern nations being wasted by a pestilence and weak 
 ened by internal feuds, all remembrance of the discovery was at 
 length utterly obliterated ; and the Norwegian Vinlanders them 
 selves, having no further connexion with Europe, were either 
 incorporated with their barbarian neighbors, or destroyed. 
 
DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS OF THE SPAN 
 IARDS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 State of geographical science during the middle ages. Origin of the spirit of 
 maritime discovery. Efforts of the Spaniards and Portuguese. Ancient 
 legends of the Atlantic Ocean. Birth and education of Christopher Colum 
 bus. His reasons for believing the existence of a continent in the west. His 
 attempt to carry his project of discovery into execution. His scheme condemned 
 by a learned body at Salamanca, and rejected by the Spanish court. Persever 
 ance of Columbus. Queen Isabella patronizes the undertaking. Preparations 
 for the voyage. 
 
 Columbus soliciting Queen Isabella to aid his projects of discovery. 
 
 A THOUSAND years had passed away since the barbarous nations 
 of the north of Europe overthrew the Roman empire of the West, 
 and erected new institutions upon its ruins ; yet the science of 
 geography had made but little progress. The Western World 
 was still unknown, and the intercourse between Europe and India 
 was carried on through the Red Sea. The spirit of maritime 
 discovery received its first impulse from the kings of Castile, in 
 the beginning of the fifteenth century. These monarchs, in fol 
 lowing up their conquests and settlements in the Canary islands, 
 
28 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 led the way to further navigations into the Atlantic, in search of 
 new islands in the west. Hence, also, arose the traffic with the 
 African coast, and the splendor and wealth of the city of Seville, 
 the great mart for slaves and other African productions; and 
 hence the extraordinary zeal for nautical adventure along the coast 
 of Andalusia. The Portuguese, emulous of the glory of their 
 neighbors, entered into the same career, and pursued it with such 
 vigor and perseverance, as to outstrip their precursors, by improv 
 ing naval science and extending their commerce in a surprising 
 manner. Their ships sailed along the western coast of Africa, 
 and at length reached the Cape of Good Hope. Curiosity received 
 a new stimulus from these discoveries ; the boundless ocean of the 
 west offered a wide field for speculation. The annals of the 
 Egyptians, cotemporary -with the most ancient human records ; 
 the marvellous narratives of Plato, concerning the Atlantic island, 
 and its mighty monarchs and nations in the western ocean, re 
 gained their lost reputation; and the credit which Alexander the 
 Great gave to the opinion of Anaxarchus, respecting the existence 
 of a new world, was now deemed to be well founded. 
 
 These notions spread themselves over Europe, from the period 
 of the Spanish conquest of the Canary islands, as literature and 
 nautical science shed mutual light on each other. A number of 
 ancient manuscripts were brought to light, in which many sayings 
 were found relative to several countries, formerly seen, or con 
 jectured to exist in the Atlantic Ocean. What chiefly impressed 
 the minds of men, however, was the large island, abounding with 
 navigable rivers, which, it was said, the Carthaginians had discov 
 ered at a distance from the continent, the extraordinary fertility of 
 which had induced them to inhabit it ; but the government, afraid 
 that this happy colony might eclipse the mother country, ordered 
 the settlers to evacuate it, and never to return thither under pain 
 of death. . 
 
 The book in which this account was found, bore the name of 
 Aristotle, and its authenticity no person dared to doubt. To the 
 narration of this philosopher several embellishments were added , 
 for instance, that seven Spanish bishops, with a number of Chris 
 tians, had fled thither, and found an asylum from the persecution 
 of the Moors, the conquerors of Spain, in the eighth century. 
 There were also fabulous, but still credited accounts, of Portuguese 
 voyagers who had sailed to that island ; and the settlements were 
 soon represented in books and maps under the name of the Seven 
 towns. At last it was reported that of a quantity of earth, brought 
 from one of these western harbors, the third part was pure 
 gold. This idle legend stimulated several mariners to set out in 
 
FABLES OF THE ANCIENTS IN RESPECT TO THE ATLANTIC. 29 
 
 pursuit of the ore ; and though they persisted in vain, yet their 
 disappointment was not sufficient to discredit the story ; on the 
 contrary, it spread still wider, and the island was actually repre 
 sented under the name of Antilla on most of the maps of the 
 fifteenth century. 
 
 The island of Brandon was not less renowned and stood higher 
 in fable. This name was given to a meteoric appearance which 
 had been observed westward of the Canary islands ; and which 
 induced the inhabitants of the Azores and Madeira, as well as the 
 mariners who sailed to the coast of Africa, to fancy that they saw 
 a country, which, however, only existed in their own imagination. 
 This gave rise to a number of voyages of discovery in the western 
 ocean, and not a few, by the orders of the court of Portugal. 
 Various pretended discoveries were soon represented on the maps, 
 as realities. General maps of the unknown ocean were drawn, 
 and filled with painted islands and continents, which no person 
 had really visited or even seen. Notwithstanding this, after the 
 mature consideration of all authorities, maps, and traditions, so 
 little certainty could be attained, nay, even so little probability, 
 that no person would venture to seek discoveries in such a bound 
 less sea, unless he had yielded himself up wholly to the influence 
 of rash credulity. 
 
 The ancient Carthaginians, the Arabs of the middle ages, and 
 the later adventurers of Portugal and Spain, had made researches 
 in vain for this purpose. The unsuccessful perseverance of the 
 latter seemed to be an evident proof, that, if those pretended west 
 ern countries were really in existence, they were not, however, 
 situated at a convenient distance from those shores to which the 
 seamen, in the existing state of navigation, were under the neces 
 sity of returning. As long as this necessity existed, adventurers 
 dared not risk a distant voyage on the Atlantic wave ; nor could 
 they be expected to persevere long enough in fruitless, hazardous, 
 and expensive efforts. But at the time which Providence had deter 
 mined as the period for opening a communication between the two 
 worlds, a man appeared, who was born for the achievment of dis 
 coveries of incalculable importance to mankind. 
 
 This was Christopher Columbus, or Colon, as he called himself 
 after he had removed to Spain. He was born at Cogoleto, in the 
 republic of Genoa, in 1446. His father, Domingo Colombo, a 
 citizen of that republic, manufactured and dealt in woollen stuffs ; 
 his paternal estate in the duchy of Piacenza being too small for 
 the decent maintenance of his family. 
 
 Christopher cultivated the sciences at a tender age, and made 
 such rapid progress in the Latin language, and the rudiments of 
 3* 
 
30 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 the mathematics, as enabled him soon to understand the cosmo- 
 graphic writers, of the reading of which he was particularly fond. 
 
 Portrait of Columbus. 
 
 At the age of fourteen, he returned from the university of Pa via 
 to his native country. He learned navigation, and pursued it 
 three and twenty years successively, with such zeal and perse 
 verance, that he remained at sea for a long time, in order to gratify 
 his unbounded and praiseworthy curiosity. He made voyages 
 on the seas frequented by Europeans, full of desire to sail farther 
 than other navigators had ventured. He sailed through the 
 Northern Ocean, a hundred leagues beyond Iceland, the Ultima 
 Thule, or the boundary of what had been thought navigable up to 
 that day. At every place where he landed, he endeavored to 
 open a trade with the natives, in order to obtain information of 
 these countries. He compared the knowledge he acquired in 
 this way with the accounts then in existence relative to those 
 regions, and enriched them with his own observations. In this 
 judicious practice, he was aided by his knowledge of the sciences 
 auxiliary to navigation, the use of sound astronomy, extensive 
 geographic learning, and an able hand in delineating maps, and in 
 making spheres and other instruments. 
 
 In order to finish this career, and to reach that sublime 
 point to which his towering mind prompted him, he settled him 
 self at Lisbon, about the end of the reign of Alfonso the Fifth, 
 The Portuguese, even at that day, were celebrated as the first 
 navigators in the world, and the ministry, led on by the Infant 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF COLUMBUS IN SPAIN. 31 
 
 Henry, and taught by experience, opened their arms to every for 
 eigner, possessed of distinguished knowledge in cosmography and 
 nautical science. Columbus was, therefore, received with the 
 utmost cordiality, and he made several voyages to the newly- 
 discovered lands. At this time his brother-in-law, who had been, 
 for some time lieutenant of Porto Santo, informed him that the 
 western winds had driven some wood on that island, which ap 
 peared to be worked without the help of ironj and that canes of 
 uncommon size, like those described by Ptolemy in the remotest 
 Indies, had drifted on shore. 
 
 Similar signs of the existence of land were perceived upon the 
 island of Madeira and the Azores, and farther to the west, on the 
 ocean. These observations and incidents were confirmed by two 
 dead bodies thrown by the sea on the shores, which differed in fea 
 tures from those already known. Though Columbus was noUweak- 
 ly credulous, yet these remarks and the westerly winds observed 
 from time to time, which only continued for some days, inclined 
 him to believe that there must be countries towards the west, and 
 at an accessible distance. It did not surprise him that they had 
 not yet been discovered, as no one had hitherto ventured into 
 these parts of the ocean beyond a hundred leagues. He conjec 
 tured, besides, on plausible grounds, that those countries might 
 form the utmost bounds of the Indies ; and he concluded very 
 justly that the passage to the eastern ocean would be much 
 shorter and more convenient by the western road, than by that 
 which the Portuguese endeavored to find southward, by sailing 
 round Africa. 
 
 Full of the belief that he could find the continent of India by 
 sailing to the west, he disclosed his plan to John II., king of Por 
 tugal. That monarch, however, influenced by certain of his 
 counsellors, received the proposal with coolness : but, during the 
 negotiation respecting this subject, Columbus was astounded and 
 mortified to learn that the Portuguese had despatched a vessel on 
 this discovery, under color of a voyage to the Cape Verd Islands. 
 Fired with indignation at this act of meanness, he quitted Portu 
 gal, and made an offer of his services to his native state of Genoa ; 
 but without success. He next despatched his brother Bartholo 
 mew to England, with a proposal of the scheme to Henry VII. 
 Bartholomew was detained and baffled by numerous obstacles, 
 and Columbus proceeded to Spain, establishing himself at the 
 seaport of Palos. In 1486, he obtained an interview with the 
 Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, at Cordova, when he 
 explained to them his design. They gave it serious attention, and 
 
32 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 ordered him to assemble a body of the most learned cosmographers, 
 to consult and report upon the subject. 
 
 The meeting of this learned body was held at Salamanca, where 
 the court resided that winter. No journals of this famous con 
 ference have been preserved : it is known, however, that Colum 
 bus exhibited a written statement of his plan, supported by argu 
 ments, and that he labored hard to remove the difficulties raised 
 against it. 
 
 Some ridiculous objections have escaped oblivion, worthy of 
 men who were ignorant of the first elements of geography. It 
 was stated that the sea might be found ascending, so that the 
 ships must climb, as it were, up-hill ; that the extent of the ocean 
 was immense, and three years would not be sufficient to reach 
 to the limits of the east. Objections of still greater absurdity 
 were raised against the discovery of the wes.tern countries; it 
 was urged that as they had remained unknown to the greatest 
 philosophers which the world had ever produced, of course it was 
 very unlikely that a new mariner should be better informed on 
 the subject than they were; and, still further, supposing such 
 countries to exist, they would be found desert and uninhabitable, 
 because the human kind were confined to that part of the earth 
 described by Ptolemy ; and, lastly, St. Augustine, a great author 
 ity, had exploded the existence of the antipodes ! Columbus did 
 not find it very difficult to dissipate the prejudices of the unlettered, 
 with arguments at one time, the testimonies of writers at another, 
 and the experience of the voyagers of their own day ; but he was 
 not able to render himself intelligible to men devoid of" practical 
 knowledge and the true principles of science, while they were at 
 the same time puffed up with sophistry and conceit. 
 
 At last, the king and queen, wearied perhaps by his importunities, 
 sent him word that the cares and expenses attendant on the con 
 quest of Granada would not permit them to embark in anything 
 new, and that a more seasonable opportunity might present itself 
 at a future day, when his proposals would be duly attended- to. 
 
 Colummas begged to be heard once more ; but, finding the 
 royal pair fixed in their resolves, he concluded that they were 
 founded on the suggestions of the ignorant cosmographers, who 
 deemed the proposed discoveries chimerical and visionary. He 
 therefore interpreted the answer into a complete refusal; and, 
 hopeless of ever coming to a determination with the court, he 
 opened his scheme to two wealthy and opulent nobles, whose 
 maritime dominions contained ships and seamen; but, finding 
 that his proposal would not be listened to by either, he wrote to 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF COLUMBUS IN SPAIN. 33 
 
 Louis XL of France, with a view to commence a negotiation at 
 Paris, and, in case he should not succeed, to go to London. 
 
 He now departed from the court and went to Rabida, to see his 
 eldest son, whom he intended to leave at Cordova, and bid adieu 
 to his faithful friend, Fray Juan Perez. This divine, who had 
 taken up his cause from the very beginning with enthusiasm, 
 prevailed on him to defer his departure, promising to win over the 
 mind of the queen, to whom he was confessor, and whose kind 
 ness and attachment to the clergy were remarkable. This eccle 
 siastic set forward immediately to the camp at Santa Fe, where the 
 court was held, with the army then carrying on the siege of Gra 
 nada. He presented the rational motives for adopting the plan 
 the weighty advantages of gain and glory that would flow from it, 
 and the irreparable loss to the Spanish monarchy if any other 
 power should seize upon it. He represented Columbus as an able, 
 well-informed and judicious man, abundantly qualified for the task 
 which he proposed, and that it would be an irremediable mistake 
 to let slip so fair an opportunity of aggrandizing the kingdom, 
 particularly if he were permitted to depart from the Country under 
 any displeasure. 
 
 Overcome by such a persuasive address, the queen desired 
 Columbus to be sent for, and ordered that a sum of money should 
 be advanced to defray his travelling expenses. Immediately, on 
 his arrival, the negotiation was renewed. Columbus, warmed 
 with ideas of splendor and glory, expressed himself in strong 
 terms, and, among other things, wished to be invested with the 
 titles of admiral and viceroy, with the authority and jurisdiction 
 annexed to both. He was encouraged and favored by cardinal 
 D. Pedro Gonzales de Mendoza, the first minister of the crown, 
 who, at the request of Fray Juan Perez and the minister of 
 finance, Quintanilla, had honored him with an audience, and 
 conceived a very good opinion of his person and address. On 
 the contrary, Prior Prado and several others looked on the under 
 taking as too adventurous, and the projector as a vain, inflated 
 man considering the reward he demanded enormous, even if he 
 should be able to fulfil his engagements. If .he did not succeed, 
 they deemed it an absurdity to confer such distinguished honors 
 on a needy adventurer. It was not possible to accommodate the 
 difficulty, as Columbus steadily adhered to the terms which he 
 first proposed. However, he at length so modified them as to 
 offer to take upon himself one eighth part of the expenses of 
 the equipment, if the same portion of the gain should be allowed 
 him. Notwithstanding this, his terms seemed to be still too high for 
 acceptance ; and Columbus gave up all hopes. Whilst the court 
 
 E 
 
34 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 and the whole nation were singing hymns and celebrating festi 
 vals for the conquest of Granada, he saw himself neglected; and 
 oppressed with the thoughts of having lost seven years in Spain, 
 he made preparation to leave a country which he had considered 
 as his home, with an utter uncertainty as to what fate would await 
 him in France or England. Under all these impressions, his con 
 stancy never deserted him; he at last took leave of his friends, 
 and set out for Cordova in January, 1492. 
 
 He had scarcely departed, when Luis de St. Angel, receiver of 
 the ecclesiastical rents, warmed hy love and fervent zeal for his 
 country, addressed the queen, and energetically represented to her 
 majesty that he " was greatly surprised, as she was ever considered 
 as the protectress and support of great undertakings, that she 
 should seem to want courage to put a plan in execution that 
 would bring in immense wealth, tend to propagate the Christian 
 religion among barbarous nations, redound to the glory of the 
 crown, and add considerable countries to the royal dominion. It 
 was peculiar to sublime and exalted minds to exert the utmost 
 diligence in the discoveries of the wonders and mysteries of 
 nature and the world, to dispel the doubts in which they were 
 involved, and to clear up the truth ; for which reasons it would 
 be glorious to attempt such important discoveries. It would 
 betray something more than pusillanimity to give up such an 
 enterprise for the paltry sum of 2,500 piastres, which was the 
 whole amount of what Columbus demanded. Nor were the 
 rewards and honors demanded by Columbus out of bounds, as he 
 took upon himself a share of the expense, and risked his honor 
 and life ; though it was very likely that he, as a prudent and judi 
 cious man, would come off triumphantly. And if this prize should 
 be gained by any other European power, who could estimate the 
 loss and damage which the kingdom and the crown would sus 
 tain? ^Friends and enemies would blame the pernicious pusil 
 lanimity and ignorance which did not seize on an opportunity so 
 seasonable, and their very descendants would feel the loss and 
 shame of it." Quintanilla, who had entered during this address, 
 seconded and confirmed St. Angel's opinions. The queen col 
 lected courage, thanked them for their advice, and promised to 
 undertake the whole affair herself for the crown of Castile. She 
 added, that it would be necessary to delay the expedition till she 
 had recovered from the war ; but if this delay should not fall in 
 with their wishes, she was ready to mortgage her jewels for the 
 requisite sum to fit out the equipment. St. Angel, filled with 
 transport, offered to advance the whole, and hoped the royal com- 
 
CONTRACT WITH COLUMBUS. 35 
 
 mand would be immediately given to fit out the fleet without 
 delay. 
 
 A messenger was instantly despatched in pursuit of Columbus. 
 He was overtaken on the bridge of Pinas, two miles from Gra 
 nada ; and when he returned to the town of Santa Fe, he was 
 received with such kindness and cordiality, that he forgot all the 
 vexations he had undergone. The king took a part in the busi 
 ness with pleasure, not only out of complaisance to the queen, but 
 at the instance of several persons of high rank, at the head of 
 whom was the first lord of the bedchamber, Juan Cabrero. All 
 obstacles and difficulties immediately vanished. An order was 
 issued to Juan de Coloma, secretary of state, to draw out the con 
 tract with Columbus, according to his memorial and demands. 
 The writings were finished on the 17th April, at Santa Fe, in the 
 following terms : 1. If Columbus should discover any islands or 
 continent in the ocean, he was to retain in them, for himself and 
 his heirs, the dignity of admiral, with the same honors and pre 
 rogatives which the high admiral enjoyed in the district. 2. He 
 was to be the governor-general of all the countries which should 
 be discovered by him, or any person under his direction, and 
 invested with the authority of nominating three persons to the 
 special government of every island or province; the appoint 
 ment to be at the choice of the king. 3. He and his lieutenants 
 were to hear and determine all suits in law, arising out of the new 
 commerce, in the same manner as the high admirals of Castile in 
 their departments. 4. He was to have the tenth part of the profits 
 of all wares and fruits that should be acquired, by whatever means, 
 within the circuit of his admiraltyship. 5. He should contribute 
 the eighth part of the expenses of fitting out whatever number of 
 ships should be thought necessary to be employed in the commerce 
 and intercourse of the new world, and at the same time receive 
 the same quota from the profits that should be acquired. Agree 
 ably to these articles, the stipulated privileges were granted to him 
 on the 30th of the same month, at Granada, together with the title 
 of Don, which was then only conferred on persons of high birth. 
 
 The king and queen took care that everything necessary to fit 
 out the equipment should be carried into immediate eifect. They 
 wrote letters to the princes who might be found to exist at the 
 limits of the eastern and western oceans, requesting that their 
 ambassador and minister might be received, favored and protected 
 in the most honorable manner. An order was directed to the city 
 of Seville to permit arms, provisions, and all other things neces 
 sary for the voyage, to pass free of all duty. The town of Palos 
 was bound to furnish the crown with two caravels, for thre$ 
 
36 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 months every year, and these two vessels were now appointed for 
 the expedition. 
 
 The care of finding a third ship to complete the number stipu 
 lated hy Columbus, and the requisite arrangements and prepara 
 tions for the whole, were left to himself; for which purpose, the 
 sum of 17,000 florins, deemed to be sufficient, was paid into his 
 hands, advanced by St. Angel. The king and queen besides, as 
 a testimony to his personal merit, confirmed, at his request, the 
 liberties and privileges of the mariners of Seville ; a favor which 
 was very opportunely conferred, as he attracted their attention 
 by it, and gained the confidence and esteem of the seamen. Under 
 all these favorable omens he took leave of the court on the 12th 
 May, filled with gratitude and satisfaction. 
 
 Having arranged everything with respect to the maintenance 
 and education of his two sons, Diego and Hernando, he proceeded 
 to Palos, where the ships were to be fitted out. It was a difficult 
 matter to find a sufficient number of seamen to undertake such a 
 dangerous and laborious voyage. But what encouraged the peo 
 ple most was the lively zeal and ingenuity of Fray Juan Perez, of 
 Rabida, seconded by the example and authority of the brothers 
 Pinzon, rich ship-owners, and well skilled in nautical affairs, who 
 assisted, in person and by their fortune, in the advancement of the 
 undertaking. They assumed part of the expenses which fell upon 
 the admiral, persuaded a number of their friends and relations to 
 embark with him, and accelerated by their activity the equipment 
 of the three vessels with provisions for twelve months, and a 
 crew of ninety men. The largest of the vessels was named Santa 
 Maria, on board of which Columbus, as admiral, hoisted his flag. 
 To the command of the second, called the Pinta, he appointed 
 Martin Alonzo Pinzon. The third, which carried latine sails, 
 was named Nina, and was commanded by Pinzon, the third 
 brother' The three crews numbered one hundred and twenty 
 persons. They embarked in the name of God, having previously 
 made confession and taken the sacrament, after the example of 
 their devout admiral. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Columbus sets sail Fears of the crew. Artifices of Columbus to dissipate their 
 apprehensions. Discovery of the variation of the compass. Appearances of 
 birds and sea-weed. Alarm of the crew. Murmurs, and resolutions to return.- 
 Firmness and address of Columbus. False appearances of land and disappoint 
 ments of the crew. Discovery of the island of Guanahani. Columbus takes 
 possession. Description of the island and its inhabitants. Discovery of gold 
 among them. More islands explored. Intercourse with the natives. 
 
 Columbus setting sail. 
 
 ON Friday, August 31, 1492, Columbus left the harbor of Palos 
 with this little fleet, and steered toward the Canary Islands. 
 On the Monday following, the Pinta broke her rudder. Some of 
 the seamen, who had exhibited marks of fear in the harbor, were 
 suspected as the cause of this serious accident, in hopes that it 
 would induce the admiral to return to port. But the intrepid and 
 dexterous Martin Alonzo endeavored to remedy the disaster by 
 binding the rudder with ropes, which, however, were too feeble 
 to resist a blast of wind, and only lasted four days. With much 
 effort the three ships at last reached the island of Grand Canary. 
 They were obliged to remain at this place about a month. 
 
 With such vessels as these, Columbus, on the 6th of September, 
 committed himself to an ocean, whose bounds were unknown, and 
 4 
 
30 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 steered his course directly to the west. At the last sight of land, 
 many of the crew began to sigh and weep, and gave over all 
 hopes of ever seeing home again. The admiral encouraged them 
 with the flattering prospects of fruitful and extensive countries, 
 and as he foresaw that their fears and despondency would in 
 crease in proportion as they advanced on their voyage, he had 
 the precaution to keep two journals ; a secret one, in which he 
 accurately noted down the ship's way, and a public one, in which 
 he artfully shortened it. He observed, to his great surprise, about 
 two hundred leagues off the Isle of Ferro, that the needle did not 
 point as usual to the north, but declined to the northwest. He 
 marked down this declination, hitherto unknown, and found that 
 it increased in proportion as they advanced to the west. At first, 
 he imagined that the needle was not, as commonly supposed, 
 attracted or ruled by the polar star, but by some other fixed and 
 invisible point ; but when these declinations were more frequently 
 observed, he found that this hypothesis was not sufficient to 
 explain the cause of such variations ; for it was observed that 
 several needles pointed at the beginning of the night to the north 
 west, and at break of day were parallel to the meridian. This 
 phenomenon, as it was then called, filled the captains and pilots 
 with terror, and convinced them that all hopes must vanish when 
 the mariner's compass became useless. But the ingenious Colum 
 bus, whose presence of mind never deserted him, dispelled their 
 fears by accounting for this phenomenon in a plausible manner. 
 He ascribed it to the diurnal motion of the polar star round the 
 pole. Thus the crew were perpetually suspended between hope 
 and fear. 
 
 On the 9th September, the crew of the Nina perceived a tropic 
 bird, which appeared to have come from some land at no great 
 distance. The next day, they saw a surprising flame of fire 
 "descend at a great distance ; and soon after, they discovered float 
 ing fields of grass and marine plants which resembled beautiful 
 meadows. Some rejoiced very much at these presages of land ; 
 and their hopes were increased, when one of the seamen found a. 
 living crab in the grass. Others feared the vessels might strike on 
 hidden shoals, or that the grass might impede their course, which 
 in fact soon occurred. They saw again a number of tropic birds, 
 and shoals of tunnies. They had now sailed upwaids of four 
 hundred leagues in an unknown sea, when the captain of the 
 Pinta declared that he had descried many birds towards the west, 
 and marks of land, enveloped in thick fogs, towards the north. 
 Columbus was of opinion, that it might be a cluster of small 
 islands ; and as he was firmly persuaded that the Indian countries 
 
PROGRESS OF THE VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS. 39 
 
 must be farther off, he continued the same course toward the 
 west, in a gentle and favorable breeze. 
 
 The impatience and timidity of the crew, now burst ^forth into 
 open murmurings. They had proceeded so far into the boundless 
 deep, that the boldest mariner was affrighted. Even the fair and 
 serene weather was regarded as the forerunner of destruction; 
 they considered all countries that might afford any relief, as very 
 remote ; the almost continued easterly winds, with which they 
 had begun their voyage induced them to believe that their return 
 by the same track would be utterly impossible. Some time after, 
 however, they recovered a little courage, when they saw more of 
 those sea fowl, which, from the 19th September, had given them 
 hopes of soon finding land. Even Columbus did not consider 
 this impossible, in consequence of which he began to sound, and 
 though ground could not be discovered two hundred fathoms 
 deep, he continued to heave the lead. As the voyagers proceeded, 
 a whale was now and then seen, as well as meadows floating on 
 the surface of the water, in which small crabs and tortoises were 
 found ; and small singing birds, which seemed to be of the land 
 kind, and which could not have come from any great distance. 
 Notwithstanding all these signs, however, when the shore so impa 
 tiently sought for by every eye did not appear, the crews began 
 to murmur afresh, and louder than ever. Nothing alarmed them 
 so much as the continuance of the easterly wind. Columbus in 
 vain endeavored to persuade them that the smooth sea was caused 
 by the shelter of some neighboring land; he was neither believed 
 nor respected, notwithstanding all his exertions to maintain his 
 ascendency by alternate threats and promises. When his author 
 ity was at last almost entirely gone, and even the sacred name of 
 king was no longer respected, he gave over almost every hope of 
 enforcing obedience and of continuing his voyage ; but happily, 
 on the morning of the 23d, agreeably to the wishes of the crew, a 
 northwesterly wind sprang . up, and the sea became somewhat 
 agitated. This was considered as a distinguished mark of divine 
 favor; and the circumstance, together with the sight of more fish 
 and fowl, once more calmed the turbulence of the mariners. 
 
 But alas ! this was a short-lived joy. When the men reflected 
 upon the fallibility of all these flattering omens, the great damage 
 the ships had sustained, and the large tract of ocean which lay 
 between them and their native country, a dreadful fear seized upon 
 them all ; they began to plot and conspire, and in the agony of 
 their grief cursed the author of their misfortunes, whom they 
 characterized as an ambitious, fanatical schemer, whose only object 
 was to gratify his wild ambition, at the expense of their lives ; 
 
40 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 and that to hazard such a daring enterprise against the opinion 
 of so many learned and eminent men, was an imprudent temerity, 
 which de|erved the severest punishment. They had now made 
 a voyage that was never equalled before ; if they advanced farther, 
 their destruction was inevitable. The general determination was 
 to return to Spain ; and some of the crew added that if the admiral 
 did not immediately accede to this, they would throw him secret!} r 
 overboard, and give out that he had fallen into the sea as he vas 
 consulting the stars. 
 
 But such was the spirit and intrepidity of Columbus, notwith 
 standing the imminent dangers which threatened him, that he 
 determined to run the risk of his life, rather than relinquish his 
 design. He had the address to sooth some with soft words and 
 flattering promises ; others with reproaches of cowardice, threats 
 and menaces, in consequence of the full powers with which he 
 was invested; he endeavored also to encourage some; to fan the 
 sparks of honor in others, and to frighten the rebellious into proper 
 subjection. He continued to steer west, except at one time, when 
 t he deviated to the southwest by the advice of Martin Alonzo 
 Pinzon, who fancied that he saw land in that quarter; but it 
 turned out to be a cloud. Fish, fowl and verdant spots often ap 
 peared on the surface of the main once more. 
 
 The malcontents were ready to burst forth into mutiny afresh, 
 when, on the evening of the fourth of October, besides the usual 
 marks, a number of little birds appeared, flying in flocks. Similar 
 objects followed in so great a quantity, and in such rapid succes 
 sion, that some, whose imagination was inflamed by their impa 
 tience to see land, imagined that they saw it at every moment, 
 and scarcely could their lips refrain from the annunciation of a 
 prospect so truly desirable. The thirst of gain had its share, 
 however, in this anxiety ; for the king had promised a pension 
 of thirty dollars, or ten thousand maravedis a year, to the one 
 who first discovered land. The sagacious admiral observed that 
 hope often disappointed, depressed the spirits ; and in order to 
 prevent this, he ordered that the first person who should cry out 
 "land!" should be utterly excluded from the royal bounty, if 
 the land should not be discovered in three days after. 
 
 Nevertheless, on the morning of the 7th October, the crew of 
 the Nina, which was' -a quick sailer and usually ahead of the rest, 
 believed to a certainty that they had discovered land, on which 
 they hoisted a flag and fired a gun. It was soon found to be an 
 illusion, and the disappointment had such an effect upon the 
 minds oi the crews, that the agitation was still greater than before. 
 The tumult and confusion became so general, that, if we may 
 
FIRST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS. 41 
 
 give credit to one historian, Columbus and the Pinzons, on the 
 following day, found themselves so embarrassed and pressed on 
 every side, as to be obliged to enter into an agreement with the 
 crews, that if land should not be discovered in three days, he 
 would return. This part of the narrative, however, is uncertain. 
 
 On the morning of the 9th October, they breathed a fresh and 
 odoriferous air, such as is felt at Seville in April. Every moment 
 exhibited fresh marks of the neighborhood of land; the soundings, 
 the clouds, the varying winds, and other infallible appearances, 
 revived their drooping spirits every moment. On the evening of 
 the 1 1 l;h they were all transported with joy, when they discovered 
 a green rush; a kind of fish that is usually found among the 
 rocks; a small plank; a cane; a stick artificially worked; a 
 grassy turf, which appeared to have been wafted from the shore, 
 and a thornbush, bearing red berries. When the night approached, 
 and Columbus was persuaded that they were near land, he assem 
 bled the crew, and reminded them of the unspeakable obligations 
 they were under to Almighty God, who had granted them such 
 favorable weather, and who, notwithstanding their murmurs, had 
 not deserted them till he had conducted them to the great object 
 of their adventurous voyage. He also recalled to their recollection 
 the first article of instruction which he had given them in the 
 Canaries, that when they had sailed about seven hundred leagues 
 from those isles, it would not be prudent to sail after midnight ; 
 and as he was certain that they would soon be blest with the sight 
 of some shore, it was necessary to warn them to be watchful. 
 He offered a silk waistcoat to the first that discovered land, in 
 addition to the royal pension of thirty dollars. About ten o'clock 
 at night, as he was making observations with his usual attention, 
 on the quarter-deck, he saw a light, somewhat like a torch, carried 
 from one place to another. At first, he called Pedro Gutierrez, 
 a royal page, and afterwards the superintendent, Rodrigo Sanchez, 
 who saw it likewise. It was remarked that this light rose, sunk, 
 vanished, and instantly appeared again; it was concluded, there 
 fore, that it was carried by hand. 
 
 Near two o'clock in the morning, land was descried by the 
 Pinta; at about two leagues distance. The first who had the good 
 fortune to announce this welcome intelligence was a mariner by 
 the name of Rodrigo, of Triana. The captain of the Pinta com 
 municated the joyful news by the discharge of guns. The ships 
 came together, and as soon as it was broad daylight, a flat and 
 pleasant island appeared in view, full of limpid rivulets, and 
 abundance of green bushes. The crews were filled with the 
 liveliest transports of joy ; the admiral lifted up his heart and 
 4* F 
 
42 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 f 
 
 eyes to heaven, and poured forth ejaculations of thanks and praise 
 to God. The whple crew joined in the psalm, Te Deum Lauda- 
 mus, which he began to sing ; and as soon as they had paid their 
 early vows to the Divine Author of all blessings, they gave 
 themseivres up to sport and pleasantry. Columbus, who had 
 hitherto been considered as a vain, fantastic projector, was now 
 changed by success into a hero in their eyes. The crew of his 
 ship crowded around him as their guardian angel, and every one 
 did him homage. 
 
 Landing of Columbus. 
 
 In the mean time, as the vessels approached the shore, the nov 
 elty of the spectacle brought together a number of the astonished 
 natives.^ The admiral and captains went on shore, accompanied 
 by armed men. The royal colors, flying in the air, were carried 
 before the former, and the latter were preceded by the standard 
 of the enterprise, on which a green crucifix with the initial letters 
 of Ferdinand and Isabella were painted. As soon as they had 
 reached the wished-for shore, they fell on the ground, kissed it, 
 bedewed it with tears of joy, and repeated their thanks to the 
 Supreme Being, on 'their knees. Columbus then rose w and pro 
 nounced the word Salvador, with a loud voice, as the name of the 
 island, and as a testimony that he dedicated the first of his dis 
 coveries to our Savior. He then took solemn possession of it, in 
 the name of the Castilian crown. The Spaniards instantly hailed 
 the illustrious discoverer as admiral and viceroy of the island 
 
COLUMBUS IN THE NEW WORLD. 
 
 43 
 
 and took the oath of allegiance to him as such ; many, at the same 
 time, entreated his forgiveness for the sorrow and distress they 
 had caused him. 
 
 The natives, who were present at all these scenes, were aston 
 ished and perplexed at the novelty of the ships, the men, their 
 color, dress, arms, and ceremonies. The Spaniards were nearly as 
 much surprised. The islanders differed from them in almost every 
 respect. Their features were regular, except the forehead, which 
 was uncommonly broad; their skin was of an olive color, like 
 that of the inhabitants of the Canary islands ; their hair was thick, 
 black, and erect, mostly cut off above the ears, hanging down the 
 shoulders of some, or tied up with a string around their heads. 
 They went quite naked, and were painted, or rather speckled with 
 different colors. They appeared to be very mild-tempered, but 
 extremely stupid ; so ignorant and destitute of any kind of know 
 ledge, that they were incapable of forming any conception of the 
 new objects around them. The first impression seemed to raise in 
 their minds an idea of a superior order of beings, in consequence 
 of which they ran away with the utmost precipitation ; but when 
 they saw that no one pursued them, they returned with marks of 
 the deepest humility. Some threw themselves prostrate on the 
 earth, and others raised their eyes and hands to heaven, endeavor 
 ing to express, by such gesticulations, that they considered the 
 Spaniards as descended from heaven. 5 * 
 
 Columbus distributed several glass beads, little bells, and other 
 trifles amongst them, which they preferred to gold and diamonds. 
 Those who had not received any of these presents offered what 
 ever they possessed for them. As the Spaniards were on their 
 return to the ships, several of the natives followed them, and 
 those who could not get into canoes, swam, and when they got 
 a few glass beads and broken bits of glass, they returned quite 
 contented. 
 
 * The belief that the Spaniards were immortal beings continued a long time among 
 the natives of the New World. The Indians of Porto Rico gave a remarkable in 
 stance of this persuasion. Some time after the Spaniards had settled among them 
 they were desirous of making an experiment, in order to determine whether the Span 
 iards were mortal like themselves. One of their caciques prevailed upon a young 
 Spaniard, by many entreaties, to pay him a visit. He was carried over a river, and 
 when at the middle of the stream, the Indians dropped him into the water and held 
 him under till he was drowned. They then carried him to the shore and called upon 
 him to arise. No signs of life appeared, yet they could not be persuaded to believe 
 him dead, and remained three days by him, expecting him every moment to return to 
 life. Finding that the body began to putrefy, they reported the fact to the cacique, who 
 nevertheless still remained distrustful. But after several days more spent in watch 
 ing the body, with no signs but those of further decay, the Indians began to believe 
 the Spaniards were mortal like themselves. The consequence was a general insur 
 rection a short time afterwards. 
 
44 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 The first and second day passed away in this little commercial 
 intercourse. The rudeness and poverty of the people were visible 
 on every occasion. The only articles of barter which they produced 
 were spun cotton, parrots, sticks like lances, and javelins with 
 points hardened in the fire, and sharp bones joined to them. 
 
 These were the only arms they exhibited ; there were no un 
 common animals to be seen, nor higher marks of art. Their edge- 
 tools were made of sharp stones. With such instruments, and 
 the aid perhaps of fire, they hollowed trunks of trees into canoes, 
 the largest of which would carry forty-five men. These they 
 rowed with oars or paddles, and if they were overset by accident, 
 they were such expert swimmers, that they would turn their 
 canoes over again, and bale out the water with hollow gourds. 
 But what particularly excited the attention of the Spaniards were 
 little pieces of gold, which some of the natives wore suspended 
 from their noses. Being asked by signs where they obtained this 
 metal, they pointed to the south, where they said it was to be had 
 in abundance. They also represented that savage arid warlike 
 men came to their island from the northwest, to plunder ; and that 
 in the battles which took place they had received many wounds, 
 the scars of which they showed. Thus Columbus became con 
 vinced of the existence of a continent, or rich islands, at no great 
 distance at the south and west. 
 
 Having passed three days at St. Salvador, which the natives 
 called Guanahani, he took on board seven of the inhabitants and 
 sailed to a smaller island, about seven leagues distant. . Without 
 stopping there, he shaped his course to another, which seemed to 
 be larger than the last, and about ten leagues to the west. He 
 cast anchor here, and took possession of it, by the name of Santa 
 Maria de la Concepcion. The inhabitants approached with the 
 same marks of astonishment and respect as those of St. Salvador, 
 whom they resembled so exactly in their persons, canoes, artificial 
 works, and the fruits of the island, that they seemed to be one 
 nation. From this island, Columbus sailed eight miles farther to 
 the west, and reached a still greater island, level like the rest, 
 beautiful, and encircled with delightful coasts. In all probability 
 it was that which is called Cat Island in the modem charts; Colum 
 bus called it Fernandina, in honor of king Ferdinand. He immedi 
 ately despatched a native of St. Salvador with some trinkets, as 
 presents to the inhabitants, and ordered him to inform them, at the 
 same time, of the pacific intentions of the Spaniards ; in conse 
 quence of which they did not fly ; but they were not less amazed 
 than the other islanders, and evinced the same high opinion of 
 rhe Spaniards. As some of the seamen went ashore to procure 
 
COLUMBUS PURSUES HIS DISCOVERIES. 45 
 
 water, the natives assisted them in filling and carrying it to the 
 boats. The usual barter immediately commenced, by which it 
 appeared that these islanders were not so limited in their ideas as 
 the first, and that they were somewhat farther advanced in civiliza 
 tion, for they made sharper bargains for their commodities. They 
 wore mantles of cotton, and the young women above eighteen years 
 of age, wore skirts of the same material. Their houses, or huts, 
 resembled tents, but were entirely destitute of ornaments, or any 
 other thing worthy of attention, except swinging beds, which they 
 called hammocks ; these were nets suspended from two posts by 
 cotton ropes. As to other matters, they differed little, or not at all, 
 from the other islanders. The only land animals, were a kind of 
 little dog which did not bark ; there were some reptiles, such as 
 lizards and serpents. They also saw fish of different shapes 
 and very lively colors. What peculiarly attracted their attention 
 were certain trees, with branches and leaves of various forms on 
 each tree, and yet as different from each other as those of the 
 reed and the mastic. 
 
 When they sailed farther to the southwest, they came to an 
 island, which surpassed all those they had yet discovered, both 
 in size and beauty. This island rose higher above the sea, and 
 the interior was not so fiat and uniform as the rest, but exhibited 
 a variety of hills, beautiful meadows and groves, and was well 
 watered. Allured by such enchanting scenes, Columbus went on 
 shore, took possession, and changed its old name of Samoete into 
 that of Isabella, in honor of the queen. It is the same probably 
 as that afterwards called Long Island. Columbus penetrated into 
 it till he found a village, the inhabitants of which fled, affrighted at 
 the sight of the foreigners. They took courage, however, in a 
 short time, and began to barter like the rest. Aloe plants were 
 found, a vast number of singing birds, and a species of lizards, 
 which are now known under the name of iguanas. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Discovery of Cuba. Beauty of the country, and improvement in the appearance of 
 the inhabitants. Columbus imagines it the realm of the Great Khan. Sends an 
 exploring expedition into the interior. They discover tobacco. Columbus directed 
 southerly by the natives for gold. Desertion of Martin Alonzo Pinzon. Mis 
 takes of the Spaniards. Discovery of Espanola. Description of the country and 
 people. Native appellations of the island. The Spaniards obtain much gold. 
 They are visited by the cacique Guacanagari. His courtesy towards the Span- 
 tards. The admiral 1 s ship wrecked on the coast of Espanola. Humanity and 
 generosity of the natives. r Columbus builds a fort on the island at Navidad. 
 He leaves a colony there. Discovers the Carib Indians. Sails for Spain 
 Escapes the tempests and the Portuguese. Arrives at Palos. 
 
 Spaniards discovering tobacco. 
 
 COLUMBUS discovered Cuba at sunset, on the 27th of October. 
 The next morning presented him a noble view of a most beautiful 
 country, diversified with gently-sloping hills, lofty mountains, and 
 copious streams of water. The fleet anchored at the mouth of a 
 river, in full view of the most enchanting prospect. The shores 
 were covered with green trees, some in vernal bloom, an'd others 
 weighed down with fruit. The richness of the grass seemed to 
 vie with that which clothes the fresh valleys of Andalusia in the 
 month of May. Columbus was so charmed with the view, that 
 he sprang ashore, took possession of the island, and called it Juana, 
 
COLUMBUS PURSUES HIS DISCOVERIES. 
 
 47 
 
 after Prince Don Juan. Two houses were found here, which con 
 tained many fire-places, with nets, and fishing-hooks of bone ; they 
 also saw a little clay, but none of the inhabitants appeared. 
 
 The natives who had accompanied the Spaniards, pointed to the 
 villages towards the west, in consequence of which Columbus on 
 the next morning crossed the river and proceeded along the coast. 
 In the course of a mile, he discovered another river, and a little far 
 ther on, a large one called Mares, with an indifferent harbor, and 
 a number of habitations along the shores. The fleet entered this 
 haven, and Columbus, anxious to know the country, despatched 
 some men in boats to the villages ; but the inhabitants ran away 
 at their approach with the utmost haste. The cottages were of 
 the same simple structure as the former, like tents covered with 
 palm leaves, but larger, and somewhat more finely decorated. The 
 nets, hooks and fishing utensils were also proportionally better. 
 Several tame fowls were seen, little dogs and heads of figures 
 carved in wood. It was supposed that these cots belonged to fish 
 ermen, whom the Spaniards hoped to find by advancing into the 
 country. 
 
 Columbus communicating with natives of Cuba. 
 
 Sailing farther along the coast, they met inhabitants, who inform 
 ed them that by travelling four days' journey into the interior they 
 would reach Cubanacan, and find plenty of gold. This name 
 signifies the centre of Cuba; but Columbus, impressed with the 
 notion that he had arrived at the continent of India, understood it 
 to mean the dominions of the Great Khan, a Tartar chief, famous 
 in the narrative of Marco Polo. In this belief he sent four men on 
 
48 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 a journey into the interior ; one a Spaniard, another a converted 
 Jew, familiar with the Hebrew, Arabic and Chaldean languages, and 
 the other two, natives. He furnished them with credentials to the 
 Great Khan from the Spanish monarch, and gave them six days to 
 return. These men journeyed about twelve miles into the country, 
 but discovered neither cities nor gold. Villages containing a thou 
 sand inhabitants were seen,' and the strangers were everywhere 
 received as celestial visitants. A certain distinction of rank was 
 observable in the people, and one individual appeared to be the 
 sovereign or magistrate. Large quantities of cotton, both raw and 
 manufactured into cloth, were found in the houses. A single dwell 
 ing contained above twelve thousand pounds. Here the Spaniards 
 first saw potatoes, also yams and cassava. A discovery of no less 
 importance although little regarded at the time, was also made dur 
 ing this journey, that of tobacco. The travellers were struck with 
 a singular custom of these people, who went about with fire in their 
 hands, lighting the leaves of a certain plant rolled up into tubes, 
 and inhaling the smoke at one end. These tubes they called 
 tcibacoSj and the subsequent adoption of this practice of smoking by 
 the Spaniards, caused them to transfer the name of tobacco to the 
 herb, which has since become so important an article of commerce 
 all over the world. 
 
 The main object of the Spaniards was the discovery of Indian 
 countries abounding in the precious metals, pearls, gums, spices 
 and aromatics. Cuba offered them few traces of these desirable 
 objects. Whenever they made inquiries of the natives for such 
 articles, they pointed to the east, and repeated with animated ges 
 tures the words Babeque and Bohio. It is doubtful whether the 
 natives understood the questions which drew forth these replies ; 
 but as Columbus supposed himself in the East Indies, it was 
 natural enough for him to imagine that those names might be given 
 to -some \slands famous for their treasures, and perhaps Japan 
 itself. Martin Alonzo Pinzon, the commander of the Pinta, had 
 some of the natives of St. Salvador on board, and six others, whom 
 he had taken with him from the port of Mares, and from them he 
 had received particular accounts of the situation and size of 
 Babeque and Bohio. In order to secure this rich discovery for 
 himself, stimulated by self-conceit, and reckoning upon his nautical 
 skill and experience, and the goodness of his vessel, he deserted 
 Columbus on the night of the 22nd, without paying attention to 
 the signals made to him. The ship of Columbus was a dull sailer, 
 which, with the contrary winds, prevented him from following the 
 fugitive ; nor was he much inclined to leave a country which held 
 out so many allurements, till he had examined it still farther. 
 
COLUMBUS PURSUES HIS DISCOVERIES. 49 
 
 The Spaniards, at every step of their progress, fell into fresh 
 errors, because, without knowing where they were, and without 
 understanding the natives, they drew hasty inferences from uncer 
 tain and vague accounts. The hope of discovering rich countries 
 towards the east was increased by every novelty they saw. Colum 
 bus left Cuba for a country in sight to the east, and steered with 
 the more impatience to it, in proportion as the islanders he had on 
 board, particularly those of Cuba, strove to dissuade him from it, 
 by the repetition of the word " Bohio, Bohio," a name by which 
 they had often signified a marvellous island abounding in gold, 
 and which they now repeated with exaggerated gestures ; but they 
 described the inhabitants as hideous monsters and man-eaters. 
 Columbus understood by this that they might be men of more 
 bodily strength and mental civilization, who perhaps waged war 
 with the inhabitants of the other isles. This opinion, their prodi 
 gious wealth, and the supposition that their country was the eastern 
 coast of the Indies, induced him to conclude that this was the rich 
 Cipango or Japan. The land, which rose very high above the 
 water, exhibited verdant grounds betwixt the high mountains, 
 mostly cultivated like the fields of Cordova in the month of May. 
 The harbor in which he cast anchor seemed to excel all that he 
 had met with in his voyage. Many canoes appeared in view, 
 some of them like galleys or barks, of seventeen benches for rowers. 
 The shore was beautified with trees weighed down with fruits. As 
 they advanced a little into the country, the ground became pictur 
 esque and charming, watered by a gentle rivulet. All these 
 delicious views promised a numerous population, though one house 
 only was seen, and not one inhabitant. The harbor, as well as 
 the cape, was called St. Nicholas, after the natal day of that saint. 
 
 Columbus now steered eastward along the coast, till he came 
 to a harbor, with an island in the front of it. They named this 
 island, from its shape, Tortuga, (Tortoise ;) doubtless it was the 
 harbor afterwards called Mosquitos. Columbus gave it the name 
 of La Concepcion when he took shelter in it on the eighth of 
 December, from a tempest, which compelled him to remain there 
 for several days. In his course from the harbor of St. Nicholas, 
 he perceived trees like scarlet oaks, arid several fruit trees resem 
 bling those of Europe, and some pines and myrtles. The cul 
 tivated fields at a distance looked like fields of wheat and barley. 
 They heard the notes of several birds, especially one that resembled 
 the nightingale. They caught several groundlings, pollards, and 
 other fish, frequent in Europe. The country bore such a resem 
 blance to Spain that Columbus called this island Espanola, that 
 is, Hispaniola or " Little Spain." Subsequently it was called St. 
 5 G 
 
50 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 Domingo, from the city of that name built there by the Spaniards. 
 The natives of the neighboring islands gave it many names : 
 Hayti, or high country, on account of its mountains ; Quisqueza, 
 or the whole, on account of its extent; Bohio, or the house, 
 which perhaps was in allusion to the number, size and architec 
 ture of the habitations. The common dwellings on the island at 
 this day are called bohios, though they scarcely rival the cottages 
 of peasants. They are of light wood- work, covered with branches 
 and shrubs interwoven ; others are called boharques, composed 
 of piles of wood driven into the earth, and joined at the top in a 
 conical form, or the shape of a tent. The former were quite nu 
 merous on the island. It is very natural to suppose that the 
 names of them should be frequently heard in the answers of the 
 islanders ; and also that they sounded, to the ears of an European, 
 like Babeque, and therefore occasioned the Spaniards to take it 
 for the name of a country. In like manner, the words Carib and 
 Caniba, by which the gentle and dismayed inhabitants of the first 
 discovered isles signified certain islands inhabited by a warlike 
 .and cruel race, were mistaken for the name of a country, under 
 the dominion of the Great Khan. Thus Columbus raised the pile 
 of his suppositions higher and higher. The picture which his 
 imagination had drawn of the excellence of this country, was 
 further heightened' by the report of those whom he had sent to 
 explore it. They described it as a happy and fertile region, the 
 season like spring, the trees in the full bloom of summer, and the 
 fruit swelling in all the luxuriance of autumn ; the grass rich and 
 fine, enamelled with flowers of every kind. Some cottages, roads 
 and plantations left no doubt that there were inhabitants enough, 
 but none of them were yet seen. 
 
 On the 12th of December, after a crucifix had been erected on 
 a prominent point, as usual, three of the crew, in passing over a 
 mountain, unexpectedly espied a group of people, who hurried 
 away at the sight of them. They captured, however, a young, 
 well-shaped woman, who wore a little ring of gold in her nose. 
 Columbus caused her to be dressed, gave her glass beads, and 
 brass rings, and after having treated her kindly, dismissed her, 
 well pleased. He sent with her three of the islanders, and some 
 Spaniards to visit her home, which she pointed out in the south 
 east of the harbor. 'The messengers came back la to -at night, 
 without having reached the place, on account of its distance. 
 
 On the following morning, nine armed Spaniards, with an isl 
 ander, were despatched on ail expedition. After a journey of nearly 
 four miles, they came to a town of about four thousand inhabi 
 tants, situated in a spacious and fertile valley. At the appearance 
 
COLUMBUS PURSUES HIS DISCOVERIES. 51 
 
 of the Spaniards, the natives all ran away. The islanders called 
 out to them not to be afraid, as these strangers came from heaven, 
 and instead of hurting any person, they would give those who 
 came to them many fine things. On hearing this, they began to 
 dismiss their fears, and by degrees they approached all together. 
 Their fear was succeeded by admiration, respect, and submission, 
 and each of them freely offered whatever he possessed, fruits, 
 roots, parrots, and fish. A troop of them raised the young woman 
 that had been dressed, on their shoulders, and sounded forth her 
 happiness, as it were, and blessed her for the honor she had re 
 ceived. They were so pleased with their guests, that when they 
 saw them prepare to return, sorrow and dejection were painted in 
 their looks. The Spaniards were highly pleased with the kind 
 ness, simplicity, and open-heartedness of these people. They 
 appeared to be superior to any yet seen ; they were of a fairer 
 color and handsomer shape, particularly two females, who might 
 have been mistaken for Spanish women. The grounds and cul 
 tured fields excelled, in the opinion of the Spaniards, even those 
 of Cordova. They saw a number of mastic trees, aloes, planta 
 tions of cotton shrubs, but very few traces of gold. 
 
 In Tortuga, they found a greater store of gold, partly in grains, 
 and partly worked in plates. This metal the natives wore in 
 their ears and noses, as ornaments, and yet they freely parted 
 with it for any trifle whatever. Some of them, it is true, were 
 cunning enough to drive good bargains ; they divided a leaf of 
 gold as broad as the hand, into little pieces, and bartered each 
 singly ; but most of them offered their gold without accepting any 
 thing for it, as well as their gourd bottles, filled with water or 
 food. 
 
 An ambassador of Guacanagari, a considerable cacique, or pet 
 ty king of that country, visited the Spaniards in a large canoe, 
 accompanied with a number of attendants. He requested the 
 admiral to come with his ships to his shore, and he would give 
 him whatever he wanted. He presented Columbus with a girdle, 
 four fingers in breadth, trimmed with white bones, like pearls, 
 interspersed with red beads ; and a mask, with the ears, tongue 
 and nose of gold. Some of the Spaniards, therefore, went to this 
 place, and were received with great joy and cordiality ; men, wo 
 men, and children assembling in crowds to see and admire them. 
 From the humblest individual, to the cacique himself, there was 
 a visible emulation to wait upon and serve their heaven-descended 
 guests, with the best things their houses could afford, in viands as 
 well as cotton cloths, parrots, and pieces of gold. He that re 
 ceived a trifle in return placed an inestimable value upon it. 
 
62 , SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 On the 24th of December, the squadron bent their sails for the 
 east, with a light land breeze; in a short time, they were entirely 
 becalmed, so that they scarcely advanced three leagues the whole 
 day. About seven o'clock at night, as the vessels were veering 
 off a point of land, the sea being perfectly smooth, the admiral, 
 who had not slept for the last two days, threw himself down on 
 his bed ; the crew did the same, as well as the steersman at the 
 helm. This man, contrary to an express order, had committed 
 it to the hands of an inexperienced ship boy. In the course of an 
 hour, the ship, drifted by the tide, struck on a sand bank. The 
 cries of the boy awakened Columbus, who speedily ordered an 
 anchor to be cast astern. The ship's master and a number of 
 mariners, instead of obeying this command, sprang into the long 
 boat, and hastened to the Nina, which was half a league distant. 
 The admiral soon found that the ship was filling with water, and 
 so forced by the current on one side, that all hopes of saving her 
 were given over, notwithstanding her being lighted, and her mast 
 cut away. Fortunately, the calm continued, and Captain Vincent 
 Tanez, acting up to his duty, obliged the disobedient hands to 
 return immediately to the aid of the admiral, and at the same time 
 sent him his own boat, so that Columbus and the whole crew 
 were saved. 
 
 On the 25th, at the break of day, the crew began to carry every 
 thing on shore out of the ship, which was effected with admirable 
 despatch; a number of the natives, at the command of Guacana- 
 gari, came and assisted with their canoes. The generous cacique, 
 filled with grief and compassion at the recital of this misfortune, 
 omitted no friendly exertion to comfort and assist the Spaniards. 
 Not content with the spontaneous zeal of his subjects, he person 
 ally attended and took care of everything conveyed on shore. As 
 sopn as it was sufficiently light, he ordered all the goods to be put 
 in a projter place near the village, and entrusted them to the care 
 of an armed body of men, who were to watch over them during the 
 night ; after which they were placed in two large cottages, made 
 ready for that purpose. The cacique was so much* affected by 
 Columbus' s disaster, that he shed tears, and sent one of the most 
 distinguished of his vassals, who endeavored, with tears in his 
 eyes, to console the admiral with liberal presents, and the sincer- 
 est demonstrations of friendship. 
 
 On the following day, he paid Columbus a visit himself, and 
 repeated his promises and friendly offers in the most expressive 
 manner. At the same time, some canoes, filled with inhabitants 
 from other places, came to exchange gold dust for Spanish com 
 modities. A seaman also brought advice that a similar commerce 
 
COLUMBUS IN HAYTI. 53 
 
 had taken place on the shore, and that the Spaniards had profited 
 considerably by it. This intelligence began to dissipate the gloom 
 which hung over the face of the admiral. Guacanagari perceived 
 ihe sudden transition, and guessing the cause of it, informed him 
 that this metal was found in abundance at Cibao, which lay at no 
 great distance ; and that he would procure him plenty of it, if he 
 would accompany him to his habitation. His complaisant and 
 hospitable reception by the inhabitants soon effaced the impression 
 of all the hardships and dangers which he had experienced at sea, 
 nay, even the loss of his ship itself, which he now began to consider 
 as a favorable accident. The cacique treated him with venison, 
 fish and other food, tarts of cassava, and several roots and delicious 
 fruits. He ate very sparingly and soberly, himself, and after he 
 had finished his repast, washed his hands, which he had pre 
 viously rubbed with certain herbs. After this he conducted the 
 admiral through a series of winding arbors and fragrant groves. 
 On their return from this enchanting promenade, he made Colum 
 bus a present of a mask, with pieces of fine gold suspended from 
 the ears, eyes, nose and other parts. The neck was ornamented 
 with a number of pieces of the same metal ; he also distributed 
 similar precious toys amongst the Spaniards, who had accompanied 
 their leader. Columbus, in grateful return, presented a number of 
 European trinkets, which the islanders valued as something divine, 
 and which they eagerly showed their friends, repeating in a kind 
 of transport the word turey, which in their language signifies 
 heaven. They believed themselves capable of discerning the most 
 pure gold from the inferior kind by the smell ; the base gold they 
 called guanin ; and when they received some pieces of brass, silver, 
 or any white metal, they smelled, and declared thtn to be turey^ 
 of inestimable value, and gave pieces of guanin and fine gold for 
 them. They were chiefly captivated with bells, for which they 
 readily gave all that they possessed. They danced and leaped to 
 the sound of them in a grotesque manner. A small buckle, or the 
 head of a nail, were valued by them as the most precious of gifts. 
 The cacique was not less rejoiced and transported at the present 
 of a shirt and a pair of gloves. 
 
 Columbus now informed the cacique that he had determined to 
 leave a part of his men on the island, and set sail for Spain, whence 
 he should speedily return with a greater force and abundance of 
 valuable presents. In order more deeply to impress the minds of 
 the natives with an idea of the superiority of their visitors, he 
 caused his men to perform sham-fights, in which the clashing of 
 the swords, the shooting of the cross-bows, the discharge of the 
 musketry, and above all, the thunder of the cannon, produced a 
 5* 
 
54 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 mighty eflect. The force of a cannon ball, which pierced the side 
 of the stranded vessel, caused the simple islanders to fall upon the 
 ground with surprise and terror. The Spaniards then erected a 
 wooden tower, surrounded by a ditch, as the beginning of a settle 
 ment, to which Columbus gave the name of Navidad, or Christmas, 
 from the day of the shipwreck. Feasts and entertainments fol 
 lowed ; in one of which the cacique appeared, crowned with a 
 golden diadem and attended by five inferior caciques, each with a 
 golden crown. Much conversation was carried on respecting the 
 country, and a certain province was spoken of, by the name of 
 Cibao, which, of course, Columbus mistook for Cipango, the 
 ancient name of Japan. The Spaniards also discovered a root 
 which they imagined to be rhubarb. The islanders gave them 
 every assistance ia preparing their new settlement, and furnished 
 them liberally with provisions. 
 
 Columbus left thirty-nine persons at Navidad, under the com 
 mand of Diego de Arana. He gave them directions to prosecute 
 their discoveries along the coast, to cultivate the soil, search for 
 gold, and conciliate the natives. With strong injunctions to preserve 
 discipline and good order, which unfortunately never were heeded, 
 he took leave of the colony January 4th, 1493, and coasted onward 
 to the east. The second day he discovered the Pinta bearing 
 down for him before the wind. The two commanders met, and 
 Martin Alonzo attempted to excuse his desertion by pretending he 
 had been blown off by contrary winds. Columbus stifled his 
 resentment at his treachery and falsehood, and listened to the 
 detail of Pinzon' s adventures. He had made no discovery of impor 
 tance, but he had obtained a considerable quantity of gold, one 
 half of which he had kept to himself, and distributed the rest 
 among his crew. He had seized four men and two women of the 
 natives, whom Columbus afterwards set at liberty. 
 
 -In the progress of Columbus along this coast, the Spaniards 
 discovered red pepper and pimento. They also saw another nov 
 elty, in the shape of fishes with heads like human beings. Colum 
 bus called them sirens, but they were no other than the misshapen 
 animal now known as the manati, or sea-cow. Toward the eastern 
 extremity of Espanola, they met with inhabitants of a new aspect. 
 Their faces were black, their hair long and tied behind, with 
 plumes of parrot's feathers stuck in their heads. They had bows, 
 arrows and heavy clubs, and made demonstrations of hostility ; 
 but the Spaniards appearing friendly, they were induced to barter. 
 One of them went on board the ship, and was regaled with presents. 
 By the imperfect help of the Lucayan interpreters, they learned 
 that in some parts of these regions the metal called guanin was 
 
RETURN OF COLUMBUS TO SPAIN. 55 
 
 found in lumps as big as the stern of a ship ; also that one of the 
 islands was inhabited solely by women, who lived like the Amazons 
 of old. An occurrence shortly after took place which confirmed 
 the Spaniards in the belief that the warlike natives whom they 
 now saw, were the Caribs, of whom they had received such terrify 
 ing accounts from the harmless and timid islanders they had pre 
 viously visited, A number of the Spaniards having gone on shore 
 with the Indian they had so kindly treated, they were attacked from 
 an ambush by upwards of fifty men, whom they repelled, receiving 
 however, some wounds. Notwithstanding this, the next morning 
 the natives came down to the shore again and visited the ship with 
 every demonstration of friendship. Their cacique spoke frequently 
 of the neighboring islands of Martinico and Carib ; he also made 
 Columbus a present of a golden crown. During the two following 
 days a brisk trade was carried on for provisions, but the natives 
 always went armed. Four young men having gone on board, 
 who appeared remarkably intelligent, they were secured for trans 
 portation to Spain; and with these and six or seven previously 
 obtained at the other islands, Columbus left the New World and 
 steered for home, on the 16th of January. 
 
 His voyage was prosperous till the 12th of February, when, be 
 lieving himself not far from the Azores, he was assailed by a furi 
 ous storm, which separated the ships. The sailors put up vows 
 to heaven, but the tempest waxed fiercer every hour, and destruc 
 tion appeared inevitable. Columbus, thinking his consort had 
 foundered, and doubting whether his own ship would survive, 
 was unwilling, nevertheless, that the world should lose the know 
 ledge of the great discovery he had made. He accordingly wrote 
 a short account of his proceedings, which he inclosed in cere-cloth 
 covered with wax and placed in a tight water-proof casket, ac 
 companied with a notice, offering a reward of a thousand ducats 
 to any one who should deliver the package, unopened, to the 
 Spanish sovereigns. This he threw into the sea, in hopes of its 
 being picked up after his own ship had gone to the bottom. But 
 shortly after this, the gale abated, and they came in sight of the 
 Azores. The Portuguese received Columbus roughly, and impris 
 oned some of his men. Another gale drove him from his anchor 
 age, and threatened his ship with destruction; but again his 
 benignant star prevailed. He obtained the release of his men, 
 and soon set sail. A third tempest overtook him as he approach 
 ed the coast of Spain, and, just as the crew had given themselves 
 up for lost, they descried the promontory of Cintra, and made an 
 unexpected escape into the Tagus. The fame of the discovery 
 being quickly spread abroad, Columbus was invited to the court 
 
56 
 
 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 of Lisbon, where he excited the envy and jealousy of the Portu 
 guese, by his narration of the riches and wonders of the new-found 
 countries. Leaving Lisbon, he again put to sea, and arrived, on 
 the 15th of March, at Palos, from whence he had sailed seven 
 months before. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Exultation of the Spaniards on the return of Columbus. Honors paid him by the 
 court. His second voyage to the New World. He finds the colony at Navi- 
 daa extirpated. Builds another fortress. Distress of the colonists. The na 
 tives become hostile. Columbus defeats one hundred thousand of them in the battle 
 of Vega Real. Avarice of the Spaniards. They impose tasks upon the natives. 
 Attempts of the islanders to starve their invaders. Terrible cruelty of tJie 
 Spaniards. Discords among the colonists. Civil war. Return of Columbus 
 ' to Spain. Jealousies excited against him. A new plan of government projected 
 for the colony. Third voyage of Columbus. Discovery of Trinidad and the 
 main land of South America. III success of the scheme of settlement. The 
 Indians reduced to slavery. Intrigues against Columbus. He is deposed from 
 his authority and sent to Spain in fetters. Vile ingratitude of the Spanish 
 court. Fourth voyage of Columbus. His treatment by Ovando. Loss of the 
 Spanish homeward-bound fleet. Columbus explores the coast of America. At 
 tempts a settlement there. His disasters. He is shipwrecked at Jamaica. Re 
 turns to Spain and dies. The continent named after Amerigo Vespucci 
 Greediness of the Spaniards. Sufferings and extirpation of the natives. 
 
 Columbus before the king and queen of Spain. 
 
 COLUMBUS, on landing, proceeded immediately to Barcelona, 
 where the court resided. His journey was a continued triumph. 
 The nobility and the people crowded to meet him, and followed him 
 in throngs to the presence of Ferdinand and Isabella. He pre- 
 
 H 
 
58 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 sented to them the natives of the new-found countries, and exhi 
 bited pieces of gold, birds, cotton, and many curiosities, which 
 were interesting on account of their novelty. Such a variety of 
 uncommon objects, exposed to the view of a people whose vanity, 
 inflamed by imagination, magnified everything, made them fancy 
 that they saw an inexhaustible source of riches forever flowing 
 into their country. The enthusiasm spread, and reached even to 
 the throne. At the public audience the sovereigns gave to Co 
 lumbus, he was permitted to be covered in the royal presence, and 
 to sit as a grandee of Spain. Thus he related his voyages to them. 
 They loaded him with caresses, commendations and honors ; and 
 soon after he re-embarked with seventeen sail, to make new dis 
 coveries, and to establish colonies. 
 
 He arrived at Hispaniola in 1495, with fifteen hundred men, sol 
 diers, artificers, and missionaries, with provisions for their subsis 
 tence, with the seeds of all the plants that were thought likely to 
 thrive in this hot and damp climate, and with the domestic animals 
 of the old hemisphere, of which there was not one in the new. 
 Golumbus found nothing but ruins and carcasses upon the spot 
 where he had left fortifications and Spaniards. These plunderers 
 had occasioned their own destruction, by their haughty, licentious, 
 and tyrannical behavior. Columbus had the address to persuade 
 his men, who were eager to glut their vengeance upon the natives, 
 that it was good policy to postpone their revenge to another time. A 
 fort, honored with the name of Isabella, was now constructed on 
 the borders of the ocean; and that of St. Thomas was. erected on 
 the mountains of Cibao, where the islanders gathered from the 
 torrents the greatest part of the gold they used for their orna 
 ments, and where the conquerors intended to open mines. 
 
 While these works were going on, the provisions that had 
 been brought from Europe had been either consumed, or were 
 spoilt. The colony had received nothing to supply the deficien 
 cy ; and soldiers, or sailors, had neither possessed the leisure, 
 knowledge, nor inclination to produce fresh articles of subsistence. 
 It became necessary to have recourse to the natives of the country, 
 who, cultivating but little, were unable to maintain strangers, even 
 though they were the most moderate persons of the old hemi 
 sphere, for they yet consumed, each of them, as much as would 
 have been sufficient for several Indians. These unfortunate people 
 gave up all they had, and still more was required. Such contin 
 ued exactions produced an alteration in their character, which was 
 naturally timid ; and all the caciques, except Guacanagari, who 
 had first received the Spaniards in his dominions, resolved to unite 
 
SECOND VISIT OF COLUMBUS, 1495. 59 
 
 their forces, in order to break a yoke which was becoming every 
 day more intolerable. 
 
 Columbus desisted from pursuing his discoveries, in order to 
 prepare against this unexpected danger. Although two thirds of 
 his followers had been hurried to the grave by hardships, by the 
 climate, and by debauchery ; although sickness prevented many of 
 those who had escaped these terrible scourges, from joining him ; 
 and although he could not muster more than two hundred infan 
 try and twenty horse to face the enemy, yet this extraordinary 
 man was not afraid of attacking an army, assembled in the plains 
 of Yega Real, which historians in general have computed at one 
 hundred thousand men. The chief precaution taken was to fall 
 upon the Indians in the night time. 
 
 The unhappy islanders were, in fact, conquered before the action 
 began. They considered the Spaniards as beings of a superior 
 order ; their admiration, respect, and fear were increased by the 
 European armor ; and the sight of the cavalry, in particular, aston 
 ished them beyond measure. Many of them were simple enough 
 to believe that the man and the horse were but one animal, or a 
 Kind of deity. Had their courage even been proof against these 
 impressions of terror, they could have made but a faint resistance. 
 The cannonading, the pikes, and a discipline to which they were 
 strangers, must have easily dispersed them. They fled on all 
 sides. To punish them for their rebellion, as it was called, every 
 Indian above fourteen years of age, was subjected to a tribute in 
 gold, or in cotton, according to the district in which he lived. 
 
 This regulation, which required assiduous labor, appeared the 
 greatest of evils to a people who were not used to constant em 
 ployment. The desire of getting rid of their oppressors, therefore, 
 became their ruling passion. As they entertained no further hope of 
 being able to expel them by force, the idea occurred to them, in 1496, 
 of reducing them by famine. In this view, they sowed no more 
 maize, they pulled up the cassava roots that were already planted, 
 and fled for refuge to the mountains. 
 
 Desperate resolutions are seldom attended with success ; accord 
 ingly, that which the Indians had taken proved fatal to them. 
 The products of rude and uncultivated nature were not sufficient 
 for their support, as they had inconsiderately expected they would 
 be ; and their asylum, however difficult of access, was not a secu 
 rity from the pursuit of their incensed tyrants, who, during this 
 total privation of local resources, accidentally received some pro 
 visions from the mother country. The rage of the Spaniards was 
 excited to such a degree, that they trained up dogs to hunt and 
 devour these unhappy men ; and it has even been said that some 
 
60 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 of the Castilians had made a vow to massacre twelve Indians 
 every day in honor of the twelve apostles. Before this event, 
 the island was reckoned to contain a million of inhabitants. A 
 third part of this considerable population perished in these cam 
 paigns, by fatigue, hunger, and the sword. 
 
 Scarcely had the remains of these unfortunate people, who had 
 escaped so many disasters, returned to their habitations, where 
 calamities of another kind were preparing for them, when divisions 
 arose among their persecutors. The removal of the capital of the 
 colony from the north to the south, from Isabella to San Domingo, 
 might possibly furnish a pretence for some complaints ; but the 
 dissensions had their chief origin in indulged passions, raised to an 
 uncommon degree of fermentation beneath a burning sky, and not 
 sufficiently restrained by an authority imperfectly established. 
 When the business was to dethrone a cacique, 'to plunder a district, 
 or exterminate a village, the commands of the brother of Colum 
 bus, or of his representative, were readily obeyed. After shar 
 ing the booty, insubordination followed; and mutual jealousies 
 and animosities became their sole occupation. The Spaniards at 
 length took up arms against each other, and war was openly 
 declared. 
 
 During the course of these divisions, Columbus was in Spain, 
 whither he had returned, in order to answer the accusations 
 that were incessantly renewed against him. The recital of the 
 great actions he had performed, and the exposition of the use 
 ful plans he meant to carry into execution, easily regained him 
 the confidence of Isabella. Ferdinand himself began to be a little 
 reconciled to the idea of distant voyages. The plan of a regular 
 form of government was traced, which was first to be tried at 
 San Domingo, and afterwards adopted, with such alterations as 
 experience might show to be necessary, in the several settlements, 
 which in process of time might be founded in the other hemi 
 sphere. Men skilled in the working of mines were carefully 
 selected, and the government agreed to pay and maintain them 
 for several years. 
 
 On the 30th of May, 1498, Columbus sailed on his third voyage, 
 with six ships. He touched at the Canaries, and despatched from 
 thence three of his squadron direct to Hispaniola. With the other 
 three he steered toward the Cape Verd Islands. Takig his de 
 parture from this point he held a southwesterly course till he came 
 within five degrees of the equator, where the heat of the air burst 
 the wine-pipes and water-casks, and caused the crews to fear that 
 the ships would be burned. After eight days of calm weather and 
 intolerable heat, the air became a little cooler, and on the 31st of 
 
THIRD VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS, 1498. 61 
 
 July they discovered land, which proved to be the island of Trini 
 dad, at the mouth of the Orinoco. Proceeding along the shore, he 
 obtained a sight of some of the natives, who proved very hostile, 
 and discharged showers of arrows at the ships. They had shields, 
 the first defensive armor the Spaniards had seen in the New World, 
 Columbus sailed through the gulf lying between Trinidad and the 
 mouth of the Orinoco, struck with amazement at the mountainous 
 billows which that great stream rolls into the ocean. On the coast 
 of Paria they saw more of the natives, and held friendly inter 
 course with them. They offered the Spaniards provisions and a 
 sort of white and red wine. Considerable gold was discovered, 
 and the natives directed them to a pearl fishery. From this coast 
 they steered to Hispaniola. This was the voyage in which the 
 Spaniards first saw the main land of America. The continent of 
 North America had been discovered in June of the preceding year 
 by the English navigators, John and Sebastian Cabot. 
 
 The third visit of Columbus succeeded no better than the pre 
 ceding in securing good order and prosperity in the colony. 
 The form of government projected in Spain had not the desired 
 effect that of establishing a peaceable community. The people 
 thought differently from their sovereigns. Time, which brings on 
 reflection when the first transports of enthusiasm are passed, had 
 abated the desire, originally so ardent, of going to the New World. 
 Its gold was no longer an object of irresistible temptation. On the 
 contrary, the livid complexions of the Spaniards who returned 
 home ; the accounts of the insalubrity of the climate ; of the num 
 bers who had lost their lives, and the hardships they had under 
 gone from the scarcity of provisions ; an unwillingness to be under 
 the command of a foreigner, the severity of whose discipline was 
 generally censured ; and perhaps the jealousy that was entertained 
 of his growing reputation ; all these reasons contributed to produce 
 an insuperable prejudice against San Domingo in the subjects of 
 the crown of Castile, the only Spaniards who, till the year 1593, 
 were allowed to embark for that island. 
 
 The malefactors who accompanied Columbus, in conjunction 
 with the plunderers that infested St. Domingo, formed one of the 
 most unnatural kinds of society that had ever appeared upon the 
 globe. Their mutual coalition enabled them to set all authority 
 at defiance; and the impossibility of subduing them, made it 
 necessary to resort to negotiation. Many attempts were made in 
 vain. At length, in 1499, it was proposed that, to the lands which 
 every Spaniard received, a certain number of islanders should be 
 annexed,' whose time and labor should be devoted to masters desti 
 tute alike of humanity and prudence. This act of weakness on the 
 6 
 
62 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 part of the government restored apparent tranquillity to the colony, 
 but without gaining for Columbus the affection of those who 
 profited by it. The complaints made against him grew more 
 loud and violent, and ere long proved effectual. 
 
 This extraordinary man purchased upon very hard terms the 
 fame which his genius and industry had procured him. His life 
 exhibited a perpetual series of brilliant successes and deep misfor 
 tunes. He was continually exposed to the cabals, calumnies, and 
 ingratitude of individuals ; and obliged at the same time to submit 
 to the caprices of a haughty and turbulent court, which by turns 
 rewarded or punished now mortified him by the most humili 
 ating disgrace, and now restored him to its confidence. 
 
 The prejudice entertained by the Spanish ministry against the 
 author of the greatest- discovery the world had yet seen, grew to 
 such a pitch, that an arbitrator was sent to the colonies to decide 
 between Columbus and his soldiers. Bovadilla, the most ambi 
 tious, self-interested, unjust, and violent man that had yet visited 
 the New World, arrived at St. Domingo in 1500 ; he deprived the 
 admiral of his property, his honors and his command, and sent 
 him to Spain in irons. Surprise and indignation were everywhere 
 excited by this act of atrocious ingratitude; and Ferdinand and 
 Isabella, overwhelmed with shame by the expression of the pub 
 lic feelings, ordered the fefters of Columbus to be immediately 
 taken off. They also recalled, with real or feigned resentment, 
 the wretch, Bovadilla, who had so infamously abused his author 
 ity. But to their disgrace it must be added that this was all the 
 reparation made to Columbus for so atrocious an insult. 
 
 To crown the black ingratitude of the Spanish court, they con 
 stantly resisted the petitions and applications of Columbus to be 
 reinstated in his office, which he had so ably filled. The reason 
 alleged for this unkingly breach of faith was the great value and 
 inlportance of the discoveries of Columbus, which would render 
 the reward too magnificent ! After a fruitless attendance at court 
 for two years, he gave up his solicitations, and requested merely 
 to be sent upon a fourth voyage. Ferdinand and Isabella, eager 
 to get rid of a man whose presence was a reproach to them, 
 granted his request with alacrity. Four small vessels were pro 
 vided for him ; and the discoverer of the western world, broken 
 down by age, fatigues and mortification, set sail once more, in 
 May, 1502. His design was to proceed west, beyond the newly- 
 discovered continent, and to circumnavigate the globe. On 
 reaching Hispaniola he found a fleet of eighteen ships ready to 
 depart for Spain. Columbus was refused admission into the har 
 bor of St. Domingo, although his vessel was unseaworthy. His 
 
COLUMBUS ON HIS FOURTH VOYAGE. 63 
 
 knowledge of these regions enabled him to perceive signs of an 
 approaching hurricane. Although the governor, Ovando, had 
 refused him a shelter in the harbor, Columbus warned him of the 
 approaching danger ; but his warning was disregarded ; the fleet 
 put to sea ; and the ensuing night they were assailed by a furious 
 hurricane, and the whole fleet, except three ships, went to the bot 
 tom. In this wreck perished the malignant Bovadilla, together 
 with the greater part of the men who had been most active in 
 persecuting Columbus and oppressing the Indians. The treasure 
 lost in the ships surpassed the value of two hundred thousand 
 dollars. 
 
 Columbus, by his prudent precautions, escaped the danger, and 
 departed for the continent. He proceeded along the coast from 
 the eastern point of Honduras to the Isthmus of Darien, searching 
 in vain for a passage to the South Sea. Attracted by the appear 
 ance of gold, he attempted to form a settlement at the river Belem, 
 in Veragua ; but the natives, a more hardy and warlike race than 
 the islanders, killed many of the settlers and drove the remnant 
 away. This unexpected repulse was followed by a long train of 
 disasters. Storms, hurricanes, terrible thunder and lightning, and 
 all the calamities that can befall the explorers of an unknown sea, 
 kept Columbus in a continual state of anxiety and suffering. At 
 last he was shipwrecked on the coast of Jamaica. No settlement 
 had been made here, and Columbus despatched a few of his men 
 in Indian canoes to Hispaniola for relief. The insolent Ovando, 
 from a mean jealousy of the great discoverer, refused to grant him 
 any assistance. Columbus remained in Jamaica, perpetually ha 
 rassed by the mutinous conduct of his men. The natives, tired of 
 the long stay of the Spaniards in their island, intercepted their 
 supplies of provisions. Columbus, however, intimidated them by 
 an artifice. An eclipse was at hand : he assembled the chief In 
 dians, and informed them that the Great Spirit was angry at their 
 behavior toward their visitors, and on that night the moon would 
 be turned blood-red. They listened with incredulity, but when 
 the moon began to change her hue, they were all struck with ter 
 ror. They loaded themselves with provisions, and brought them 
 to Columbus, entreating him to intercede with the Deity in their 
 behalf. From that time their superstitious apprehensions kept 
 them in implicit obedience to the Spaniards. 
 
 After about a year's detention on the island, three vessels came 
 to their relief, and the crews passed over to Hispaniola, where the 
 once arrogant Ovando received his distinguished visitor with fawn 
 ing sycophancy, and affected to treat him with every mark of 
 honor and esteem. His complaisance, however, went no farther 
 
64 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 than outward show. Columbus, finding no means of prosecuting 
 his enterprise in this part of the world, returned to Spain in 
 1504, where his miseries were crowned by the intelligence of the 
 death of Isabella, whose favor and protection he had always consid 
 ered his last resource. This was a blow from which he never 
 recovered. Overwhelmed with calamities, disgusted with the 
 ingratitude of those whom he had faithfully and successfully 
 served, declining in age, and broken in health, he lingered a few 
 years longer in poverty and neglect, making from time to time a 
 fruitless appeal to the honor and justice of those who had given 
 him " chains for a crown, a prison for a world ;" and finally closed 
 his life at Valladolid, May 20th, 1506, in the 59th year of his age. 
 
 Such was the end of this remarkable man, who, to the aston 
 ishment of Europe, .added a fourth part to the earth, or rather half 
 a world to this globe, which had been so long desolate and so little 
 known. It might reasonably be expected that public gratitude 
 would have given the name of this intrepid seaman to the new 
 hemisphere, the first discovery of which was owing to his enter 
 prising genius. This was the smallest homage of respect that 
 could b'e paid to his memory; but either through envy, inattention, 
 or the caprice of fortune even in the distribution of fame, this honor 
 was reserved for a Florentine adventurer, who did nothing more 
 than follow the footsteps of a man, whose name ought to stand 
 foremost in the list of great characters. 
 
 Amerigo Yespucci, who had the art or the good fortune to give 
 his name to the western continent, made a voyage to the coast of 
 Paria, with Ojeda, a Spanish commander, in 1499. Some years 
 afterward he entered the Portuguese service, and visited the coast 
 of Brazil. His narratives of these voyages attracted much atten 
 tion in Europe. Either by a fraud of Vespucci or the carelessness 
 of his transcribers, the date of his first voyage was altered from 
 1499 to 1497, and he passed for the first discoverer of the main land 
 of South 'America, which was seen by Columbus the previous year. 
 
 The, misfortunes of the wretched natives began with the discov 
 ery of America. Columbus, notwithstanding his humanity and his 
 talents, increased them himself, by fixing the natives upon the lands 
 which he distributed to his soldiers. This plan, which he had 
 adopted merely to remove the embarrassments to which he was ex 
 posed from an almost dncessant spirit of rebellion, was continued 
 and extended by Bovadilla, in the view of gaining the affections of 
 the Spaniards. Ovando, who succeeded him, broke up these con 
 nections, as he had been ordered by the court. Rest was the first 
 enjoyment of these feeble beings, who had been condemned by 
 force to labors which were neither consistent with the nature of 
 
OPPRESSION OF THE INDIANS IN THE WEST INDIES. 65 
 
 their food, their constitutions, nor with their customs. They 
 then wandered ahout as vagabonds and did nothing. The conse 
 quence of this indolence was a famine, which was fatal both to 
 them and to their oppressors. It might have been possible to bring 
 about some fortunate alteration in their state, with mildness, 
 prudent regulations, and a great share of patience. But these slow 
 and moderate measures were not suited to conquerors, who were 
 eager to acquire and earnest to enjoy. They demanded that all 
 the Indians should be distributed among them, in order to be 
 employed in working the mines, in the cultivation of corn, or in 
 any other kind of labor, of which they might be thought capable. 
 Religion and political views were the two pretences made use of 
 to palliate this dreadful system of oppression. It was urged that 
 so long as these savages were tolerated in their superstitions, they 
 would never embrace Christianity ; and would always remain in a 
 condition to revolt, unless their dispersion should put it out of their 
 power to make any such attempt. The court, after several dis 
 cussions, resolved to adopt an arrangement so contrary to every 
 sound principle of justice and policy. The whole island of His- 
 paniola was divided into a certain number of districts, and granted 
 to the Spanish adventurers, in proportion to their rank, interest, 
 or birth. The Indians attached to these precarious possessions, 
 were slaves, whom, indeed, the law was always bound to protect ; 
 but it never did this effectually either in Hispaniola or in the other 
 parts of the new world, where the same system of slavery was af 
 terwards established. Some commotions were the immediate con 
 sequence of this arrangement, but they were checked by treachery, 
 or by the effusion of blood. When slavery was completely estab 
 lished, the produce of the mines became more certain. At first, 
 one half belonged to the crown. This claim was afterwards 
 reduced to one third, and at length limited to a fifth part. 
 
 The treasures brought from Hispaniola excited the avarice even 
 of those who would not venture to cross the seas. The grandees, 
 the favorites, and those who had employments in the state, 
 obtained some of this property, which procured them riches without 
 care, without expense, and without anxiety. They committed 
 the care of them to agents, who were to make thei* own fortunes, 
 while the'y increased those of their principals. In less than six 
 years' time, sixty thousand Indian families were reduced to 
 fourteen thousand; and the continent and the adjacent islands 
 were ransacked for other natives to supply their place. 
 
 These, when taken, were chained together like beasts. Such 
 as sank under their burdens, were compelled to rise by severe 
 blows. No intercourse passed between the sexes except by stealth. 
 
66 
 
 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 The men perished in the mines, and the women in the fields 
 which they cultivated with their feeble hands. Their constitutions, 
 already exhausted with excessive labor, were still farther impaired 
 by an unwholesome and scanty diet. The fathers either swal 
 lowed poison or hanged themselves on the trees under which they 
 had just before seen their wives or their children expire. Thus 
 wasted away, the whole nation became extinct, and in a few short 
 years the unfortunate islanders of the West Indies were swept from 
 the face of the earth, scarcely leaving a trace of their existence 
 behind them. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Discovery of Yucatan and Campeachy. Expedition of Grijalva. Discovery of 
 the empire of Mexico. Scheme of Velasquez for the conquest of this country. 
 Fernando Cortez. His expedition to Mexico. Intelligence of his invasion 
 reaches Montezuma. Character and behavior of that monarch. He attempts to 
 dissuade Cortez from his undertaking. Resolute behavior of Cortez. He burns 
 his ships and throws off his dependence on Narvaez. Arrives at Tlascala. 
 Forms an alliance with the Tlascalans and advances upon Mexico. Indecision 
 of Montezuma. The Spaniards reach Mexico. Magnificence of the city. Re 
 ception of Cortez by Montezuma. Pusillanimity and treachery of that monarch. 
 Cortez takes the emperor prisoner. Arrival of Narvaez in Mexico, and peril of 
 Cortez. Triumph of Cortez over his rival. Insurrection of the Mexicans 
 against the Spaniards. Bloody battles in Mexico. Death of Montezuma. 
 
 The Spaniards burning their ships before their march to Mexico. 
 
 BEFORE these acts of horror had completed the ruin of the 
 unhappy islanders of Hispaniola, settlements had been made by 
 the Spaniards in Jamaica, Porto Rico and Cuba. Diego Velas 
 quez, who founded the last of these establishments, undertook to 
 prosecute further discoveries. The spirit of adventure, and the 
 bold and insatiable avarice of the adventurers who flocked to his 
 colony, afforded him ample means for carrying his designs into 
 effect. An expedition, consisting of one hundred and ten persons, 
 
68 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 embarked in three small vessels, at St. Jago de Cuba, on the 8th 
 February, 1517, sailed to the west, and landed successively on 
 the shores of Yucatan and Campeachy. They were received as 
 enemies upon both these coasts ; many of them perished in the 
 contests they were engaged in, and the rest regained, in the utmost 
 conf ision, the port whence they had set out a few months before 
 with such flattering expectations. Their return was marked by 
 the death of Cordova, the commander of the expedition, who ex 
 pired of his wounds. 
 
 Till this period, the new hemisphere had presented little to the 
 Spaniards but naked and wandering savages, without settled oc 
 cupations or forms of government. They had now for the first 
 time seen a people dwelling in houses, clothed, formed into a na 
 tional body, and sufficiently advanced in the arts to convert pre 
 cious metals into vases. 
 
 This discovery, while it excited apprehensions of new dangers, 
 presented, at the same time, the alluring prospect of a rich booty ; 
 two hundred and forty Spaniards, therefore, went on board of four 
 ships, fitted "out by the chief of the colony at his own expense. 
 They began by verifying the reports brought by the preceding 
 adventurers ; they then continued their voyage as far as the river 
 Panuco, and thought they perceived in all parts still more evident 
 rriarks of civilization. They often landed. Sometimes they were 
 very warmly attacked, and sometimes they were received with a 
 degree of respect bordering upon adoration. They found one or 
 two opportunities of exchanging some trifles of the old hemisphere 
 for the gold of the new one. The most enterprising of the Span 
 iards were of opinion that a settlement should be formed in these 
 beautiful regions ; but their commander, Grijalva, though active 
 and intrepid, did not think his forces sufficient for so important an 
 undertaking. He returned to Cuba, where he gave an account, 
 somewhat exaggerated, of all he had seen, and of all he had been 
 able to learn, concerning the empire of Mexico. 
 
 The conquest of this immense and opulent region was imme 
 diately resolved upon by Velasquez ; but lie took some time in 
 deliberating upon the choice of the agent he meant to employ on 
 this occasion. He was apprehensive of entrusting the business 
 to a man destitute off the qualities necessary to ensure its success, 
 or to one possessing too much ambition to bestow the honor of the 
 achievement on him. His advisers, at length, determined his 
 choice in favor of Fernando Cortez, the man among his lieuten 
 ants whom his talents pointed out as the fittest person to execute 
 the project, but at the same time, the most unfit to answer his own 
 personal views. The activity, elevation of mind, and boldness, 
 
CORTEZ SETS OUT FOR MEXICO. 69 
 
 displayed by the new commander, in preparing for an expedition, 
 the difficulties of which he foresaw and wished to remove, awak 
 ened all the anxiety of a mind naturally suspicious. Yelasquez was 
 observed to be employed, first in private and afterward openly, in 
 suggesting a plan for the withdrawing of the important commis 
 sion, which he reproached himself with having inconsiderately 
 given. But this regret was too late. Before the arrangements, 
 contrived to keep back the fleet, composed of eleven small vessels, 
 could be completed, Cortez had set sail on the 10th of February, 
 1519, with nine hundred sailors, five hundred and eight jpoldiers, 
 sixteen horse, thirteen muskets, thirty-two cross-bows^ a great 
 number of swords, pikes, four falconets, and ten field-pieces. 
 
 These preparations for invasion, however insufficient they 
 may seem, had not even been furnished by the crown, which at 
 that time only lent its name to the new discoveries and settle 
 ments. The plans of aggrandizement were formed by private 
 persons, who carried them into execution at their own expense. 
 The thirst of gold and the spirit of chivalry, which still subsisted, 
 were the two chief motives that stimulated such enterprises. 
 These two powerful incentives hurried at once into the New 
 World men of the highest and lowest class in society ; robbers, 
 intent on nothing but plunder ; and men of lofty minds, who im 
 agined they were pursuing the road to glory. This is the reason 
 why the steps of these first conquerors were marked by so many 
 crimes, and by so many extraordinary actions ; why their cupidity 
 was so atrocious, and their bravery so astonishing. 
 
 Cortez seemed to be animated with the two passions of avarice 
 and glory. In proceeding to the place of his destination, he attacked 
 the Indians of Tobasco, beat their troops several times, compelled 
 them to sue for peace, received homage from them, and obliged 
 them to give him provisions, some pieces of cotton, and twenty 
 women, among whom one, named by the Spaniards Donna Marina, 
 rendered the most important services to Cortez as an interpreter. 
 
 Montezuma was sovereign of the empire of Mexico when the 
 Spaniards landed there. The monarch was soon informed of the 
 arrival of these strangers. Throughout the vast extent of his 
 kingdom, couriers were placed at different distances, who speedily 
 acquainted the court with everything that happened in the most 
 distant provinces. Their despatches were composed of pieces of 
 cotton, upon which were represented, in pictures, the several cir 
 cumstances of the affairs that required the attention of government. 
 The figures were intermixed with hieroglyphic characters, which 
 supplied what the art of the painter had not been able to express. 
 
 It was to be expected that a prince, who had been raised to the 
 
70 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 throne by his valor; who had extended his empire by conquest, 
 who was in possession of numerous and disciplined armies, would 
 have despatched troops immediately to disperse a handful of ad 
 venturers, who dared to infest and plunder his dominions. But 
 this step was neglected ; and the Spaniards, who had always an 
 irresistible turn for the marvellous, endeavored to explain the cir 
 cumstance by miracle ; particularly as the conduct of Montezuma 
 was so opposite to the character of the monarch, and so incompati 
 ble with his situation. The writers of this superstitious nation, 
 have not scrupled to declare to the whole world, that a short time 
 before the discovery of the New World, it had been foretold to the 
 Mexicans, that an invincible people from the east would soon 
 come among them, who would in a terrible manner avenge the 
 gods, irritated by their horrid crimes. 
 
 Though Montezuma, as well as many other persons, might 
 possibly be affected with superstition, there is no circumstance 
 which can authorize us to impute this prevailing weakness to him. 
 His political conduct, however, was not the wiser on this account. 
 Since this prince had been upon the throne, he had no longer dis 
 played any of. the talents which placed him upon it. Sunk into 
 a state of effeminacy and indolence, he despised his subjects and 
 oppressed his tributaries. His mind was so debased and corrupted, 
 that even the arrival of the Spaniards could not rouse him into 
 action. He wasted in negotiation the time he should have em 
 ployed in combat, and wished to send away, laden with presents, 
 the enemies he ought to have destroyed. Cortez, to whom this 
 supineness was very convenient, omitted nothing that might con 
 tribute to encourage it, and always treated with him on the most 
 friendly terms. He declared that he was sent merely with orders 
 to hold a conference with the powerful emperor of Mexico, on the 
 part of the greatest monarch of the East. Whenever he was 
 pressed to re-embark, he always represented, that no ambassador 
 had ever been dismissed without being admitted to an audience 
 with the sovereign. At length the deputies, finding him inflexible, 
 were obliged, according to their instructions, to resort to menaces. 
 They began to discourse in high terms of the opulence and 
 strength of their country. Cortez then, turning to his followers. 
 declared: This is exactly what we wished to meet with, great 
 danger and great wealth. He had then completed all his prepar 
 ations, and gained every information that was necessary. Re 
 solved, therefore, to conquer or to perish, he set fire to all his 
 ships, that the impossibility of retreat might stimulate his sol 
 diers to greater courage. Then, resolving to throw off his de 
 pendence on Velasquez, he resigned his commission, and caused a 
 
CORTEZ IN MEXICO. 71 
 
 council of the Spaniards to be convened, who organized the whole 
 expedition into a new hody politic, and elected Cortez for their 
 captain-general and chief magistrate, both civil and military. 
 Armed with this new authority, Cortez laid the foundation of a 
 settlement at Yera Cruz, where he left a small portion of his army, 
 and with the remainder pushed boldly for the capital of the 
 Mexican empire. 
 
 In the progress of this march, he arrived at the republic of 
 Tlascala, which had ever been at enmity with the Mexicans, the 
 latter having attempted to reduce it under their dominion. Cortez, 
 not doubting but that they would favor his projects, demanded per 
 mission to pass through their country, and proposed an alliance. 
 A people, who had prohibited themselves from holding any kind 
 of intercourse with their neighbors, and whom this unsocial princi 
 ple had accustomed to a general mistrust of other men, could not be 
 favorably inclined to strangers, whose manner was imperious, and 
 who had signalized their arrival by insults offered to the gods of the 
 country. Accordingly, the Tlascalans rejected, without hesita 
 tion, the proposals of Cortez. The surprising accounts given of 
 the Spaniards, astonished the inhabitants of Tlascala, but did not 
 dismay them. They fought four or five battles, in one of which 
 the Spanish troops were defeated. Cortez was obliged to intrench 
 himself; and the Indians, who wanted nothing but the powerful 
 arms of the Spaniards to make them victorious, rushed to death 
 upon his breastworks. But the result of all this was an alliance 
 with the Tlascalans, who furnished the Spaniards with six thou 
 sand troops to conduct their march, and assist them in their enter 
 prise. 
 
 With this reinforcement, Cortez advanced towards Mexico, 
 through a fertile country, well watered, and covered with woods, 
 cultivated fields, villages, and gardens. The soil produced a va 
 riety of plants unknown in Europe. Birds of the brightest plu 
 mage, and animals of new species, appeared in great abundance. 
 Nature differed from herself only in assuming a more agreeable, 
 and richer dress. The temperature of the air, and the continual, 
 though moderate heat, preserved the earth in a constant verdure 
 and fertility. On the same spot were seen trees covered with blos 
 soms, and others with delicious fruits ; and the same kind of corn 
 that was sown in one field was ready to be reaped in another. 
 
 The Spaniards seemed to be insensible to tho beauties of so 
 novel and enchanting a scene. They saw that gold was the com 
 mon ornament of the houses and temples ; that the arms, furniture 
 and persons of the Mexicans, were adorned with the same metal. 
 This alone attracted their notice. They resembled Mammon. 
 
72 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 whom Milton describes as forgetting the Divinity in Heaven itself 
 having his eyes always fixed upon its golden porches. 
 
 Montezuma's wavering disposition, and, perhaps, the fear of 
 staining his former glory, prevented him from marching against 
 the Spaniards, at their arrival; from joining the Tlascalans, 
 who had behaved with greater courage than he had done ; and 
 lastly, from attacking conquerors who were fatigued with their 
 own victories. He had contented himself with endeavoring to 
 diV jrt Cortez from his design of visiting his capital, but resolved, 
 at .ast, to introduce him into it himself. Thirty kings or princes 
 were subject to his dominion, many of whom were able to bring a 
 numerous army into the field. He possessed considerable riches, 
 and his power was absolute. It appears that his subjects were 
 intelligent and industrious. They were, also, a warlike people, 
 and had high notions of honor. Notwithstanding all this, Cortez 
 and his intrepid band fought their way through all obstacles : 
 army after army of the Mexicans fled before the invaders, who 
 advanced victoriously toward the capital. 
 
 The wonder and admiration of the Spaniards at the scene which 
 burst upon their view, as they approached the lake of Mexico, is 
 strikingly depicted in the simple and homely narrative of Bernal 
 Diaz, a soldier in the army of Cortez. "When we beheld the 
 number of populous towns upon the water and main land, the 
 broad causeway which ran straight and level over the water to 
 the city, and the great towers and temples of stone, which seemed 
 to rise out of the water, we could compare it to nothing but the 
 enchanted scenes we read of in Amadis de Gaul. To many of 
 us, it appeared doubtful whether we were asleep or awake. Nor 
 is the manner in which I express myself to be wondered at, for it 
 must be considered that never yet did man see, hear, or dream of 
 anything equal to the spectacle which appeared to our eyes that 
 day. I ^thought within myself that this was the garden of the 
 world. When we came near certain towers, close to the city, 
 Montezuma, who was there, quitted his palanquin, and was borne 
 in the arms of the princes, under a canopy of the richest materials, 
 ornamented with green feathers, gold, and precious stones, that 
 hung down in the manner of fringe. He was most richly dressed, 
 and wore buskins of pure gold, studded with jewels. The people 
 spread mantles on the ground, lest his feet should toucH.it, and 
 all who attended him, except the four princes, kept their eyes 
 fixed on the earth, not daring to look him in the face. Who could 
 count the multitudes of men, women and children that thronged 
 the streets, the canals, the terraces, and the house-tops that day ? 
 We were astonished at the number ot canoes passing to and from 
 
CORTEZ IN MEXICO. 73 
 
 the main land, loaded with provisions and merchandise ; and we 
 could now perceive that in this great city, and all the others of the 
 neighborhood that were built in the water, the houses stood separ 
 ate from each other, communicating by draw-bridges and boats, 
 and that they were built with terraced roofs. We saw, also, the 
 temples and oratories of the adjacent cities, built in the form of 
 towers and castles, and others on the causeway, all painted white, 
 and wonderfully brilliant. The noise and bustle of the market 
 place could be heard almost a league off; and those of us who had 
 been at Rome and Constantinople, said, that for convenience, reg 
 ularity and population, they had never seen the like." 
 
 Montezuma received the Spaniards with every outward token 
 of friendship and respect; commodious quarters were assigned 
 them in the city. Cortez demanded of him to submit his domin 
 ions to the crown of Castile. Had Montezuma possessed the tal 
 ents or the courage to avail himself of the immense advantage 
 which he possessed over his enemy, he might have annihilated 
 him at a single blow, and the ancient empire of Mexico might 
 perhaps have existed to the present day. But this feeble and 
 pusillanimous monarch shewed neither ability nor resolution. Yet 
 he did not hesitate to resort to perfidy to destroy his visitors. 
 While he was loading Cortez with presents, caresses and honors 
 in his capital, he privately despatched orders to attack the Span 
 iards at Vera Cruz. Cortez, indignant at this treachery, or eagerly 
 grasping at a pretext for violent measures, seized this occasion, 
 and thus addressed his soldiers: "It is absolutely necessary to 
 surprise these barbarians with some extraordinary exploit. I am 
 resolved to seize the emperor, and make myself master of his per 
 son." This design being approved, Cortez instantly marched with 
 his officers to Montezuma' s palace, and told him that he must 
 either follow him or die. The prince, whose pusillanimity could 
 only be equalled by the boldness of his enemies, resigned him 
 self into their hands. He was obliged to consent to the punish 
 ment of his generals, who had acted only in obedience to his 
 orders ; and completed his disgrace by submitting to do homage 
 to the king of Spain. 
 
 In the midst of these successes, intelligence was received that 
 Pamphilio de Narvaez had just arrived from Cuba, with eight 
 hundred infantry, fourscore cavalry, and twelve pieces of cannon, 
 in order to take the command of the army and to punish the re 
 fractory. These forces had been sent by Velasquez, who was 
 dissatisfied that a few adventurers, sent out under his auspices, 
 should have neglected all intercourse with him, declared them 
 selves independent of his authority, and sent deputies into Europe, 
 7 j 
 
74 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 to obtain the confirmation of those powers they had arrogated to 
 themselves. Cortez, with no more than two hundred and fifty 
 men, immediately marched against his rival, engaged and took 
 him prisoner. He obliged the vanquished to lay down their arms, 
 but afterwards restored them, and proposed that they should follow 
 him. He gained their affections by his confidence and magna 
 nimity ; and these soldiers enlisted under his standard. He in 
 stantly marched back with them to Mexico, where he had not 
 been able to leave more than fifty Spaniards, who, with the Tlas- 
 calans, closely guarded the emperor. 
 
 Commotions were excited among the nobility of Mexico, whose 
 indignation was raised at the captivity of their prince ; and the 
 indiscreet zeal of the Spaniards having prompted them to disturb 
 a public festival, celebrated in honor of the deities of the country, 
 by destroying their altars, and making a massacre of the wor 
 shippers and priests, the people were provoked to take up arms. 
 
 On his return to Mexico, Cortez found the Spaniards besieged 
 on the spot where he had left them. It was a space of sufficient 
 extent to contain the Spaniards and their allies, and was surrounded 
 by a thick wall, upon which were placed towers at different dis 
 tances. The artillery had been disposed in the best manner pos 
 sible; and the service had been always executed with as much 
 regularity and vigilance as in a besieged place, or in the most 
 exposed camp. The general was not able to make his way into 
 this kind of fortress, until he had encountered many difficul 
 ties; and when he at length entered it, the dangers still continued. 
 Such was the obstinate fury of the Mexicans, that they crowded 
 themselves through the port-holes of the cannon, from which they 
 were repulsed with terrible slaughter. 
 
 The Spaniards made frequent sallies, which were successful, yet 
 failed to raise the siege. The Mexicans gave proofs of extraordi 
 nary courage. They cheerfully devoted themselves to certain 
 death. leaked and ill armed, they were seen to throw themselves 
 into the ranks of the Spaniards, with a view of making their arms 
 useless, or wresting them out of their hands. They were all pre 
 pared to perisli in order to rescue their country from the yoke of 
 these foreign usurpers. 
 
 The prisoners taken by the Mexicans were carried off to the 
 great temple, and sacrificed to the god of war. The Spaniards, 
 from the quarters they occupied, could behold the preparations 
 making for the immolation of their companions, and their ears 
 were appalled by the sound of the great drum, which announced 
 their bloody orgies ; a sound which a narrator who witnessed 
 these terrible scenes assures us could be heard for three leagues. 
 
CORTEZ IN MEXICO. /5 
 
 The most bloody engagement was fought upon an eminence, 
 from which the Mexicans overwhelmed all that approached them 
 with showers of arrows. The party charged with dislodging 
 them, was three times repulsed. Cortez was irritated by their 
 resistance, and though seriously wounded, resolved to take the 
 attack upon himself. Scarce had he got possession of this impor 
 tant post, when two young Mexicans threw down theii arms, and 
 came over to him as deserters. Placing one knee on the ground 
 in a suppliant posture, they sprang upon him with extreme quick 
 ness, and seized him, with a design of dashing him in pieces, by 
 hurling him down the precipice. Cortez, by his strength and 
 dexterity, disengaged himself; and the two Mexicans died the 
 victims of their daring but fruitless enterprise. 
 
 This and many other exploits, which showed equal courage, 
 made the Spaniards desirous of coming to terms of accommoda 
 tion. At length Montezuma, still a prisoner, consented to become 
 the agent in reducing his people to slavery. In all the pomp of 
 the throne, he made his appearance upon the wall, to persuade 
 his subjects to discontinue hostilities. Their resentment convinced 
 him that his reign was at an end, and he was mortally wounded 
 by the shower of arrows the Mexicans discharged at him. 
 
 Montezuma. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Effects of the death of Montezuma on the Mexicans. They attempt to reduce the 
 Spaniards by famine. The Spaniards retreat from the city. Errors committed 
 by the Mexicans. Battle of Otumba. Heroism of Cortez. He advances again 
 upon Mexico. Obstacles in his way. He builds ships on the lake. The emperor 
 Guatimozin makes a brave defence. Attack on Mexico. Capture of Guatimozin. 
 He is put to the torture. His fortitude, and calamitous end. Conquest of 
 Mexico. Description of the city. Fate of the Mexicans. Disappointment of the 
 schemes of Cortez. He returns to Spain. His death. Destruction of the Mex 
 ican cities. Their ancient ' splendor \ Bigoted vandalism of the Spaniards.' 
 Conquest of Guatimala by Alvarado. Foundation of the city of Guatimala 
 
 Cortez building ships in the lake. 
 
 THE death of Montezuma struck the Mexicans with a momentary 
 surprise and terror, but caused no permanent intimidation or 
 discouragement. They saw that their plans of attack and defence 
 were equally defective. Unable to cope with their enemies, man 
 to man, they changed their mode of warfare, and resolved to do 
 nothing more than inteteept the provisions, and reduce by* famine 
 an enemy whom superiority of discipline and arms rendered other 
 wise invincible. The Spaniards soon had intimation of this design. 
 Troops of Mexicans collected round the palace at a safe distance, 
 so as to keep it in a state of blockade. Fortifications were erected 
 on the canal, and a body of men were despatched to the lake to 
 
CORTEZ IN MEXICO. 77 
 
 oreak down the bridges of the causeway and cut off the retreat 
 of the Spaniards in that quarter. 
 
 Cortez now perceived that nothing could save his army but an 
 instant retreat from the city. A council of war was held, and it 
 was resolved to march out of Mexico that very night, before the 
 works of the enemy could be completed, and render their retreat 
 impracticable. This measure required incredible despatch and 
 activity in the preparation. The bridge on the causeway was 
 already broken down. Cortez ordered a portable bridge of planks 
 to be made, which might be borne on the shoulders of forty men, 
 and of a strength sufficient to sustain the artillery and horses. He 
 endeavored to conceal his design, by making new overtures for a 
 negotiation ; and in the meantime improved every moment of the 
 day in arranging the march of his troops. The men loaded them 
 selves with as much gold as they could carry, but were obliged to 
 leave behind them the value of seven hundred thousand dollars, 
 for want of the means of transportation. Cortez endeavored to 
 strengthen the resolution of his troops by addressing them in an 
 energetic speech; and at midnight the whole army abandoned 
 their quarters and marched in perfect order and profound silence 
 along the causeway that led to Tacuba. 
 
 But the Mexicans had not been ignorant of this proceeding. 
 The design of Cortez had been suspected from the first, and the 
 movements of the Spaniards were ciosely watched. Favored by 
 the darkness of the night, they collected an immense fleet of canoes 
 on both sides of the causeway, completely covering that quarter 
 of the lake, and lay silently in wait for the retreating army. The 
 Spaniards reached the first breach in the causeway without any 
 suspicion of their danger ; but in the moment when the cavalry 
 and artillery entered upon the bridge they had laid over it, they 
 were astounded with the tremendous roar of martial instruments, 
 and the shouts of innumerable multitudes of enemies. Clouds of 
 arrows rained upon them in an instant, and the Mexicans rushed 
 to the onset with the most fearless impetuosity, as if that moment 
 were to offer them a rich revenge for all their wrongs. The Span 
 iards, however, undismayed by this sudden and terrific assault, 
 passed the bridge, but on attempting to remove it, they'found it so 
 firmly wedged among the stones and mud, by the weight of the 
 horses and cannon, that it was impossible again to raise it. Struck 
 into a panic at this disaster, they rushed with precipitation toward 
 the second breach, where they would have been cut off to a man, 
 had the Mexicans continued the attack with the same regularity 
 as at first. The Spaniards were obliged to wade through the mud 
 and water, laden with baggage and encumbered with their arms, 
 
78 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 in darkness, confusion and terror. But the Mexicans, yielding to 
 their natural impetuosity and fury, pressed to the attack in tumult 
 and disorder; the canoes crowded upon each other, and were 
 dashed in pieces against the causeway. Numbers of them, whose 
 canoes could not get forward to engage, impatient of the delay, 
 had thrown themselves into the water, and scrambling up the 
 causeway where the Spaniards were to pass, formed in a body 
 and obliged Cortez to present a double front and renew the engage 
 ment. Actuated by despair, or animated by the example of their 
 general, the Spaniards now fought with such fearless impetuosity 
 that the Mexicans in front, unable to sustain the shock, instantly 
 gave way, and were pursued with dreadful slaughter to the breach, 
 where thousands threw themselves into the water or were tram 
 pled to death by the cavalry. The carnage was so great that the 
 chasm in the causeway was completely filled up with the dead 
 bodies, over which, by the assistance of a beam left by the Mex 
 icans, Cortez and a part of his army passed and continued their 
 march to the third breach. This, fortunately for the Spaniards, 
 their enemies had neglecjed to occupy, so that the retreating troops, 
 aided by the shallowness of the water, reached the main land. 
 
 But this which had escaped was only a small portion of the 
 army. Cortez, having saved his advanced guard, returned with 
 several of his officers to the relief of the main body. He found 
 them overwhelmed by enormous multitudes, who pressed on them 
 with irresistible violence. All Mexico was now in arms ; and as 
 fresh warriors every moment supplied the place of those who fell, 
 the Spaniards began to sink under the weight of the torrent that 
 poured in upon them from every side. Nothing but confusion and 
 terror prevailed. Horse and foot, officers and soldiers, enemies 
 and friends were mingled together, and many fell without knowing 
 from what hand the blow came. The Spaniards, laden with gold 
 and treasure, sunk in the waters under the weight of burthens 
 which avarice could not induce them to cast away. Alvarado, 
 (he commander of this division, signalized himself by the most 
 daring and intrepid actions, and exhorted his men to a heroic 
 defence ; but his exertions were of no avail. The number of the 
 Mexicans increased, as did their fury, shouts and rage. Torrents 
 of rain fell, and the darkness of the night was rendered more 
 appalling by the cries f(5r help and exclamations of despair u ttered 
 by the Spaniards, and the words " kill ! kill ! " fiercely shouted 
 by the Mexicans. In this desperate extremity, Cortez made a 
 charge upon the enemy with five horse, and made a path for his 
 troops, while Alvarado, who was at the opposite side of the breach 
 and in the most imminent danger, saved his life by an astonishing 
 
THE NIGHT OF BLOOD. 79 
 
 feat of agility. Poising himself on the shaft of his spear, he vaulted 
 over and entirely cleared the pass, which to this day is distin 
 guished by the name of Alvaradtfs Leap. Many endeavored to 
 follow him, but not one reached the other side. The greater part 
 of the rearguard were killed, drowned, or taken prisoners. 
 
 Such is the event known in Mexican history as the Noche trhte, 
 or "doleful night." Between five and six hundred Spaniards 
 were killed, with two thousand Tlascalans. Most of the artillery, 
 ammunition, baggage, and most of the treasure were lost. The 
 survivors, reduced to less than half their number, were covered 
 with wounds, dispirited and overwhelmed with fatigue. Their 
 leader, as he reviewed the shattered remains of his army, was 
 observed to shed tears for the loss of so many brave companions. 
 The Mexicans, fighting in defence of their homes, had shown 
 equal bravery, and lay dead by thousands but who had any tears 
 for them ? The Spaniards were now completely in their power, 
 and a single decisive blow would have utterly crushed the invaders; 
 but the fatality which hung over this unhappy race, withheld 
 their arms from striking at the decisive moment. 
 
 No sooner had the morning dawned and exposed to the view 
 of the Mexicans the field of battle, of which they were masters, 
 than they perceived, among the slain, a son and two daughters of 
 Montezuma, whom the Spaniards had attempted to carry off among 
 their prisoners. This sight chilled them with horror. The 
 thought of having murdered the children of their sovereign, after 
 sacrificing the father, was too shocking for men whose minds 
 were fettered and enervated by superstition and habits of blind 
 obedience. They were afraid of adding impiety to regicide ; and 
 employed in idle funeral rites, the time they owed to the preserva 
 tion of their country. During this interval, the defeated Spaniards, 
 who had scarce a soldier remaining that had not been wounded, 
 had time to take breath, recover order and pursue their march. 
 The Mexicans soon followed, harassed, and at length surrounded 
 them in the valley of Otumba. The cannonade and musketry, 
 the pikes and swords, did not prevent the Indians, all naked as 
 they were, from advancing and charging their enemies with great 
 fury. Courage was just upon the point of yielding to numbers, 
 when Cortez himself decided the fortune of the day. He had 
 been informed, that with these natives of the New World the fate of 
 the battle depended upon the royal standard. Their colors, the 
 form of whiqh was remarkable, and which were never brought 
 into the field but on the most important occasions, were at no great 
 distance from him. He immediately rushed forward with the 
 bravest of his companions. One of them seized the standards and 
 
80 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 carried them into the Spanish ranks. The Mexicans immediately 
 lost all courage ; and throwing down their arms, betook them 
 selves to flight. The Spaniards pursued their march, and arrived 
 in the country of Tlascala, without farther opposition. 
 
 Cortez did not relinquish either the design or the hopes of sub 
 duing the empire of Mexico; but he adopted a new plan, and 
 proposed to make one part of the inhabitants assist him in the 
 reduction of the other. The form of the Mexican government, 
 the disposition of the people, and the situation of the city, favored 
 his project. 
 
 Among the great numbers of vassals in Mexico, Cortez con 
 cluded there might be some who would be ready to shake off the 
 yoke and join the Spaniards. He had remarked that the Mexi 
 cans were held in great detestation by the petty states that were 
 tributary to the empire, and that the emperors exercised their 
 authority with extreme severity. He had likewise observed that 
 the provinces in general disliked the religion of the metropolis, and 
 that even in Mexico, the nobility and persons of fortune, whose 
 intercourse with society had abated the force of their prejudices 
 and softened their manners, nad lost their attachment to this mode 
 of religion ; and that many of the nobility were disgusted at the 
 services exacted from them by their masters. 
 
 After Cortez had been silently deliberating upon his projects, 
 and bringing them to maturity, during six months, he marched 
 out of his retreat, attended by five hundred and ninety Spaniards, 
 ten thousand Tlascalans, and some other Indians, with forty 
 cavalry, and eight or nine field-pieces. His march towards the 
 centre of the Mexican dominions was easy and rapid. The petty 
 nations which might have retarded or embarrassed it, were all 
 easily subdued, or voluntarily submitted to the invaders. Cortes 
 hastened to the, attack of Mexico, the grand object of his ambition, 
 and the ultimate end of the hopes of the army. The project was 
 attended with great difficulty. 
 
 Mountains, which for the most part were a thousand feet high, 
 surrounded a plain of about forty leagues. The greater part of 
 this immense space was occupied by lakes which communicated 
 with each other. At the northern extremity of the greatest of 
 these, in the midst of a few small islands, had been built the largest 
 city in the New World. '. Three causeways of different lengths, but 
 all of them broad and constructed with solidity, led up" to it 
 The inhabitants of the shores, too distant from these great roads, 
 were accustomed to resort to the city in their canoes. 
 
 Cortez made himself master of the lake, by means of some 
 small vessels, the materials of which had been prepared at Tlas- 
 
GUATIMOZIN. 81 
 
 cala ; and he ordered the dykes to he attacked hy Sandoval, "by 
 Alvarado, and by Olid, to each of whom he distributed an eqcial 
 number of guns, of Spanish troops, and of Indian auxiliaries. 
 
 Everything had been disposed for a long time, on the part of the 
 Mexicans, for an ohstinate resistance. The means of defence 
 had been prepared hy Quetlavaca, who had succeeded his brother 
 Montezuma; but who had perished hy the small-pox, a disease 
 first brought into these regions by a slave belonging to Narvaez. 
 The empire was now governed hy Guatimozin. 
 
 The actions of this young prince were heroic and prudent. 
 The fire of his look, the loftiness of his language, and his brilliant 
 courage, produced every impression he wished upon his people. 
 He disputed the ground with the invaders foot by foot, and never 
 abandoned a single spot till it was strewed with the carcasses of 
 his soldiers, and stained with the blood of his enemies. Fifty thou 
 sand men, who had hastened from all parts of the empire to defend 
 their master and their gods, had perished by the sword or by fire. 
 Famine daily occasioned the most frightful ravages. To these 
 numerous calamities, contagious diseases had been added, and yet 
 all these circumstances had not been capable of shaking the firmness 
 of his soul, even for an instant. The besiegers, after a number of 
 destructive battles, at length reached the centre of the city, which, 
 however, Guatimozin did not yet think of giving up. He was at 
 last prevailed upon to quit these ruins, which could no longer be 
 defended, and repair to the provinces, and carry on the war there. 
 In the view of facilitating this retreat, some overtures of peace 
 were made to Cortez; but this artifice had not the desired suc 
 cess ; and the canoe, in which this gallant and unfortunate mon 
 arch had embarked, was captured on the lake. 
 
 An officer of the Spanish revenue ordered Guatimozin to be 
 stretched upon red-hot coals, to extort a confession of the spot 
 where he had thrown his treasures into the lake. The favorite 
 of the emperor, who underwent the same torture, complaining to 
 him of his sufferings, the emperor replied, " Am / upon a bed of 
 roses?" an expression equal to any of those famous sayings 
 which history has recorded as worthy the admiration of mankind ! 
 an expression which Mexicans would repeat to their children as 
 household words, if ever the period should arrive when they resume 
 the dominion of the country. These people have, perhaps, pre 
 served the actions of their martyrs and the history of their perse 
 cutions. In these it must be recorded, that Guatimozin was drag 
 ged half dead from the flames ; and that three years after, he was 
 publicly hanged, under pretence of having conspired against his 
 tyrants and executioners ! 
 
82 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 The Spaniards, in their attacks on the city, were aided by up 
 wards of two hundred thousand Indian allies, without whose 
 assistance the empire would never have been subdued. Thus did 
 the unfortunate Mexicans aid in shedding the blood of their country 
 men and riveting the chains of slavery upon themselves and their 
 posterity. Cortez continued to advance day by day, destroying the 
 city as he proceeded, till, on the 13th day of August, 1521, Mexico 
 surrendered. The siege, like that of Jerusalem, lasted seventy 
 days, and cost the lives of two hundred thousand men. 
 
 Mexico suffered a worse fate from Cortez, than Moscow from 
 Napoleon. The whole place was a heap of ruins. Before the 
 arrival of the Spaniards, it was a most noble and opulent city. 
 The magnificent descriptions of the Spanish writers are fully 
 confirmed by the ruins of inferior cities, which remain to the 
 present day at Palenque, Uxmal, and other places. Mexico con 
 tained thirty thousand houses, an immense number of inhabitants, 
 and superb edifices within its walls. The emperor's palace, built 
 of marble and jasper, was of prodigious extent. It was orna 
 mented with baths, statues, and fountains ; and was full of pic 
 tures, which, though made only of feathers, were finely colored, 
 brilliant and natural. 
 
 Most of the nobles, as well as the emperor, had menageries filled 
 with the various animals of the new continent. Their gardens 
 were spread with plants of every species. Every production of 
 the soil and climate that was scarce and brilliant, was an object 
 of luxury to an opulent nation, where nature was beautiful and 
 the arts imperfect. The temples were numerous, and in general 
 magnificent ; but they were stained with blood, and adorned with 
 the heads of the unhappy victims that had been sacrificed in them. 
 
 One of the greatest beauties of this superb city, was a square, 
 which was usually filled with a hundred thousand persons, over 
 spread with tents and shops, where the merchants displayed all 
 the ricHes of the country, and all the works of industry wrought 
 by the Mexicans. Birds of all colors, brilliant shells, a profusion 
 of flowers, and various pieces of workmanship in gold, and ena 
 mel, gave these markets a more beautiful and splendid appearance 
 to the eye, than it is possible to meet with in the richest fairs of 
 Europe. One hundred thousand canoes were constantly passing 
 and repassing between the city and the borders of tjie lakes; 
 which were ornamented with fifty cities, and with a multitude of 
 towns and villages. 
 
 The rest of the empire, as far as the respective situations would 
 allow, offered the same spectacle ; but with the difference that is 
 always observable between the capital and the provinces. This 
 
DISAPPOINTMENT AND DEATH OF CORTEZ. 83 
 
 nation, the antiquity of which was not very remote ; which had 
 no communication with enlightened people; which knew not the 
 use of iron, and possessed only an imperfect species of writing, 
 and which was situated in a climate where the faculties of man, 
 are not called forth by want and rigorous necessity, this nation, 
 we are told, had risen to this degree of eminence by the genius of 
 the people alone. 
 
 As soon as the Castilians had conquered Mexico, they divided 
 the best lands among themselves ; they reduced to slavery the 
 people who had cleared them, and condemned them to labors in 
 compatible with their constitutions and repugnant to their habits. 
 This system of oppression excited general insurrections. These 
 arose without a concurrence of measures, without a chief to direct 
 them, and without a plan ; they were the effect of despair alone ; 
 and ended to the disadvantage of the unfortunate Mexicans. An 
 irritated conqueror, with fire and sword in hand, passed with ex 
 treme rapidity from one extremity of the empire to the other, and 
 left in all parts memorable traces of vengeance, the details of 
 which would make the firmest heart shudder. There was a bar 
 barous emulation between the officer and the soldier, which should 
 sacrifice most victims ; and even the great leader himself, perhaps, 
 surpassed his troops and lieutenants in ferocity. 
 
 Cortez, however, did not reap the advantages he expected from 
 so many acts of inhumanity. It became a maxim of policy in the 
 court of Madrid, not to leave such of their subjects as had effected 
 important discoveries, time enough to settle themselves in their 
 authority. They were in perpetual fear that the conquerors might 
 think of rendering themselves independent of the crown. If the 
 conqueror of Mexico did not give an excuse for adopting such a 
 system, he was at least, one of the first victims of it. The unlim 
 ited powers he had at first enjoyed, were daily curtailed; and in 
 process of time they were so exceedingly restrained, that he pre 
 ferred a private situation to the vain appearance of an authority 
 accompanied with the greatest mortification. He was even on 
 the point of being seized and sent to Spain in irons, precisely as 
 Columbus had been served ; but the sudden death of Ponce de 
 Leon, the officer ordered upon this service, saved the conqueror 
 of Mexico from the indignity which had been cast on the discov 
 erer of the New World. Disgusted and indignant at this pre 
 meditated insult, he returned to Spain, where he was received 
 with outward respect and honors, but not allowed to resume his 
 authority in America. He closed his life in chagrin and disap 
 pointment, December 2, 1547. The events described in this his 
 tory, speak his character. Intrepid, enterprising, and prompt at 
 
S4 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 expedients, he was nevertheless, sanguinary and remorseless. He 
 is said to have shown symptoms of compunction for the murder 
 of Guatimozin, but it does not appear that the slaughter of half a 
 million of men, sacrificed to his insatiate ambition, ever gave him 
 an uneasy thought. 
 
 The city of Mexico was rebuilt by the Spaniards, but hardly a 
 relic of the ancient city is to be seen at the present day. The 
 destruction which fell upon the capital, was also shared by the 
 inferior cities of the empire. The blind and fanatic zeal of the 
 conquerors was directed with especial fury against the monuments 
 of Mexican history and religion. The ravages of war levelled 
 the cities to the ground, and monkish bigotry continued the devas 
 tation by overthrowing the temples, statues and monuments, whieh 
 abounded throughout the country. The researches of modern 
 travellers have discovered tracts of territory strewed with the 
 remains of noble palaces and enormous structures of various 
 descriptions. These gigantic relics, covered with sculpture, paint 
 ings and hieroglyphics, attest the ancient magnificence of the 
 Mexican cities, and exhibit the most interesting testimonials of the 
 progress of the arts among this singular people. They appear 
 not to have known the use of iron, yet their statues and other 
 monuments of sculptured stone, exhibit a surprising degree of 
 delicacy and finish. Destitute of the mechanical helps which give 
 such enormous power to modern machinery, they were able, nev 
 ertheless, to rear colossal structures, the remains of which, at the 
 present day, strike us with wonder. The Mexicans, also, were 
 familiar with astronomical science ; and their hieroglyphical writ 
 ing, so far as we can judge from the imperfect relics within our 
 reach, appears to have made an approach, like that of the Egyp 
 tians, to a phonetic character, and to have become an incipient 
 alphabet. The Spaniards destroyed, with indiscriminate fury, 
 everything that could remind the conquered people of their ancient 
 national existence, or their ancient religion. The hieroglyphical 
 writings, which contained the history and mythology of this peo 
 ple, were committed to the flames, and thus immense piles of 
 manuscripts were irretrievably lost, which were of inestimable 
 value as aifording the means of elucidating the origin; antiquities, 
 institutions and manners, of the most powerful and civilized people 
 of the Western World. 
 
 GUATEMALA appears never to have formed a part of the empire 
 of Mexico. At the arrival of the Spaniards it contained many 
 distinct kingdoms or principalities. The subjugation of Mexico 
 by Cortez, struck a terror into the people of Guatemala, and some 
 of the chiefs sent embassies to the conqueror, offering to submit to 
 
CONQUEST OF GUATEMALA. 
 
 85 
 
 him, and acknowledge themselves vassals of the king of Spain. 
 Cortez sent Pedio de Alvarado, one of his officers, who had been 
 most active in the conquest of Mexico, to take possession of the 
 country. Alvarado marched from Mexico in November, 1523, 
 with three hundred Spaniards and a large auxiliary force of Mexi 
 cans. He met, however, with much opposition in his pi ogress. 
 The Indians were defeated in Teguantepec, Soconusco and To- 
 nala, and the Spaniards remained masters of those firovinces. 
 They next entered the kingdom of Quiche, where they met with 
 a more serious resistance. The invaders, however, on the 14th 
 of May, 1524, gained the victory in a great battle. Alvarado 
 continued his march to the capital of the king of Kachiquel, who 
 had sent his submission to Cortez. This prince received the 
 Spaniards cordially, and on the 29th of July, 1524, the conquer 
 ors laid the foundation of the ancient city of Guatemala. The 
 conquest of the remaining provinces followed shortly after, al 
 though many wild districts have remained to the present day, very 
 little explored or known by the conquerors. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Search of Columbus for the South Sea. Expedition of Ojeda and Nicuessa. 
 Nunez de Balboa penetrates into the country of Darien. Discovers the Pacific 
 Ocean. Expedition of Pedrarias. Foundation of Panama. The invasion of 
 Peru projected by Pizarro and Almagro. Arrival of the Spaniards at Tumbez. 
 State of the empire of Peru on the arrival of the invaders. Interview of the 
 Inca Atahualpa with the Spaniards. Massacre of the Peruvians. Enormous 
 ransom paid by the Inca. Amount of spoil shared by the soldiers. Atahualpa 
 put to death. Capture of Cuzco. Conquest and devastation of the whole empire 
 of Peru. 
 
 Balboa discovering the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 , COLUMBUS rightly conjectured that, beyond the continent he had 
 discovered, was another ocean, which terminated at the East Indies, 
 and that these two seas might have a communication with each 
 other. In order to discover this, he sailed, in 1502, as close along 
 the coast of America as possible. He touched at all places that 
 were accessible, and, contrary to the custom of other navigators, 
 who behaved, in the countries they visited, as if they were never 
 to return to them, he. treated the inhabitants with a degree of 
 kindness that gained their good will. The Gulf of Darien partic 
 ularly engaged his attention. He thought that the rivers which 
 ran into it might afford the communication he had sought through 
 so many dangers and fatigues. Disappointed in these expectations, 
 he wished to leave a small colony upon the river Belem, in the 
 
EVENTS LEADING TO THE CONQUEST OF PERU. 87 
 
 country of Veragua. The avidity, the pride, and the barbarism 
 of his countrymen prevented him from having the satisfaction of 
 forming the first European establishment upon the continent of 
 the new hemisphere. Some years elapsed after this, and still the 
 Spaniards had not fixed themselves upon the spot. 
 
 As the Spanish adventurers only received from government the 
 permission of making discoveries, it seldom entered their minds 
 to employ themselves in agriculture or commerce. The prospect 
 of distant fortunes, that might have been made by these prudent 
 means, was far beyond the prejudices of these barbarous times. 
 Nothing but the allurement of immediate gain could stimulate 
 men to enterprises so bold as those for which this century was 
 distinguished. Gold, alone, attracted them to the continent of 
 America, and made them brave dangers, diseases and death. By 
 a terrible vengeance, the cruelty of the Europeans, instigated by 
 their lust of mineral treasures, exhausted at once the two hemi 
 spheres of their inhabitants, and destruction fell equally upon the 
 plunderers and the plundered. 
 
 It was not till the year 1509, that Ojeda and Nicuessa formed, 
 though separately, the design of making solid and lasting conquests. 
 To encourage them in their resolution, Ferdinand gave to the 
 first the government of the countries that begin at Cape de la Yela 
 and terminate at the Gulf of Darien ; and to the second, that of 
 all- the space extending from this gulf to Cape Gracias a Dios. 
 Both these adventurers were instructed to announce to the natives 
 at their landing, the tenets of the Christian religion, and to inform 
 them of the gift which the Roman pontiff had made of their 
 country to the king of Spain. If the savages were unwilling to 
 submit quietly to a double yoke, the Spaniards were authorized to 
 pursue them with fire and sword, and to reduce the nations to 
 bondage. 
 
 But it was more easy to grant by commission these absurd and 
 atrocious privileges, than to put the barbarous and superstitious 
 adventurers who solicited such rights in actual possession of them. 
 The Indians rejected every kind of intercourse with a set of rapa 
 cious intruders, who threatened equally their life and liberty. 
 Arms were not more favorable to the Spaniards than their perfid 
 ious caresses. The people of the continent, accustomed to carry 
 on war with each other, received them with a boldness unexperi 
 enced in the islands that had been so easily subdued. Poisoned 
 arrows were showered upon them from all quarters, and not one 
 of those who were wounded escaped death. To the arrows of the 
 enemy, other causes of destruction were soon joined ; shipwrecks, 
 unavoidable in these unknown latitudes; an almost continual 
 
88 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 want of subsistence, in countries wholly uncultivated, and diseases 
 peculiar to the climate, which in many parts was found to be 
 peculiarly unwholesome. The few Spaniards who had escaped 
 so many calamities, and who could not return to San Domingo, 
 collected themselves at St. Mary's, in the province of Darien. 
 
 Here they lived in a state of anarchy, when Vasco Nunez cle 
 Balboa appeared among them. This man, who was honored by 
 the companions of his crimes with the surname of Hercules, had 
 a robust constitution, intrepid courage and popular eloquence. 
 These qualities induced the soldiers to choose him for their chief, 
 and all his actions proved that he was worthy to command the 
 remorseless crew whose suffrages he had obtained. Judging that 
 more gold would be found in the inland parts than upon the coast, 
 he marched with his band into the mountainous country of the 
 isthmus. He found at first, it is said, a race- of Albinoes, which 
 are described as being covered with a down of glistening white ; 
 having no hair, and with red eyes. They could see well only 
 in the night. They were feeble in body, and their faculties 
 appeared to be more circumscribed than those of other natives. 
 These savages, if it be true they existed, were few in number ; 
 but others were presently found, of a different race, brave and 
 hardy enough to defend their rights. These were distinguished 
 by a very extraordinary custom, which was, that the husbands 
 on the death of their wives, and the wives on the death of their 
 husbands, cut off the end of a finger ; so that merely by looking 
 at their hands, one might see whether they were widowers or 
 widows, and how often they had been so. 
 
 Notwithstanding the ferocity of these people, Balboa, supported 
 by the obstinacy of his disposition, and spurred on by the insatia 
 ble cupidity of his soldiers ; assisted too by packs of those blood 
 hounds, which had been of such service to the Spaniards in all 
 their conquests ; at length succeeded in destroying most of the 
 inhabitants of Darien, and in dispersing or subduing the remainder. 
 
 One day, as the conquerors were disputing together about gold, 
 with a degree of warmth that seemed to threaten some act of 
 violence, a young cacique overturned the scales in which they 
 were weighing it. " Why," said he to them, with an air of disdain, 
 K why do you quarrel for such a trifle? If it be for this useless 
 metal that you quit yooir country, and massacre so many* people, 
 I will conduct you into a region where it is so common that it is 
 employed for the meanest purposes." Being urged to explain 
 himself more clearly, he assured them, that at a little distance 
 from the ocean which washed the country of Darien, there was 
 another ocean which led to this rich country. The Spaniards 
 
BALBOA'S DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 89 
 
 immediately conjectured that this was the sea which Columbus 
 had so earnestly sought after. An expedition thither was imme 
 diately planned, and on the first of September, 1513, one hundred 
 and ninety Spaniards, attended by a thousand Indians, who were 
 to serve them as guides, and to carry their provisions and baggage, 
 set out with Balboa at their head. 
 
 From the place whence this troop began their march, to the point 
 they aimed at, the distance was only sixty miles; but it was 
 necessary to climb steep mountains, to pass wide rivers, to trav 
 erse deep morasses, to penetrate thick forests, and to disperse, 
 persuade or destroy so many tribes of fierce natives, that it was 
 not till after a march of twenty-five days, that this band, accus 
 tomed to dangers, fatigues and privations, arrived in sight of the 
 South Sea, which now for the first time lay disclosed to the view 
 of the Europeans. Without a moment's delay, Balboa, armed at 
 all points, in the manner of the ancient chivalry, rushed into the 
 ocean. "Spectators of both hemispheres" exclaimed this haughty 
 leader, u I call you to witness that I take possession of this part of 
 the universe for the crown of Castile. My sword shall defend 
 what my arm hath given to it." The cross was planted upon the 
 shore of the continent, and the name of Ferdinand was inscribed 
 on the bark of some of the trees. 
 
 Ceremonies like these were understood by the Europeans in those 
 days to confer a lawful claim of dominion ; and accordingly the 
 Spaniards believed they had a right to exact from the neighboring 
 people a tribute in pearls, metals and provisions. Every testi 
 mony united in confirming what had been at first said of the 
 riches of the empire thus discovered, which was called Peru ; and 
 the adventurers who now meditated the conquest of it, returned 
 to Darien, where they were to collect the forces necessary for so 
 difficult an enterprise. 
 
 Balboa expected that he should be employed to conduct this 
 great design. His companions had placed their confidence in him, 
 and he had thrown into the public treasury more wealth than 
 any other of these adventurers. In the opinion of the Spaniards 
 the discovery he had just made had put him on a level with Colum 
 bus. But, by an instance of that injustice and ingratitude so 
 common in courts, where merit cannot prevail against favor; 
 where a great commander is superseded in the midst of his tri 
 umphs by some upstart or pretender; Balboa was overlooked, 
 and Pedrarias was chosen in his stead. The new commander, 
 as jealous as he was cruel, imprisoned his predecessor, brought 
 him to trial, and caused him to be beheaded. His subalterns, by 
 his orders, or with his consent, pillaged, burnt and massacred on 
 8* L 
 
90 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 all sides, without any distinction between allies or enemies ; and 
 it was not till after they had destroyed to the extent of three 
 hundred leagues of the country, that, in 1518, he transferred the 
 colony of St. Mary, on the borders of the Pacific Ocean, to a 
 place that received the name of Panama. Some years passed 
 away, and this establishment had not been able to fulfil the im 
 portant purposes for which it was designed. At length, three 
 men, of obscure birth, undertook at their own expense to subvert 
 the empire of Peru, an empire that had subsisted, with bai barian 
 splendor, for ages. 
 
 Francisco Pizarro, who is the most celebrated of this triumvirate, 
 was the natural son of a gentleman of Estramadura. His educa 
 tion had been so neglected that he could not read. The tending 
 of flocks, which was his first employment, not being suitable to 
 his character, he embarked for the New World. His avarice and 
 ambition inspired him with inconceivable activity. He joined in 
 every expedition, and signalized himself in most of them. Thus 
 he acquired, in the several situations in which he was employed, 
 that knowledge of men and business which was then necessary 
 to advancement, especially to"* those who, by their obscure birth, 
 had great difficulties to contend with. The use he had hitherto 
 made of his natural and acquired abilities, persuaded him that 
 nothing was above his talents; and he therefore formed the 
 gigantic plan of invading Peru. He took for an associate, Diego 
 de Almagro, whose birth was equivocal, but whose courage was 
 notorious. He had ever been found temperate, patient and inde 
 fatigable in those wars and expeditions in which he had grown 
 old. In this school he had acquired a frankness, which is more 
 frequently learnt amid scenes of danger and daring, than in other 
 situations ; as well as that obduracy and cruelty which were but 
 too common in those days. 
 
 . The fortune of the two soldiers, though considerable, being found 
 insufficient for the conquest they meditated, they admitted into 
 their partnership Fernando de Luques, a mercenary priest, who 
 had amassed prodigious wealth. As the basis of their association, 
 the confederates agreed that each should engage the whole of his 
 property in this enterprise; that the wealth accruing from it 
 should be equally shared, and that they should reciprocally ob 
 serve an inviolable fidelity. The parts that each of tliem were 
 to take in this great enterprise, were distributed as they 'deemed 
 the good of the common cause to require. Pizarro was to com 
 mand the troops, Almagro to conduct the supplies of provisions 
 and stores, and Luques provided the funds. This plan of ambi 
 tion, avarice and ferocity, was coupled with fanaticism. Luques 
 
PIZARRO'S FIRST EXPEDITION TO PERU. 91 
 
 publicly consecrated a host, part of which he ate, and divided the 
 rest between his two associates ; all three swearing by the blood 
 of God, that, to enrich themselves, they would not spare the blood 
 of man. 
 
 Pizarro tracing the route to Peru. 
 
 The expedition, commenced under these horrible auspices, set 
 forward in November, 1524. It consisted of one vessel containing 
 one hundred and twelve men and four horses. They sailed from 
 Panama and steered southerly along the coast, but it was seldom 
 that they were able to land ; and in the few places where it was 
 possible for the Spaniards to get on shore, they met with nothing 
 but plains deluged with water, impenetrable forests, with occa 
 sional bands of savages little disposed to treat with them. Al- 
 magro, who followed and brought a reinforcement of seventy 
 men, did not meet with more encouraging adventures ; and, in a 
 very sharp engagement with the Indians, had even the misfortune 
 to lose one of his eyes. More than one half of these intrepid 
 Spaniards had perished by hunger, by the sword, or by the climate; 
 when Los Rios, who had succeeded to Pedrarias, sent orders to 
 those who had escaped so many calamities, to return to the colony 
 without delay. They all obeyed except thirteen, who, faithful to 
 their chief, Pizarro, resolved to follow his fortunes to the end. 
 
 They found it still more unpromising as they proceeded, and 
 were finally obliged to pass six months on the island of Gorgona, 
 one of the most unwholesome and barren spots on the face of the 
 globe. But at length their fortunes changed. With a small vessel, 
 which had been sent them merely from motives of compassion, to 
 remove them from this place of desolation, they continued their 
 
92 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 voyage, and landed at Tumbez, no inconsiderable village of the 
 empire which they proposed one day to invade. From this place, 
 where everything bore the marks of civilization, Pizarro returned 
 to Panama, where he arrived at the latter end of the year 1527, 
 with some gold dust, several vases of that precious metal, some 
 vicunas, and three Peruvians destined to serve as interpreters. 
 
 Far from being discouraged by the misfortunes that had been 
 experienced, the three associates were inflamed with a more ardent 
 passion for treasures which were now better known to them. But 
 they were in want of soldiers and provisions, and the colony 
 refused them both these succors. In this emergency, Pizarro made 
 a voyage to Spain, to solicit assistance from the court. They lent 
 a favorable ear to his project, and authorized, without reserve, the 
 levying of troops, and the purchase of provisions ; and added to 
 this indefinite liberty every favor which drew nothing from the 
 treasury. 
 
 Nevertheless, the associates, by combining all their means, 
 could not equip more than three small vessels, nor collect more 
 than one hundred and forty-four infantry, with thirty-six horse. 
 This was a feeble equipment for the great views that were to be 
 fulfilled ; but in the New World the Spaniards expected every 
 thing from their arms and their courage; and Pizarro did not 
 hesitate to embark again from Panama, in February, 1531. The 
 knowledge he had acquired of these seas, enabled him to escape 
 the calamities that had thwarted his first expedition; and he met 
 with no other rnisfortune than that of being obliged, by contrary 
 winds, to land about a hundred leagues from the harbor of Tum 
 bez, where he had intended to disembark. The Spaniards were 
 in consequence forced to march by land. They followed the coast 
 with great difficulty, compelling the inhabitants on their march 
 to furnish them with provisions, plundering them of the gold they 
 possessed, and giving themselves up to that spirit of rapine and 
 cruelty which distinguished the manners of those barbarous times. 
 The island of Puna, in the bay of Guayaquil, was taken by storm, 
 and the troops entered victorious into Tumbez, where a variety 
 of evils combined to detain them for three whole months. The 
 arrival of two reinforcements, that came from Nicaragua, afforded 
 them some consolation for the anxiety they felt on account of this 
 delay. These reinforcements, indeed, consisted only pf thirty 
 men each ; but they were commanded by Sebastian Benalcazar, 
 and by Fernando de Soto, who had both of them acquired a bril 
 liant reputation. 
 
 The Spaniards met with little resistance in their first conquests. 
 It is proper to glance at the explanation of so singular a fact, 
 
RECENT HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE OF PERU. 93 
 
 which is to be found in the history of the country they had inva 
 ded. The empire of Peru, which, like most other kingdoms, was 
 in its origin of small extent, had been successively enlarged. It 
 had in particular received a considerable aggrandizement from the 
 eleventh emperor, Huyana Capac, who had possessed himself by 
 force of the vast territory of Quito, and who, to legalize as much 
 as possible his usurpation, had married the sole heiress of the 
 dethroned monarch. From this union, reprobated equally by the 
 laws and by prejudice, Atahualpa was born, who, after the death 
 of his father, claimed the inheritance of his mother. This suc 
 cession was contested by his elder brother, Huascar, upon whose 
 birth there was no stain. Two such powerful interests induced 
 the competitors to take up arms. One of them had the people in 
 his favor and the long-established custom of the empire ; but the 
 other had previously secured the best troops. Atahualpa, who 
 had the army on his side, was the conqueror, put his rival in chains, 
 and becoming more powerful even than he had expected, was 
 master of all the provinces. 
 
 These troubles, which for the first time had agitated Peru, were 
 not entirely appeased when the Spaniards appeared there. In the 
 confusion in which the whole kingdom was still involved, no one 
 thought of molesting them on their march, and they arrived with 
 out the least obstruction at Caxamalca. Atahualpa, whom par 
 ticular circumstances had conducted into the neighborhood of the 
 imperial palace, immediately sent them some fruits, corn, emeralds, 
 and several vases of gold or silver. He did not however conceal 
 from their interpreter his desire that they should quit his territories ; 
 and he declared that he would go the next morning to concert 
 with their chiefs the proper measures for this retreat. To put 
 himself in readiness for an engagement, without suffering the least 
 preparation of war to be perceived, was the only arrangement that 
 Pizarro made for the reception of the prince. He planted his 
 cavalry in the gardens of the palace, where they could not be seen ; 
 the infantry was in the court ; and his artillery was pointed towards 
 the gate where the emperor was to enter. 
 
 Atahualpa came without suspicion to the place appointed, being 
 attended by some fifteen thousand men. He was carried on a 
 throne of gold, and the same brilliant metal glistened in the arms 
 of his troops. He turned to his principal officers, and said to them : 
 " These strangers are the messengers of the gods; be careful of 
 offending them. ' ' The procession was now drawing near the palace, 
 which was occupied by Pizarro, when a Dominican friar, named 
 Vincent de Talverde, with a crucifix in one hand and his breviary 
 in the other, advanced to the emperor, stopped him in his march 
 
94 
 
 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 and made him a long speech, in which he expounded to him the 
 Christian religion, pressed him to embrace that form of worship, 
 and proposed to him to submit to the king of Spain, to whom the 
 pope had given Peru. 
 
 Valverde addressing the inca. 
 
 * 
 
 The emperor, who heard him with a great deal of patience, 
 replied, " I am very willing to be the friend of the king of Spain, 
 but not his vassal ; the pope must surely be a very extraordinary 
 man, to give so liberally what does not belong to him. I shall not 
 change my religion for another, and if the Christians adore a God 
 who died upon a cross, I worship the sun, who never dies." He 
 then asked Vincent where he had learned all that he had said of 
 God and the creation. "In this book" replied the monk, present 
 ing at the same time his breviary to the emperor. Atahualpa took 
 
 Atahualpa holding the Bible to his ear. 
 
 the book, examined it on all sides, put it to his ear, burst into a 
 
MASSACRE OF PERUVIANS. 95 
 
 laugh, and, throwing away the breviary, added, tl This book tells 
 me nothing about the matter." Valverde then turned towards the 
 Spaniards, crying out in a loud voice, " Vengeance! my friends, 
 vengeance ! Christians, do you not see how he despises the gospel ? 
 Kill these dogs who trample under foot the law of God! " 
 
 The Spaniards, who probably had with difficulty restrained 
 that fury and thirst of blood, with which the sight of the gold 
 and of the unbelieving Peruvians had inspired them, instantly 
 obeyed the sanguinary call. Let the reader judge of the impres 
 sion that must have been made on the Peruvians by the sight of 
 the horses who trampled upon them, and by the noise and effect 
 of the cannon, and musketry which beat them down. They fled 
 with such precipitation, that they fell one upon another. A dread 
 ful massacre ensued. Pizarro himself advanced towards the em 
 peror, ordered his infantry to put to the sword all that surrounded 
 his throne, took the monarch prisoner, and the rest of the day 
 pursued those who had fled. A multitude of princes of the race 
 of the incas, the ministers, the flower of the nobility, all that com 
 posed the court of Atahualpa, were massacred. Even the crowd 
 of women, old men and children, who were assembled from all 
 parts to see their emperor, were not spared. While this carnage 
 continued, Valverde ceased not to animate the murderers, who were 
 tired with slaughter, exhorting them to use not the edge but the 
 point of their swords, in order to inflict deeper wounds. When 
 the Spaniards returned from this horrible massacre, they passed 
 the night in drunkenness, dancing, and all the excesses of 
 debauchery. 
 
 The emperor, though closely guarded, soon discovered the ex 
 treme passion of his enemies for gold. This circumstance deter 
 mined him to offer them for his ransom as much of this metal as 
 his prison, which was twenty-two feet in length and sixteen in 
 breadth, could contain, heaped up to as great a height as the arm of 
 a man could reach. His proposal was accepted. But while those of 
 his ministers in whom he had most confidence, were employed in 
 collecting gold, he was informed that Huascar had promised three 
 times as much to some Spaniards, who had found an opportunity 
 of conversing with him, if they would consent to reinstate him 
 npon the throne of his ancestors. He was alarmed at this nego 
 tiation ; and his apprehensions made him resolve to put to death a 
 rival who appeared so dangerous. 
 
 In order to dissipate the suspicions which such an action must 
 necessarily excite in his keepers, Atahualpa urged with fresh zeal 
 the collecting of the metals stipulated for the recovery of his lib 
 erty. They were brought in from all sides, as fast as was possible, 
 
96 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 amid the confusion which prevailed. These heaps of gold, inces 
 santly exposed to the greedy eyes of the conquerors, so inflamed 
 their cupidity, that it was impossible to delay any longer the 
 distribution of it. The fifth part of the whole, which the govern 
 ment had reserved to itself, was delivered to the agents of the 
 treasury. A hundred thousand dollars were set apart for the body 
 of troops which Almagro had just brought into the country, and 
 which were still upon the coasts. Each of Pizarro's cavalry 
 received eight thousand dollars, and each of his infantry four thou 
 sand. The general and the officers had sums proportioned to 
 their rank in the army. 
 
 These fortunes, the most extraordinary that have ever been 
 recorded in history, did not mitigate the barbarity of the Spaniards. 
 Atahualpa had given his gold, and his name had served to keep 
 the people in subjection ; it was now time, therefore, to put an end 
 to his life. Yalverde pronounced him a hardened despot, who 
 ought to be treated like Pharaoh. The interpreter, Philippillo, who 
 had a criminal intercourse with one of his women, seconded the 
 design. Almagro was apprehensive, that, while he was suffered 
 to live, the army of his colleague "might be desirous of appropri 
 ating all the booty to itself as a part of the emperor's ransom. 
 Pizarro was instigated to the same bloody purpose by malice ; for 
 the emperor had spoken of him with some contempt for not being 
 able to read which his common soldiers were accustomed to do. 
 These circumstances, more perhaps than political reasons, occa 
 sioned, the emperor's death to be determined upon. The Span 
 iards had the effrontery to bring him to a formal trial, as an 
 usurper. He was condemned and strangled at the stake. 
 
 Having murdered the inca, the Spaniards set off to plunder his 
 capital, the noble city of Cuzco. The Indians were in great alarm 
 when they found the Spaniards were advancing upon that place ; 
 for it was an anciently received opinion among them that whoever 
 held the city of Cuzco, would become master of the whole empire. 
 They attempted to appease their deities with sacrifices ; and in 
 order to oppose the advance of the Spaniards, they took post at a 
 narrow pass in a valley approaching the city. Pizarro, learning 
 this design, ordered Almagro, with the greater part of the cavalry, 
 to hasten forward and attack the enemy, while he made disposi 
 tions to follow with the rest of the forces. Almagro advanced 
 and engaged in many skirmishes with the Indians, in which the 
 latter suffered great losses. Manco Inca Yupanguy, who had the 
 strongest claims to the crown of Peru, left Cuzco to join his army. 
 Perceiving it impossible to succeed in his design, or to hinder the 
 advance of 'the Spaniards to Cuzco, he joined Pizarro, who received 
 
ENTRANCE OF THE SPANIARDS INTO CUZCO. 
 
 97 
 
 him joyfully, and bestowed marks of great honor upon him. The 
 Indians were astounded at this intelligence, and, in their despera 
 tion, resolved to burn Cuzco and carry away the treasures of the 
 city. Pizarro, being apprized of this intention, despatched Ferdi 
 nand de Soto, and Juan Pizarro to prevent it ; but though these 
 commanders exercised the greatest diligence, they found the Indi 
 ans had plundered the temple of the Sun, which was full of riches. 
 They carried away all this enormous wealth, together with the 
 consecrated virgins, set fire to several parts of the city, and fear 
 ing that the Spaniards were at their heels, they decamped with all 
 the young people, men and women, leaving only the old' and 
 disabled. The Spaniards, however, with great exertions were 
 enabled to extinguish the fire. 
 
 Pizarro in Cuzco. 
 
 Pizarro entered the great city of Cuzco in October, 1534, and 
 the soldiers immediately began, without opposition, to plunder the 
 houses, where they found immense quantities of gold and silver, 
 both in. bars and wrought into vessels, ornaments, &c. They also 
 found abundance of clothing and a great quantity of beads, called 
 chaguira, much valued by the Indians; together with a large 
 amount of articles manufactured of feathers. Pizarro gave or 
 ders that all the plunder should be thrown into a common stock, 
 the king's fifth subtracted, and the remainder equally divided. 
 The confederate Indians stole a great variety of articles ; for the 
 Spaniards, finding such abundance of treasure, disregarded almost 
 9 M 
 
yb SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 everything but gold. It is said much more remained hidden than 
 was found ; the cloth alone was valued at two millions of dollars. 
 Pizarro then distributed the treasure, which, after deducting the 
 king's fifth was divided into four hundred and eighty parts, each 
 of which amounted to four thousand dollars. No notice was 
 taken of the precious stones ; every man took what he wished, 
 and few regarded the silver. 
 
 Cuzco was built on an uneven ground, surrounded by hills. On 
 the north side stood, on an eminence, that mighty fabric of the incas 
 which the Spaniards call a fortress. The streets were long but 
 narrow ; the houses of stone, wonderfully jointed without mortar. 
 There were several royal palaces ; the chief temples of the sun 
 were very magnificent, besides which there were four hundred 
 others. There wert a great number of silversmiths and other 
 artificers always at work here, for the gold and silver brought 
 into Cuzco never went out again. Some of the houses were gilt, 
 and some plated with gold. 
 
 Having sacked the capital, the Spaniards ravaged the whole 
 country, displaying everywhere the same thirst of blood and 
 plunder which had directed their actions from the beginning. 
 Had they shown any degree of moderation and humanity, they 
 would probably have made themselves masters of the empire with 
 out farther bloodshed. A people naturally mild, accustomed for a 
 long time past to the most blind submission, ever faithful to the 
 masters it had pleased Heaven to give them, and astonished at 
 the terrible spectacle they had just been beholding, such a nation 
 would have submitted to the yoke without much reluctance. The 
 plundering of their houses, the outrages done to their wives and 
 daughters, cruelties of all kinds succeeding each other without 
 interruption, such a variety of calamities stirred up the people to 
 revenge, and they found commanders to guide their resentment. 
 
 Numerous armies at first obtained some advantages over the 
 "invaders, but even these trifling successes were not durable. Sev 
 eral of the adventurers who had enriched themselves by the ran 
 som of Atahualpa, had quitted their standards and returned to 
 Spain, that they might enjoy, in a more peaceable manner, the 
 wealth so rapidly acquired. Their fortune inflamed the minds 
 of men, in the old and in the new world, and multitudes hastened 
 from all quarters to ,this land of gold. The Spaniards, in conse 
 quence, multiplied faster in Peru than in the other -colonies. 
 They soon amounted to five or six thousand ; and then all resis 
 tance was at an end. Those of the Indians who were the most 
 attached to their liberty, to their government, and to their religion, 
 took refuge at a distance, among inaccessible mountains. Most of 
 them, however, submitted to the conquerors. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Historica sketch of the Peruvian empire. Manco Capac Conjectures as to his 
 origin. Civilization of the Peruvians. State of manners, arts and govern 
 ment in Peru. Dissensions among the Spanish conquerors. Rupture between 
 Pizarro and Almagro. Defeat and death of Alrnagro. Persecution of his ad 
 herents. Pizarro assassinated. Massacres at Lima. Usurpation and cruelties 
 of young Almagro. Vaca de Castro arrives in Peru. Defeat of Almagro' s 
 party at Chupas. The viceroy, Blasco Nunez. Second insurrection. Gonzalez 
 Pizarro heads the rebels. He enters Lima in triumph. His arrogance and 
 tyranny. Gasca arrives in Peru. Defeat and death of Gonzalez Pizarro. 
 Atrocities of Carvajal. End of the civil wars. Death of the last of the Peru 
 vian incas. 
 
 Manco Capac and his tcife first appearing to the Peruvians. 
 
 THE empire of Peru, according to the Spanish historians, had 
 flourished for four centuries immediately previous to the con* 
 quests of Pizarro. According to the tradition of the country, it 
 was founded by Manco Capac, and by his wife, Mama Ocllo, who 
 appeared among the people about the year 1100, and claimed to 
 be children of the sun. It has been conjectured that these two 
 persons might be the descendants of certain navigators of Europe, 
 or the Canaries, who had been shipwrecked on the coasts of Bra 
 zil. To support this conjecture, it has been said, that the Peru 
 vians divided the year, as we do, into three hundred and sixty-five 
 
100 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 days, and that they had some notions of astronomy, and certain 
 monuments to mark the different movements of the heavenly 
 bodies, which the Spaniards, however, destroyed as being instru 
 ments of Indian idolatry. It has been asserted that the race of 
 the incas, or lords of Peru, as the descendants of Manco Capac 
 were called, were whiter than the natives of the country, and 
 that several of the royal family had beards ; and it is a known 
 fact, that there are certain peculiar features, either ill-formed or 
 regular, that are perpetuated and hereditary in some families of 
 the royal line, though they do not constantly pass from one gen 
 eration to another. Lastly, it has been said, that it was a tradi 
 tion generally diffused throughout Peru, and transmitted from age 
 to age, that there would one day awive, by sea, men with beards, 
 and of such superiority in arms, that nothing could resist them. 
 
 Manco taught his new subjects to cultivate the earth, to sow 
 corn and pulse, to wear clothes, and to build houses. Mama 
 Ocllo showed the Indian women how to spin, to weave cotton 
 and wool ; and instructed them in all the occupations suitable to 
 their sex, and in all the arts of domestic economy. 
 
 The sun was the god of the Peruvians : the most natural of 
 all idolatry ; for what inanimate object is more likely to excite 
 the homage of the ignorant, who are dazzled with its splendor, or 
 of the grateful, on whom its benefits are lavished ? The worship 
 of the sun was instituted and sustained with great splendor. 
 Temples were erected to their deity, and a variety of imposing 
 ceremonies were established and observed. The descendants of 
 Manco and his wife, were the only priests of the nation. 
 
 There was among the people no indulgence for idleness, which 
 was considered, with reason, as the source of all crimes. Those, 
 who, from age and infirmities, were rendered unfit for labor, were 
 maintained at the public charg'e, but on condition that they should 
 defend the cultivated lands from the birds. The citizens were 
 severally obliged to make their own clothes, to erect their own 
 dwellings, and to fabricate their own instruments of agriculture. 
 Every separate family was accustomed to supply its own wants. 
 
 The Peruvians were enjoined to love one another, and many 
 circumstances were calculated to cultivate this sentiment. They 
 had common labors, always enlivened by agreeable songs, the 
 object of which was 40 assist every one who had occasion for suc 
 cor; and the young women devoted to the worship of "the sun, 
 were required to make clothes, to be distributed by the emperor's 
 officers to the poor, to the aged, and to orphans. They had also 
 a custom of regarding each other as members of one single family, 
 and that family the whole empire. All these circumstances 
 
POLITICAL AND CIVIL CONDITION OF THE EMPIRE OF PERU. 101 
 
 united, maintained among the Peruvians concord, benevolence, 
 patriotism and public spirit; and contributed to substitute the 
 sublime and amiable virtues, in lieu of personal interest, the spirit 
 of property, and the usual incentives employed by other legisla 
 tors. 
 
 These virtues were rewarded with marks of distinction, as 
 much as if they had been services rendered to the country. Those 
 who had signalized themselves by any exemplary conduct, or by 
 any distinguished actions of advantage to the public good, wore, 
 as a mark of distinction, clothes made by the family of the incas. 
 It is very probable that those* statues, which the Spaniards pre 
 tended that they found in the temples of the sun, and which they 
 took for idols, were the statues of men, who, by the greatness of 
 their talents, or by a life replete with illustrious actions, had mer 
 ited the homage or love of their fellow-citizens. 
 
 It appears certain that the great men of the country were usu 
 ally the subjects of poems, composed by the family of the incas 
 for the instruction of the people. There was another species of 
 poetry conducive to morality. At Cuzco, and in all the other 
 towns of Peru, tragedies and comedies were performed. The first 
 were lessons of duty to the priests, warriors, judges, and persons 
 of distinction, and presented to them models of public virtue. 
 Comedies served for instruction to persons of inferior rank, and 
 taught them the exercise of private virtues, and domestic economy. 
 
 The Peruvians were entirely unacquainted with the art of writ 
 ing, for their quipos, or knotted cords, so much celebrated by 
 certain authors who were fond of the marvellous, appear to have 
 been no more than a device for rendering calculation more expedi 
 tious. These cords were of different colors ; each color represented 
 a different object, and each knot a number. But as these knots, 
 however varied or combined, could represent no moral or abstract 
 idea, nor operation or quality of the mind, they could render no 
 service as an instrument of language. 
 
 The lands of the kingdom that were susceptible of cultivation 
 were divided into three parts ; one appropriated to the sun, another 
 to the inca, and a third to the people. The first were cultivated 
 in common, as were likewise the lands of orphans, of widows, of 
 old men, of the infirm, and of the soldiers. These were cultivated 
 immediately after the lands appropriated to the sun, and before those 
 of the emperor. The season of this labor was announced by festi 
 vals ; it was begun and continued with the sound of musical instru 
 ments and the chanting of hymns. The emperor levied no tribute 
 and exacted nothing from his subjects, but that they should cultivate 
 his lands ; the whole produce of which, being deposited in public 
 9* 
 
102 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 magazines, was sufficient to defray all the expenses of the em 
 pire. 
 
 The Peruvians, though at the very source of gold and silver, knew 
 not the use of coin. They had not, properly speaking, any kind 
 of commerce ; and numerous arts, which owe their existence to 
 the immediate wants of social life, were in a very imperfect state 
 of advancement among them. All their science consisted in mem 
 ory ; all their industry was propagated by example. 
 
 The Peruvians had arrived at the art of fusing gold and silver, 
 and of working them. With these metals they made ornaments, 
 most of which were very thin, for the arms, for the neck, for the 
 nose, and for the ears ; and also hollow statues, all of one piece, 
 and carved or cast in moulds. Vases were seldom made of these 
 rich materials. .The ordinary vases were of very fine clay, easily 
 wrought. The art of weighing was not unknown amongst them, 
 and scales are discovered from time to time, the basins of which 
 are of silver, and in the shape of an inverted cone. Two kinds 
 of stone were used for mirrors ; the one was soft, the other hard ; 
 one was entirely opaque, the other had a small degree of transpa 
 rency; one was black, the other of a lead color. Wool, cotton and 
 the bark of trees were woven by these people into a cloth, which 
 was used for wearing apparel. These stuffs were dyed black, 
 blue and red, by the arnotto and other plants. The Peruvian em 
 eralds were of all shapes. Those that have been, in later days, 
 taken out of the tombs, most of which are in lofty situations, 
 where citizens of distinction were buried with their jewels, prove 
 that these precious stones were more perfect here, than they have 
 been found elsewhere. Pieces of workmanship have been some 
 times discovered in red and yellow copper, and others which par 
 take of both colors. It has been conjectured that the Peruvians 
 were acquainted with the art of mixing metals, for their wrought 
 .copper never rusts, and never collects verdigris; which seems 
 to prove that the Indians mingled something with it, as a preser 
 vative from oxidation. It is to be regretted that the useful art of 
 tempering it in this manner has been lost, either from want of, 
 encouraging the natives of the country, or from the contempt 
 with which the conquerors regarded everything that had no con 
 cern with their passion for riches. 
 
 It was, perhaps, with hatchets of copper or flint, and by inces 
 sant friction, that they contrived to cut stones, to square them, and 
 to join them without cement. Unfortunately, these instruments 
 had not the same effect on wood as upon stone, for the artisans 
 who shaped the granite and drilled the emerald, never knew 
 how to join timber by mortices, tenons and pins, and in the 
 
ASSASSINATION OF PIZARRO. 103 
 
 buildings it was only fastened to the walls by rushes. The most 
 remarkable edifices had only a covering of thatch, supported by 
 poles, like the tents of armies. They had but one floor, and no 
 light, except by the entrances ; the interior consisted of detached 
 apartments, having no communication with each other. 
 
 But whatever were the arts which the Spaniards found in the 
 country of Peru, the barbarians were no sooner masters of this vast 
 empire than they disputed over its spoils with all the rage which 
 their first exploits announced. The seeds of these divisions had 
 been sown by Pizarro himself, who, on his return to Europe to 
 prepare for a second expedition into the South Seas, had prevailed 
 upon the ministry to give him a superiority in rank over Almagro. 
 This procedure, however, incensed Almagro to such a degree that 
 Pizarro was compelled to waive it, in order to avoid an immediate 
 rupture with his colleague. They were reconciled for a time, but 
 the division of Atahualpa's ransom irritated again these two 
 haughty and rapacious robbers. A dispute which arose concerning 
 the limits of their respective governments, completed their animos 
 ity; and this extreme hatred led to the most sanguinary proceedings. 
 
 After some negotiations, dishonest at least on one part, and 
 consequently useless, recourse was had to the sword, in order to 
 determine which of the two competitors should govern the whole 
 of Peru. On the 6th of April, 1538, in the plains of Salinas, not 
 far from Cuzco, in a severe battle between the armies of the two 
 leaders, fate decided against Almagro, who was taken prisoner 
 and beheaded. Those of his partisans who had escaped the car 
 nage would willingly have reconciled themselves with the con 
 quering party. But whether Pizarro did not choose to trust the 
 soldiers of his rival, or whether he could not overcome a resent 
 ment that was too deeply rooted, it is certain that he always 
 showed a remarkable aversion to them. They were not only 
 excluded from all the favors that were profusely lavished upon 
 the others, but they were stripped of the rewards formerly granted 
 for their services, and were also persecuted and exposed to con 
 tinual mortifications. 
 
 This treatment brought a great number of them to Lima. 
 There, in the house of the son of Almagro, they concerted in 
 secret the destruction of their oppressor. On the 26th of June, 1541 , 
 nineteen of the most intrepid went out, sword in hand, in the mid 
 dle of the day, which, in that hot country, is the time devoted to 
 rest. They penetrated without opposition into the palace of Pizarro, 
 and the conqueror of so many kingdoms was massacred in the 
 centre of the town that he had founded, and the inhabitants of 
 which were composed of his own soldiers and adherents. Thus 
 
104 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 fell by a violent death both the bloody wretches who led their 
 bands of murderers into this once peaceful and happy country. 
 
 Assassination of Pizarro. 
 
 Those of the judges most likely to'revenge the death of Pizarro 
 were also murdered; the fury of the assassins extended itself on 
 every side, and all who ventured to appear in the streets or in the 
 squares, were regarded as enemies and put to the sword. The 
 houses and temples . were filled with slaughter. The spirit of 
 avarice, which induced the revellers to consider the rich merely as 
 partisans of the old government, was still more furious than that 
 of hatred, and rendered them more active and more implacable. 
 The picture of a place taken by assault by a barbarous nation, 
 would convey but an imperfect idea of that spectacle of horror 
 which those ruffians now exhibited, who wrested from their 
 accomplices the booty of which they had been robbed. 
 
 This terrible massacre was followed by enormities of another 
 kind. The soul of young Almagro seems to have been formed 
 for tyranny. Every one who had been in employment under 
 Pizarro, was inhumanly proscribed. The ancient magistrates 
 were deposed. The troops were put under the command of new 
 officers. The royal treasury, and the wealth of those who perished 
 or were absent, were seized upon by the usurper. His accom 
 plices, attached to his fortune by partaking in his crimes, were 
 forced to give their support to measures which filled them with 
 horror. Those among them who suffered their weariness at these 
 proceedings to become known, were either put to death in private 
 or perished on a scaffold. During the confusion in which a rev 
 olution so unexpected had plunged Peru, several provinces sub- 
 
TROUBLES IN PERU. 105 
 
 mitted to this monster. Accordingly he caused himself to be pro 
 claimed governor in the capital, and marched into the heart of 
 the empire, to complete the reduction of every place that opposed 
 or hesitated to acknowledge him. 
 
 A multitude of ruffians joined him on his march. His army 
 breathed nothing but vengeance and plunder; everything gave 
 way before it. If the military talents of Almagro had equalled 
 the ardor of his troops, the war had ended here ; but he had lost 
 his conductor, John de Herrada ; and his own inexperience left him 
 to fall into the snares that were laid for him by Pedro Alvarez, 
 who had put himself at the head of the opposite party. In at 
 tempting to unravel the plots of his rivals, he lost that time which 
 he ought to have employed in fighting. In these circumstances, 
 an event, which no one could have foreseen, changed the whole 
 face of affairs. 
 
 The licentiate, Yasco de Castro, who had been sent from Eu 
 rope to try the murderers of old Almagro, arrived in Peru. As 
 he was appointed to assume the government in case of Pizarro's 
 death, all who had not sold themselves to the tyrant, hastened to 
 acknowledge him. Uncertainty and jealousy, which had for a 
 long time kept them dispersed, were no longer an obstacle to their 
 reunion. Castro, who was as resolute as if he had grown old in 
 the service, did not suffer their impatience to languish, but in 
 stantly led them against the enemy. The two armies engaged at 
 Chupas, on the 16th of September, 1542, and fought with inex 
 pressible obstinacy. Yictory, after having wavered for a long 
 time, at the close of the day decided in favor of the government 
 party. Those among the rebels who were most guilty, dreading 
 to languish under disgraceful tortures, provoked the conquerors 
 to murder them, crying out like men in despair, "It was I who 
 killed Pizarro." Their chief was taken prisoner and died on the 
 scaffold. 
 
 These scenes of horror were just concluded, when Blasco 
 Nunez Yela arrived, in 1544, in Peru, with the title and powers of 
 viceroy ; the court had thought fit to invest their representative 
 with a solemn dignity, and with very extensive authority, in 
 order that the decrees he was commissioned to establish should 
 meet with less opposition. These decrees were intended to 
 diminish the oppression under which the Indians were crushed, 
 and more particularly to render these immense conquests useful 
 to the Spanish crown. Among the ordinances now established, it 
 was decreed that a portion of the Peruvians should be free from 
 that moment, and the rest at the death of their oppressors ; that 
 for the future they should not be compelled to labor in the mines ; 
 
 N 
 
106 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 and that no kind of work should be exacted from them without 
 payment ; that their public labor and tributes should be subjected 
 to regulation ; that the Spaniards who travelled through the prov 
 inces on foot should no longer demand that three of these wretched 
 people should carry their baggage, nor five when they went on 
 horseback ; and that the caciques should be freed from the obliga 
 tions of providing the traveller and his suite with food. 
 
 By the same regulations, all the departments or commander ies 
 of the governors, of the officers of justice, of the agents of the 
 treasury, of the bishops, of the monasteries, of the hospitals, and 
 of all persons who had been concerned in the public troubles, 
 were to be annexed to the domains of the state. The few lands 
 that might belong to other proprietors, were to be subject to the 
 same law after the actual possessors had ended their days, and 
 their heirs, their wives, or their children, were to have no claim 
 upon any part of them. 
 
 Such was the disposition of the Spaniards in Peru, that when 
 Nunez attempted to carry into execution the orders he had receiv 
 ed from the old hemisphere, an insurrection was the immediate 
 consequence. Nunez was deposed^ put in irons, and banished 
 to a desert island, where he was to remain till he was conveyed 
 to the mother country. 
 
 Gonzalez Pizarro, the brother of Francisco, had then just 
 -returned from a hazardous expedition, which had carried him as 
 far as the river Amazon, and had employed him long enough to 
 prevent him. from taking a part in the revolutions which had so 
 rapidly succeeded each other. The anarchy he found prevailing 
 at his return, inspired him with the idea of seizing the supreme 
 authority. His fame and his forces enabled him to accomplish 
 this design ; but his usurpation was marked with so many enor 
 mities, that even the government of Nunez was regretted. He 
 was consequently recalled from exile, and soon collected a suffi 
 cient number of forces to enable him to take the field against 
 Pizarro. Civil commotions were then renewed with extreme fury 
 by both parties. No quarter was asked or given on either side. 
 The Indians were forced to take part in this, as they had done in 
 the preceding wars ; some ranged themselves under the standard 
 of the viceroy, others under the banners of Gonzalez. They 
 dragged the artillery, levelled the roads, and carried the baggage. 
 After a variety of advantages, for a long time, alternately obtained 
 by the contending parties, fortune at length favored the rebellion. 
 Under the walls of Quito, in the month of January, 1545, Nunez 
 and the greater part of his men were massacred. 
 
 Pizarro tools: the road to Lima, in which city the inhabitants 
 
DEATH OF GONZALEZ PIZARRO. 107 
 
 were deliberating on the ceremonies with which they should re 
 ceive him. Some officers wished that a canopy should be carried 
 for him to march under, after the manner of kings. Others, with 
 adulation still more extravagant, pretended that part of the walls 
 of the town and even some houses must be pulled down, as was 
 the custom at Rome when a general obtained the honors of a tri 
 umph. Gonzalez contented himself with making his entrance on 
 horseback, preceded by his lieutenants, who marched on foot. 
 Four bishops accompanied him, and he was followed by the 
 magistrates. The streets were strewn with flowers, and the air 
 resounded with the noise of bells and various musical instruments. 
 This homage completely turned the head of a man naturally 
 haughty, and of a narrow understanding. He began to act the 
 despot, and disgusted the people by the arrogance of his language. 
 Had he possessed judgment and the appearance of moderation, he 
 might have rendered himself permanently independent. The 
 chief men of his party wished it. The majority would have 
 viewed the event with indifference, or at least assent. But the 
 character of the usurper prevented this. His blind cruelties, 
 insatiable avarice, and unbounded pride, altered the dispositions 
 of all who were favorable to his designs. Even the persons whose 
 interests were most connected with those of the tyrant, wished for 
 a deliverer. 
 
 Such a person arrived from Europe in the person of Pedro de 
 la Gasca. He was a priest, advanced in years, but prudent, dis 
 interested, firm and sagacious. He brought no troops with him ; 
 but he was intrusted by the government with unlimited powers. 
 The first use he made of them was to publish a general amnesty, 
 without distinction of persons or crimes, and a revocation of the 
 severe laws that had rendered the preceding administration odious. 
 This step alone secured to him the fleet and the forces of the 
 mountainous provinces. If Pizarro, to whom the amnesty had 
 been particularly offered, with every testimony of distinction, had 
 accepted it, as he was advised to do by the most enlightened of 
 his partisans, the troubles would have been at an end. His 
 haughty temper and the habit of commanding, however, would 
 not suffer him to descend to a private station ; and he had recourse 
 to arms, in the hope of perpetuating his authority. Without losing 
 a moment, he advanced towards Cuzco, where Gasca was assem 
 bling his forces. On the 9th of April, 1548, a battle was fought 
 four leagues from the city. One of the rebel general's lieutenants, 
 seeing him abandoned at the first charge by his best soldiers, 
 earnestly exhorted him to throw himself into the enemy's bat 
 talions and perish like a Roman ; but Pizarro, dejected by this 
 
108 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 sudden reverse of fortune, had not the spirit to perform this heroic 
 act He quietly surrendered, and was beheaded on the scaffold. 
 Nine or ten of his officers were hanged around him. 
 
 A more disgraceful execution awaited Carvajal, the confidant 
 of Pizarro, whose life and character may serve as a specimen of 
 the Spanish conquerors of the New World. This man, in the his 
 tories of that period, is charged with having massacred, with his 
 own hand, four hundred men ; of having sacrificed, by means of 
 his agents, more than a thousand Spaniards, and of having de 
 stroyed more than twenty thousand Indians through excess of 
 labor. At a time when the minds of others around him were 
 depressed or wavering, he displayed a degree of courage which 
 could hardly admit of comparison. He remained always faithful 
 to the cause he had espoused, although the custom of changing 
 standards, according to circumstances, was then universally prev 
 alent. He never forgot the most trifling service that had been 
 rendered him, while those who had once conferred an obligation 
 upon him, might afterwards affront him with impunity. His 
 cruelty became a proverb; and in the most horrid executions 
 ordered by him, he never lost anything of his mirth. Strongly 
 addicted to raillery, he was appeased with a jest, while he insulted 
 the cry of pain, which appeared to him the exclamation of cow 
 ardice or weakness. His iron heart made a sport of every cruelty. 
 He took away or preserved life for a trifle, because life was a 
 trifle in his estimation. His passion for wine did not prevent him 
 from enjoying uncommon strength of body, and the dreadful vigor 
 of his soul maintained itself to old age. At eighty-four years, he 
 was still the first soldier and the first commander in the army. 
 His death was conformable to his life. He was hanged and quar 
 tered, without showing any remorse for his crimes, any depression 
 at his sentence, or any uneasiness for the future. 
 m Another rebellion broke out after the death of Gasca, and was 
 quelled after the usual amount of slaughter. This was the last 
 scene of a tragedy, every act of which had been marked with 
 blood. Civil wars have always been cruel in all countries and in 
 all ages ; but in Peru they were destined to have a peculiar char 
 acter of ferocity. Those who excited them, and those who en 
 gaged in them, were mostly adventurers without education and 
 without character. Avarice, which had brought them Jnto the 
 New World, was joined to other passions which render domestic 
 dissensions at once violent and lasting. All of them, without ex 
 ception, considered the chief whom they had chosen, merely as a 
 partner in their fortunes, whose influence was to extend only to 
 the guidance of their hostilities. None of them accepted any pay. 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE MINES OF PERU. 109 
 
 As plunder and confiscation were to be the fruits of victory, no 
 quarter was given in action. After the engagement was over, 
 every rich man was exposed to proscription; and there were 
 nearly as many citizens who perished by the hands of the execu 
 tioner, as by those of the soldiers in battle. The gold that had 
 been acquired by such enormities, was soon squandered in de 
 bauchery and the most extravagant luxury, and the people were 
 again exposed to all the excesses of military license that knows 
 no restraint. 
 
 Fortunately for this opulent part of the new hemisphere, the 
 most seditious of the conquerors, and of those who followed their 
 steps, had perished in these wars. Few of them had survived 
 the troubles, except those who had constantly preferred peace 
 able occupations to the tumult and dangers of revolutions. What 
 still remained of the agitation that had been raised in their minds, 
 insensibly sank into a calm, as does the turmoil of waves after a 
 long and furious tempest. Then, and then only, the Catholic 
 kings might with truth style themselves the sovereigns of the 
 Spaniards fixed in Peru. 
 
 We have but one event to add to our history of this period. 
 There was an inca, named Tupac Amara, still remaining. This 
 legitimate heir of so many vast dominions, lived in the midst of 
 the mountains, in a state of independence. Some princesses of his 
 family, who had submitted to the conquerors, abused his inexpe 
 rience and youth, and prevailed upon him to visit Lima. The 
 usurpers of his rights carried their insolence so far as to send him 
 letters of grace, and assigned to him only a very moderate domain 
 for his subsistence. He went to hide his shame and his regret in 
 the valley of Yucay, where, at the expiration of three years, 
 death, though still too tardy, put an end to his unfortunate ca 
 reer. An only daughter, who survived him, married Loyola ; and 
 from this union are sprung the houses of Oropesa and Alcaningas. 
 Thus was the conquest of Peru completed about the year 1 560. 
 
 The best mines of Peru were discovered after the conquest. 
 That of Potosi, the richest in the western world, was not known 
 till 1545. An Indian, named Hualpa, chasing some wild animals 
 on that mountain, laid hold of a shrub or tree, to aid his ascent in 
 a steep place ; it came up by the roots and revealed a mass of the 
 richest silver ore, which lay so near the surface that lumps of the 
 metal clung to the roots of the plant. Hualpa kept the secjet of 
 this discovery for some time, but his rapid increase of wealth 
 having attracted the notice of one of his countrymen, he revealed 
 it to him. The two friends, as was natural in such a case, soon 
 quarrelled, and the secret became divulged. The fame of this 
 10 
 
110 
 
 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 wealth drew adventurers from all quarters, and the barren moun 
 tain of Potosi quickly beheld a city spring up at its foot, contain 
 ing seventy thousand inhabitants. The quicksilver mines of 
 Guanca Velica were discovered in 1564. 
 
 Hualpa discovering the mine. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 undertakes the conquest of Chili. Losses suffered by the invaders in 
 crossing the Andes. Expedition of Valdivia. Resistance of the Chilians. 
 Defeat and death of Valdivia. Manners of the Araucanians. Their obstinate 
 resistance to the Spaniards. Colonization of Chili. Paraguay. Description of 
 the inhabitants. Discovery of the river Paraguay. Expedition of the Spaniards , 
 under Sebastian Cabot, to the Rio de la Plata. Foundation of Buenos Ayres. 
 Assumption. The Spaniards intermarry with the natives. Colonization of the 
 country. Success of the Jesuits in civilizing the Indians. Comparison of the 
 policy of the Peruvian incas with that of the Jesuits. 
 
 Almagro marching against Chili. 
 
 THE conquest of Chili was undertaken by the Spaniards as 
 soon as they had subdued the principal provinces of Peru. In 
 the beginning of 1535, Almagro set out from Cuzco for this object, 
 with five hundred and seventy Europeans and fifteen hundred 
 Peruvians. He first traversed the country of Charcas, to which 
 the mines of Potosi have since given so much celebrity. To go 
 from this country to Chili, there were but two ways then known, 
 and they were both considered as almost impassable. The first 
 was along the borders of the sea, and presented nothing but 
 burning sands, without water or other means of subsistence for a 
 traveller. To pursue the second, it was necessary to cross steep 
 
112 
 
 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 mountains of prodigious height, and covered with perpetual 
 snows. These difficulties did not discourage Almagro, and he 
 determined upon the latter route, for no other reason than because 
 it was the shortest. This ambition caused the destruction of one 
 hundred and fifty Spaniards and ten thousand Indians, who per 
 ished by the way : but at length he accomplished his design, and 
 was received with every mark of submission by the nations that 
 had been formerly under the dominion of the Peruvian empire. 
 The terror of his arms would probably have procured him 
 greater advantages, had not some concerns of a private nature 
 called him back to the centre of the empire. His little army re 
 fused to pass the Cordilleras, and he was obliged to return by the 
 way he had first rejected. His march was so favored by fortu 
 nate accidents, that it suffered much less than had been feared. 
 This success enlarged the views of Almagro, and precipitated 
 him, perhaps, into those fatal enterprises which occasioned his 
 death. 
 
 The Spaniards appeared again in Chili in 1541. Yaldivia, 
 their leader, entered it without the least opposition. The nations, 
 however, that inhabited this country, had no sooner recovered 
 from the astonishment with which they had been seized, on observ 
 ing the European arts and discipline, than they wished to regain 
 their independence. A war soon arose, which continued inces 
 santly for ten years. If some districts, discouraged by repeated 
 losses, resolved at last to submit, many of them obstinately per 
 sisted in the defence of their liberty, though they were generally 
 defeated, 
 
 There was one Indian captain, whom age and infirmities con 
 fined to his hut. He was continually told of these misfortunes. 
 
MANNERS OF THE ARAUCANIANS. 113 
 
 The grief of seeing his people always beaten by a handful of 
 strangers, inspired him with courage. He formed thirteen compa 
 nies, of a thousand men each, arranged them in file, and led them 
 against the enemy. If the first company was routed, it was not 
 to fall back upon the rest, but to rally, and be supported by it. 
 This order, which was strictly obeyed, disconcerted the Spaniards, 
 They forced through all the companies, one after another, without 
 gaining any material advantage. As both the men and horses 
 wanted rest, Yaldivia retreated towards a defile, where he judged 
 he could easily defend himself; but the Indians did not allow him 
 sufficient time to secure his retreat. Their rearguard marched 
 through by-ways, and took possession of the defile, while their 
 vanguard followed the Spaniards with so much precaution, that 
 Valdivia was surrounded and massacred, together with his hun 
 dred and fifty men. It is said that the savages poured melted gold 
 down his throat, exclaiming with exultation, " Glut thyself with 
 that metal of which thou art so fond ! " They availed them 
 selves of this victory to burn and destroy many of the Spanish 
 settlements ; and all of them had shared this fate, had they not re 
 ceived timely assistance, by means of considerable reinforcements 
 sent from Peru, which enabled them to defend their remaining 
 posts, and afterwards to recover those they had lost. 
 
 These fatal hostilities were renewed in proportion as the usur 
 pers wished to extend their empire, and frequently even when 
 they did not entertain this ambitious design. The engagements 
 were bloody, and for a long course of years were only interrupted 
 by short truces. The following sketch of these people is agreea 
 ble to the representations of the early Spanish writers : 
 
 " The people of Arauco, or the Araucanians, are the most nil* 
 merous, the most intrepid, and the most irreconcilable enemies 
 the Spaniards have had in these regions. They are often joined 
 by the inhabitants, of Tucapel, and of the river Biobio, and by 
 those whose domains extend towards the Cordilleras. As their 
 manners bear a greater resemblance to those of the savages of 
 North America than to those of the Peruvians, their neighbors, 
 the confederacies they formed were always formidable. 
 
 "When they go to war, they carry nothing with them, and 
 want neither tents nor baggage. The same trees from which they 
 gather their food, supply them with lances and darts. As they 
 are sure of finding, in one place, what they had in another, they 
 willingly resign any country which they are unable to defend ; all 
 places are equally indifferent to them. Their troops, free from all 
 incumbrance of provisions and ammunition, march with surpris 
 ing agility. They expose themselves to danger, like men who 
 10* o 
 
114 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 set little value on life ; and if they lose the field of battle, they 
 are not at a loss for magazines and encampments wherever there 
 is ground covered with fruits. 
 
 l These are the only people of the New World, who ventured 
 to try their strength with the Spaniards in the open field, and who 
 have thought of the use of the sling to lance the stroke of death 
 from afar. They are so bold, that they will attack the best forti 
 fied posts. They sometimes succeed in these violent attacks, 
 because they are continually receiving succors, which prevent them 
 from being sensible of their losses. If these be so considerable as 
 to oblige them to desist, they retire a few leagues, and five or six 
 days after, they direct their attacks to another post. These bar 
 barians never think themselves beaten unless they are surrounded. 
 If they can reach a place of difficult access, they think themselves 
 conquerors. The head of a Spaniard, which they carry off in 
 triumph, comforts them for the loss of a hundred Indians." 
 
 In 1550, the town of Concepcion was built on an uneven and 
 sandy soil, a little raised, upon the borders of a bay which is 
 nearly four leagues in circumference, ajid has three ports, one of 
 which only is safe. The town was at first the capital of a colo 
 ny ; but the neighboring Indians so frequently made themselves 
 masters of it, that, in 1574, it was thought proper to deprive it of 
 this distinction. In 1603, it was again destroyed by the Arauca- 
 nians, but rebuilt. Since that period it has suffered much from 
 earthquakes. 
 
 Before the arrival of the Spaniards, Paraguay contained a great 
 number of distinct nations, each consisting, for the most part, of 
 a few families. Their manners must have been the same, and if 
 there had been a difference in their characters, it would hardly 
 have been noticed by the adventurers who first shed the blood of 
 the native Americans. These nations lived by hunting and fishing, 
 and upon wild fruits, and honey, which was commonly found in 
 the forests, and roots that are yielded spontaneously by the soil. 
 They were perpetually wandering from one district to another. 
 As they had nothing to remove but a few earthen vessels, and as 
 branches of trees could be found everywhere of which to build 
 their huts, these emigrations were attended with few incumbian- 
 ces. Though they all lived in a state of absolute independence, 
 yet the necessity of mutual defence had obliged thorn to form 
 associations. Some individuals united under the direction of a 
 leader of their own choice. These associations, which were more 
 or less powerful, in proportion to the reputation and abilities of 
 the chief, were as easily dissolved as formed. 
 
 The discovery of the river Paraguay was made in 1515, by 
 
CABOT DISCOVERS THE LA PLATA. 115 
 
 Diaz de Soils, a noted pilot of Castile. He and most of his men 
 were massacred by the natives, who, to avoid being enslaved, 
 some years after, also destroyed the Portuguese who settled in 
 Brazil. The two rival nations, Spain and Portugal, equally 
 alarmed by these calamities, gave up all present thought of Para 
 guay, and turned their avaricious views towards another quarter. 
 The Spaniards accidentally returned to Paraguay in 1526. 
 
 Sebastian Cabot, who, in 1496, had made the discovery of New 
 foundland for the crown of England, finding that kingdom was 
 too much occupied by domestic affairs to think of making settle 
 ments in a new world, offered his services to Castile, where his 
 reputation caused him to be fixed upon to conduct an important 
 expedition. 
 
 The Victory, celebrated for being the first ship that ever sailed 
 round the world, and the only one of Magellan's squadron that 
 returned to Europe, had brought back from the East Indies a great 
 quantity of spices. The immense profit arising from the sale of 
 these, occasioned the undertaking of a second expedition, the 
 command of which was given to Cabot. In pursuing the track 
 of the former voyage, he arrived at the mouth of the Rio de la 
 Plata. Being either in want of provisions, or compelled by the 
 mutiny of his men, he put into the river. Sailing up the stream, 
 he gave it the name of La Plata, because, among the spoils of a 
 few Indians, inhumanly put to death, some ornaments of gold and 
 silver had been found. Cabot built a kind of fortress at the 
 entrance of a river, descending from the mountains of Tucuman. 
 The opposition he met with from the inhabitants of the country 
 made him judge, that, in order to form a solid establishment, means 
 were necessary superior to those he possessed. In 1530, he went 
 to Spain, in order to obtain recruits. Those of his companions 
 whom he left in the colony, were most of them massacred, and 
 the few who escaped from the hands of the enemy soon aban 
 doned the country. 
 
 Some more considerable forces, led by Mendoza, came and set 
 tled on the river in 1535, and laid the foundation of Buenos Ayres. 
 They were soon reduced to the necessity of perishing with hun 
 ger within their palisades, or of devoting themselves to certain 
 death if they ventured out of them in order to procure subsist 
 ence. A return to Europe seemed to be the only way of relief 
 from so desperate a situation ; but the Spaniards had persuaded 
 themselves that the inland countries abounded in mines, and this 
 belief induced them to persevere. They abandoned a place, 
 where they could no longer live, and founded, in 1536, a colony 
 on the island of Assumpcion, three hundred leagues up the coun- 
 
116 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 try. but still on the banks of the same river. By this change, 
 they evidently removed farther from the assistance of the mother 
 coimtry, but they imagined it brought them nearer the source of 
 riches, and their avidity was still greater than their foresight. 
 
 They were again, however, reduced to the necessity of perish 
 ing, unless they could succeed in gaining the friendship of the 
 savages. The marriage of the Spaniards with the Indian women 
 appeared calculated to effect this great object; and it was accord 
 ingly resolved upon. From the union of two such different 
 nations sprang the race of Mestizoes, which, in process of time, 
 became so common in South America. Thus it seems to be the 
 fate of the Spaniards in all parts of the world to be a mixed race. 
 The blood of the Moors still flows in their veins in Europe, and 
 that of the savages in the western hemisphere. 
 
 The thirst of gold perpetuated the cruelty of the Spaniards, 
 even after the connections they had formed. They wished to 
 punish the Indians for their own obstinacy in searching for gold 
 where there was none. Several ships, which were bringing them 
 troops and ammunition, were lost, witfrall they had on board, by 
 venturing too far up the river ; but even this circumstance could 
 not prevent them from obstinately persisting in their avaricious 
 views, though they had so long been disappointed in them, till 
 they were compelled, by repeated orders from the mother coun 
 try, to re-establish themselves at Buenos Ayres. 
 
 This necessary undertaking had now become easy. The Span 
 iards, who had multiplied in Paraguay, were strong enough to 
 restrain or destroy the nations that might oppose them. Accord 
 ingly, they met with little difficulty. Juan Ortiz de Zarate exe 
 cuted the plan in 1580, and rebuilt Buenos Ayres upon the same 
 spot which had been forsaken for forty years. Some of the petty 
 nations in the neighborhood submitted to the yoke. Those which 
 were* more attached to their liberty, went to a greater distance, 
 with a view of removing still farther, in proportion as their opres- 
 sors should extend their establishments. Most of them at last took 
 refuge in Chaco. 
 
 This country, two hundred and fifty leagues in length, and one 
 hundred and fifty in breadth, is reckoned one of the finest in Amer 
 ica, and is people^.with many thousands of savages. They form, 
 as in other parts of the New World, a great numbed of nations, 
 many of which even now remain but imperfectly known. Their 
 territory is traversed by several rivers. The Pilcomayo, more 
 considerable than all the rest, issues from the province of Charcas, 
 and divides into two branches, seventy leagues before it empties 
 itself into the Rio de la Plata. The course of this river appeared 
 
INFLUENCE OF THE JESUITS. 117 
 
 to be the most convenient way of establishing settled connections 
 between Paraguay and Peru. It was not, however, till 1702, that 
 an attempt was made to sail up the river. The people who dwelt 
 upon the banks, understood very well that they should sooner or 
 later be enslaved if the expedition were successful; and they 
 prevented this misfortune by massacring all the Spaniards who 
 were engaged in it. 
 
 Nineteen years after, the Jesuits resumed this grand project; 
 but when they had advanced three hundred and fifty leagues, they 
 were forced to put back, for want of water. They were blamed 
 for having undertaken it in the months of September, October and 
 November, which, in these countries, constitute the dry season; 
 and there is no doubt that the enterprise must have proved success 
 ful at another period of the year. 
 
 After incredible fatigues, which were for a long time useless, 
 some missionaries at length succeeded in fixing three thousand of 
 these wandering Indians in fourteen villages, seven of which were 
 situated on the frontiers of Tucuman, four on the side of Santa Cruz 
 de la Sierra, two towards Taixa ; and one in the neighborhood of 
 the island of Assumpcion. 
 
 America had been laid waste during the course of a century, 
 when the Jesuits brought into this country that indefatigable 
 activity, which, from their origin, had made them so successful in 
 their undertakings. These enterprising men could not recall from 
 the tomb the thousands of victims which had been sacrificed by 
 the blind ferocity of the Spaniards ; they could not drag out of 
 the bowels of the earth the timid Indians, whom the avarice of 
 the conquerors obliged daily to descend into the mines. Their 
 anxiety was turned towards those savages, whom a wandering life 
 had, till then, preserved from tyranny and the sword. The plan 
 was to draw them out of their forests, and to collect them into a 
 national body, but at a distance from the places inhabited by the 
 oppressors of the new hemisphere. These views were crowned 
 with much success in California, among the Moxos, among tho 
 Chiquitos upon the river Amazon, and in some other countries. 
 Nevertheless, none of their institutions acquired so great a degree 
 of splendor as that which was formed at Paraguay, which had 
 for its basis the maxims followed by the incas of Peru in the 
 government of their empire and in their conquests. 
 
 The descendants of Manco Capac used to march to their fron 
 tiers with armies, which at least knew how to obey, to fight and 
 to intrench themselves, and who, together with better offensive 
 arms than those of the savages, had also shields and defensive 
 weapons, which their enemies had not. They proposed to the 
 
118 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 nation which they wanted to unite to their government, to embrace 
 their religion, laws and manners. These invitations were most 
 commonly rejected. Fresh deputies were sent, who urged these 
 matters more strenuously. Sometimes they were murdered ; and 
 the savages fell suddenly upon the Peruvians. The troops that 
 were attacked had generally the advantage ; but they suspended 
 the fight the instant they had gained the victory, and treated their 
 prisoners so kindly that these afterwards inspired their companions 
 with an affection for conquerors so humane. A Peruvian army 
 seldom began an attack, and the inca has often been known to 
 forbear hostilities even after he had experienced the perfidy of the 
 barbarians and several of his soldiers had been murdered. 
 
 The Jesuits, who had no army, confined themselves to the arts 
 of preservation. They penetrated into the forest in search of the 
 savages, and prevailed upon them to renounce their old customs 
 and prejudices, to embrace a religion which, however, they did not 
 comprehend, and to enjoy the sweets of society, to which they 
 had always been strangers. 
 
 The incas had another advantage orer the Jesuits, which lay in 
 the nature of their religion, and which was calculated to strike the 
 senses. It is more easy to persuade men to worship the sun, which 
 seems to announce its own divinity to mortals, than to adore an 
 invisible God, and to believe doctrines and mysteries which they 
 can hardly understand. Accordingly, the missionaries had the 
 prudence to civilize the savages in some measure, before they 
 attempted to convert them. They did not pretend to make them 
 avowed Christians, till they had made them feel, in some degree, 
 like men. As soon as they had assembled them in communities, 
 they exerted themselves to provide everything for their subsistence 
 and comfort. In this manner, by rendering them contented and 
 tractable, they found it much easier to persuade them, formally, to 
 embrace Christianity. 
 
 The Jesuits imitated the example of the incas, in the division 
 of land into three shares ; for religious purposes, for the public, 
 and for individuals. They encouraged working for orphans, old 
 people and soldiers; they rewarded great actions; they inspected 
 or censured the morals of the people ; they practised acts of benev 
 olence ; they established festivals, and intermixed them with labo 
 rious employments; they appointed military exercises; kept up 
 a spirit of subordination ; invented preservatives against idleness, 
 and inspired the people with respect for religion and virtue. They 
 educated the young, and taught them to sing hymns, while they 
 moved in long processions. In a word, whatever was valuable 
 
POLICY OF THE INC AS AND JESUITS. 119 
 
 in the legislation of the incas was adopted, or even improved 
 upon in Paraguay. 
 
 Singing hymns. 
 
 The incas and the Jesuits had alike established such a system 
 of regularity and order, as prevented the commission of crimes, 
 and removed the necessity of punishment. There was hardly 
 such a thing as a delinquent in Paraguay. The morals of the 
 people were good, and were maintained in this state of purity by 
 still milder methods than had been practised in Peru. The crim 
 inal laws had been severe in that empire ; they were not so among 
 the Indians of Paraguay. Punishments were not dreaded there, 
 and men feared nothing so much as the reproach of their own 
 conscience. 
 
 After the example of the incas, the Jesuits had established the 
 theocratical government, with an additional help peculiar to the 
 Catholic religion ; this was the practice of confession, which, in 
 Paraguay, brought the guilty person to the feet of the magistrate. 
 There, far from palliating his crime, remorse made him rather 
 aggravate it ; and instead of endeavoring to elude his punishment, 
 he implored it on his knees. The more public and severe it was, 
 the more did it contribute to quiet his conscience. By these 
 means, punishment, which in all other places is a terror to the 
 guilty, was here considered a source of consolation, as it stifled the 
 pangs of remorse by the expiation of the guilt. The Indians of 
 Paraguay had no civil laws, because they knew of no property; 
 nor had they any criminal statutes, because every one was his 
 own accuser, and voluntarily submitted to punishment. Their 
 only laws were the precepts of religion. 
 
 There were more arts and domestic conveniences in the repub- 
 
 
120 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 lies of the Jesuits, than there had been even in Cuzco itself, with 
 out more luxury. The use of coin was unknown. The watch 
 maker, weaver, locksmith and tailor, all deposited their works in 
 public warehouses. They were supplied with every necessary of 
 life, for the husbandman labored for them. The ministers of re 
 ligion, assisted by magistrates who were chosen by the people, 
 attended to the several wants of the whole community. Thore 
 was no distinction of station ; and it appears to have been the only 
 successful attempt at a political society, on an extended scale, 
 where men have enjoyed that equality which is the second of all 
 blessings ; for liberty is undoubtedly the first. 
 
 The incas and the Jesuits both inspired mankind with a rever 
 ence for religion, by the dazzling pomp of external ceremonies. 
 The temples of- the sun were as well constructed, and as well 
 ornamented, as the imperfect state of the arts, and the nature of 
 the materials in use, would allow ; and the churches in Paraguay 
 were very beautiful. Sacred music, that awakened human sensi 
 bility, aifecting hymns, lively paintings, the pomp of ceremonies ; 
 everything, in a word, conspired to attract and to detain the In 
 dians in these places of divine worship, where they found enjoy 
 ment blended with the exercises of piety. 
 
 When the missions of Paraguay were taken out of the hands 
 of the Jesuits, in 1768, they had arrived perhaps to the highest 
 degree of civilization to which it is possible to bring savage 
 nations, and which certainly far surpassed anything to be found 
 in the rest of the new hemisphere. The laws were well observed ; 
 an exact police was established; the manners were pure, and all 
 the inhabitants were united by brotherly love. All the arts of 
 necessity were improved, and some of those of luxury were known. 
 Plenty was universal, and the public stores were filled. In a 
 word, two leading objects of political government, tranquillity and 
 -contentment, seemed to be fully secured to these people. 
 
 Such is the picture, at least, afforded by the Spanish writers, 
 and it appears to have received the general assent of mankind, 
 with little abatement of the favoring colors in which it is drawn.. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Settlement 0f Venezuela and Guiana. Story of El Dorado. Settlement of Darien 
 and Calif 01 nia. General view of the government of Spanish America. Rapacity 
 of the viceroys. Monopoly of commerce by the mother country. Despotism of 
 the government. Description of the several classes of the inhabitants. State of 
 the Indians. Intercourse of the South Americans with Spain. Fair of Porto 
 Bello. Integrity of the Spanish merchants. Effect of the treasures of the Amer 
 ican mines upon Spain. Decline of that kingdom. Effects of the war of the 
 succession. The trade of Peru opened to the French. The Asiento treaty with 
 the English. The Porto Bello trade opened to the English. Factories estab 
 lished by them in Spanish America. Contraband trade. Abolition of the galeons. 
 
 Entrance to palace of El Dorado. 
 
 FLORIDA soon attracted the notice of the Spanish adrenturers, 
 and was invaded by them in the same daring spirit as the neigh 
 boring countries. But as that territory now forms a portion of 
 the American republic, we have reserved the account of this in 
 vasion for the history of the United States. We shall now pro 
 ceed to complete the history of the Spanish discoveries and con 
 quests in the southern portion of the western hemisphere. 
 
 The province of VENEZUELA was first visited by the Spaniards 
 11 p 
 
122 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 under Ojeda, in 1499. The voyagers, on landing there, observed 
 a village of Indian huts built upon piles, in order to raise them 
 above the stagnant water which covered the ground. They 
 named the place Venezuela, from their usual propensity to find a 
 resemblance between the objects they saw in America and those 
 that were familiar to them in Europe. They made some attempts 
 to settle here, but with little success. The final reduction of the 
 province was accomplished by means very different from those to 
 which Spain was indebted for her other acquisitions in the New 
 World. 
 
 The ambition of Charles Y. often engaged him in undertakings 
 of such variety and extent as to exceed the capacity of his reve 
 nue. Among other expedients for supplying the deficiencies of 
 his treasury, he -had borrowed large sums of money from the Vel- 
 sers, of Augsburg, the richest merchants 'then in Europe. By 
 way of payment, or perhaps in hopes of obtaining a new loan, he 
 bestowed upon them the province of Venezuela, to be held as a 
 hereditary fief of the crown of Castile, on condition that within a 
 limited time they should make themselves masters of the country 
 and establish a colony there. Under proper conductors this 
 scheme might have been attended with good success ; but unfortu 
 nately, its execution was intrusted to some of those soldiers of for 
 tune who abounded in Germany in the sixteenth century. These 
 adventurers, impatient to amass riches, instead of planting a 
 colony that might have cultivated and improved the country, 
 wandered from district to district in search of mines, plundering 
 the natives with unfeeling rapacity, and oppressing them by the 
 imposition of intolerable tasks. In a few years their avarice and 
 extortions, in comparison with which those of the Spaniards were 
 moderate, desolated the province so completely that it could hardly 
 afford them subsistence ; and the Velsers relinquished a property 
 from which they had no hope of ever deriving any advantage. 
 
 When the wretched remainder of the Germans abandoned 
 Venezuela, the Spaniards again took possession of it; but unfortu 
 nately, the scenes of horror which the Germans had exhibited, 
 were renewed by Carvajal, to whom was confided the government 
 of this unhappy country. His barbarities rendered the depopula 
 tion so complete, that, as early as 1550, a great number of negroes 
 were imported from' Africa, on whom the hopes of anMinbounded 
 prosperity were founded. But the habits of tyranny impelled the 
 Spaniards to treat" these slaves with so much severity that they 
 revolted. Their rebellion was assigned as a reason for massa 
 cring all the males, and this province once more became a desert, 
 in which the ashes of negroes, Spaniards, Indians and Germans, 
 
GUIANA. 123 
 
 the oppressors and the oppressed, were intermingled. In conse 
 quence of these ravages the country for a long time lay waste, and 
 when new settlements w~re begun, they advanced so slowly that 
 this part of the Spanish possessions remained comparatively ob 
 scure and unproductive, while the other American colonies were 
 \n a nourishing condition. 
 
 GUIANA, or the territory extending from the Orinoco to the Ama 
 zon, was peopled, at the time of its discovery, by a diversity of 
 tribes, similar in their general character to the other natives of 
 South America. The Orinoco was discovered by Columbus in 
 1498, but the country lay many years neglected. It was not till 
 1535, that the Spaniards thought of exploring it ; and being then 
 disappointed in their search after mines, they regarded it as of so lit 
 tle value that they founded but one settlement on the Orinoco. This 
 country is remarkable, in the early history of America, as being the 
 quarter in wliich was situated the fabulous region of El Dorado. 
 The belief in the existence of this country cost Spain a greater 
 expenditure of life and treasure than all her other conquests in the 
 New World. There were, along the whole coast of the Spanish 
 Main, rumors of an inland country which abounded with gold. 
 These rumors undoubtedly related to the kingdom of Bogota and 
 Tunja, now the Republic of New Granada. Belalcazar set out 
 in quest of this country from Quito. Federman, who came from 
 Venezuela, and Gonzalo Ximenes de Qaiesada, sought it by way 
 of the river Madalena. Wherever these adventurers came there 
 were rumors of a rich land at a distance. Similar accounts 
 prevailed in Peru. In Peru they related to New Grenada ; there 
 they related to Peru ; and thus adventurers from both sides were 
 allured to continue the pursuit of an object which constantly fled 
 before them. An imaginary kingdom was soon shaped out as the 
 object of their quest, and stories concerning it were easily invented 
 and eagerly believed. It was said that a younger brother of 
 Atahualpa fled from Peru after the destruction of the incas, took 
 with him the main part of their treasures, and founded a greater 
 empire than that of which his family had been deprived. Some 
 times this imaginary emperor was called the Great Paytiti, some 
 times the Great Moxo, sometimes the Emm, or Great Paru. An 
 impostor at Lima affirmed that he had been in his capital, the city 
 of Manoa, where not fewer than three thousand workmen were* 
 employed in the silversmiths' street. He even produced a map of 
 the country, in which he had marked a hill of gold, another of 
 silver, and a third of salt. The columns of the palace were de 
 scribed as of porphyry and alabaster ; the galleries of ebony and 
 cedar ; the throne of ivory, and the ascent to it was by steps of 
 gold. 
 
124 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 TV hen Don Martin del Barco was writing his poem of the Ar 
 gentina, which was about the time of Sir Walter Raleigh's first 
 expedition to Guiana, a report was current in Paraguay, that the 
 court of the Great Moxo had been discovered. Don Martin com 
 municates it as certain intelligence, and expresses his regret that 
 Cabeza de Vaca, had turned back from the Xarayes ; for had he 
 proceeded in that direction, he would have been the fortunate 
 discoverer. The palace, he says, stood on an island in a lake. 
 It was built of white stone ; at the entrance were two towers, and 
 between them a column five and twenty feet in height ; on its top 
 was a large silver moon, and two living lions were fastened to its 
 base with chains of gold. Having passed by these keepers you 
 came into a quadrangle, planted with trees and watered by a silver 
 fountain which spouted through four golden pipes. The gate of 
 the palace was of copper; it was very small, and its bolt was 
 received into the solid rock. Within, a golden sun was placed 
 upon an altar of silver, and four lamps were kept burning before 
 it day and night. However manifestly these fictions were borrow 
 ed from the romances of Amadis de Gaul and Palmerin of Eng 
 land, they were not too gross for the greedy avarice of those to 
 whom they were addressed. 
 
 This imaginary kingdom obtained the name of El Dorado, from 
 the fashion of its emperor, who was described as arrayed in the most 
 whimsical and barbarous magnificence. His body was anointed 
 every morning with a certain fragrant gum, of great price, and gold 
 dust was then blown upon him through a tube till he was covered 
 with it; the whole was washed off at night. This the barbarian 
 thought a more magnificent and costly attire than could be afforded 
 by any other potentate in the world, and hence the Spaniards 
 called him El Dorado, or the Gilded One. A history of all the. 
 expeditions which were undertaken for the conquest of this fabu 
 lous kingdom, would form a volume no less entertaining than 
 extraordinary. 
 
 The belief in the existence of El Dorado was not extinct at the 
 end of the sixteenth century, and Sir Walter Raleigh, though 
 probably discrediting the marvellous part of the story himself, did 
 not scruple to make use of the fable in alluring the English into a 
 scheme of his own for colonizing Guiana. He led an expedition 
 to that country in l&OO, but after making an unsuccessful attempt 
 to penetrate into the interior, he was forced to abandon the under 
 taking and return to England. The deceits which he had practised 
 in order to promote this measure were exposed and his character 
 was ruined. Raleigh's expedition to Guiana brought him to the 
 scaffold. 
 
CAYENNE. 125 
 
 The French formed a settlement at CAYENNE, in 1635. This 
 colony experienced many disasters. The merchants of Rouen 
 
 Vien in Cayenne. 
 
 formed a company for colonization here, and entrusted the man 
 agement of it to Poncet de Bretigny, a man of ferocious disposition. 
 He declared war both against the natives and the colonists, and 
 was soon massacred. This misfortune checked the prosperity of 
 the colony; but, in 1651, a new company was established, on a 
 larger scale than the first. In Paris alone, seven or eight hundred 
 settlers were 'collected. They embarked on the Seine for Havre 
 de Grace, but, unfortunately, the virtuous Abbe de Marivault, who 
 was the chief promoter of the undertaking, and who had been 
 selected for director-general, was drowned as he was stepping into 
 his boat. Roiville, a gentleman of Normandy, was then appointed 
 general, but he was assassinated on the passage. Twelve of the 
 principal adventurers who had committed this deed of violence, 
 assumed the direction of affairs, and administered the government 
 of the colony in a manner worthy of so atrocious a beginning. They 
 hanged one of their number, and banished three to a desert island; 
 two more died, and the rest abandoned themselves to every species 
 of excess. The commandant of the citadel deserted to the Dutch 
 with a part of his garrison, and those of the remainder who escaped 
 hunger, sickness and the fury of the savages, which had been 
 roused by numerous provocations, abandoned the country, after 
 fifteen months' stay, and fled to the leeward islands. They left 
 
126 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 behind them in the fort a large quantity of arms, ammunition and 
 merchandise, with the dead bodies of six hundred of their wretched 
 companions. 
 
 In 1663, a new company was formed in France, under the direc 
 tion of La Barre, master of requests, with a capital of about forty 
 thousand dollars. By obtaining some assistance from the ministry, 
 they were able to expel the Dutch, who had taken possession of 
 the country. In 1667, the English became masters of the colony, 
 and the Dutch again in 1676; but it reverted to the French, who 
 still retain it. 
 
 SURINAM was founded by the French in 1640, but they aban 
 doned it shortly afterwards, and were succeeded by the English, 
 who made some progress in the settlement, when they were driven 
 out by the Dutch. ' The colony was confirmed to them by the 
 peace of Breda, and they remain masters of it at the present day. 
 
 The Dutch formed a settlement on the Essequibo about the year 
 1602 ; this and the settlements in its neighborhood were subse 
 quently taken by the French and English. They were recovered 
 by the Dutch, and retained by them till 17&1, when the colonies on 
 the Essequibo and Demerara put themselves under British protec 
 tion. In 1783 the French again took possession of this territory. 
 The British subdued them in 1796, and they were restored to the 
 Dutch at the treaty. of Amiens, in 1802. The British took posses 
 sion of them once more in 1803, and have retained them to the 
 present day. 
 
 A settlement was made by the Scotch at the ISTHMUS OF DARIEN 
 in 1696. They landed twelve hundred men, furnished with every 
 thing necessary to establish a colony. The country was named 
 Caledonia, and the town which they began to build, New Edin 
 burgh. The design of the settlers was to gain the confidence ol 
 the natives, whom the Spaniards could not subdue, and with 
 whom they were then at war ; to intercept the Spanish galeoris, 
 and, by combining with the British forces at Jamaica, to cut off 
 the trade through Carthagena and Porto Bello, and compete with 
 the Spaniards for the ascendency in this part of the world. This 
 scheme aroused the jealousy of Louis XIV., who offered the court 
 of Madrid a fleet to frustrate the attempt. The Dutch were still 
 more alarmed, in the apprehension that this new company would 
 one day rival them in the smuggling trade, of which tlley enjoyed 
 at that period a monopoly. But, above all, the Spaniards had 
 reason to oppose it, and the government of Madrid threatened in 
 consequence to confiscate the property of British merchants trading 
 in their territories. Yet, had the scheme been encouraged by the 
 English, there can be little doubt that a permanent establishment 
 
CALIFORNIA. ' ,,' 127 
 
 would have been effected, of great importance to their commerce. 
 Some illiberal prejudices, however, excited the court against this 
 enterprise. Scotland was yet a separate kingdom, and it was 
 feared that the gold of America, by making that country rich, 
 would withdraw it from its dependence on England. The permis 
 sion to make this settlement was therefore revoked by king 
 William; and he prohibited all the other British colonies from 
 furnishing arms and ammunition or provisions to the settlement at 
 Darien. The undertaking was therefore stifled in its infancy. 
 
 CALIFORNIA was discovered by Cortez in 1536, but he had no 
 leisure to explore it. Several unsuccessful attempts were after 
 wards made to form settlements there, and the losses and expendi 
 tures consequent upon these failures had so far discouraged the 
 Spanish government that the project was entirely given up, till, in 
 1697, the Jesuits offered to undertake it. Having obtained this 
 permission, they devised a plan of legislation founded upon accu 
 rate notions of the climate, soil and character of the inhabitants. 
 Their proceedings were not guided by fanaticism. They treated 
 the natives with gentleness and conciliation, winning their favor 
 with gifts, instead of exciting their hostility by plundering them oi 
 their property. The hatred which the Californians bore against 
 the Spanish name was overcome, the useful arts were introduced, 
 and a considerable degree of civilization established among the 
 inhabitants. 
 
 The whole Spanish dominion in America was divided into two 
 great governments ; one subject to the viceroy of New Spain, or 
 Mexico, and the other to the viceroy of Peru. The jurisdiction 
 of the former extended over all the provinces north of the Isthmus 
 of Panama ; that of the latter, over all the South American prov 
 inces. The inconveniences of this arrangement were felt at an 
 early period ; and they became intolerable when the remote prov 
 inces had increased in population. So wide was the extent of 
 these dominions, that many places subject to the jurisdiction of 
 the viceroys, were at such an enormous distance from the capitals 
 in which they resided, that no authority could effectually reach 
 them. Some districts in the viceroy alty of Mexico lay at a dis 
 tance of two thousand miles from the seat of government. Lima, 
 the capital of the viceroyalty of Peru, was at a still greater dis 
 tance from some of its dependencies. The people in these remote 
 quarters, could hardly be said to enjoy the benefits of civil gov 
 ernment. The oppression and insolence of petty magistrates 
 were grievances that were borne in silence, as no redress could be 
 obtained, except by a long and expensive journey to the capital. 
 A partial remedy for these evils was at length applied, at the be- 
 
128 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 ginning of the last contury, by the establishment of a third vice- 
 royalty at Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital of the new kingdom 
 of Granada, the jurisdiction of which extended over the whole^ 
 kingdom of Tierra Firme and the province of Quito. Subse 
 quently a fourth viceroyalty was erected, comprising the provin 
 ces of Rio de la Plata, Buenos Ayres, Paraguay, Tucuman, Potosi, 
 and a few other districts. The limits of the viceroyalty of New 
 Spain were likewise contracted, and four of its remote provinces, 
 California, Sinaloa, Sonora and New Navarre, formed into a sepa 
 rate government, without, however, the rank of a viceroyalty. 
 
 The viceroys of these rich and extensive countries, not only rep 
 resented the person of their sovereign, but possessed his royal 
 prerogatives in their utmost strength, within the precincts of their 
 own governments. -Their authority was supreme in every de 
 partment, military, civil and criminal. They presided in every 
 tribunal, and had the sole right of nominating to offices of the 
 highest importance. The external pomp of their government 
 corresponded with its real dignity and power. The court was 
 formed upon the model of that at Madrid, with horse and foot 
 guards. They possessed a household regularly established ; nu 
 merous attendants and insignia of command, and made a display 
 of pompous magnificence which hardly bore the semblance of 
 delegated authority. The government of Madrid, with character 
 istic jealousy, being conscious of all this, and of the innumerable 
 opportunities the viceroys possessed of amassing wealth, permit 
 ted them to remain in office only a few years ; which circumstance 
 only increased their rapacity, and added to the ingenuity with 
 which they labored to improve every moment of power, which 
 they knew was hastening fast to a period. They were then suc 
 ceeded by others, who had the same motives to pursue the same 
 conduct ; and being generally chosen out of families of distinc 
 tion, decayed in fortune, the provinces thus became exhausted by 
 avarice and oppression. 
 
 The viceroys were aided in their government by officers and tri 
 bunals similar to those in Spain. The administration of justice was. 
 vested in courts known by the name of Audiences. These were 
 eleven in number, dispensing justice to as many districts. Their 
 sentences were final in all cases of property below the value of 
 six thousand dollars"; above this, the case was subjecfcjto review, 
 and might be carried by appeal before the Royal Council of the 
 Indies in Spain. 
 
 The first object of the Spanish government, after reducing the 
 native Americans to subjection and establishing the colonies in 
 perpetual dependence on the parent state, was to secure a mo- 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONIES. 129 
 
 nopoly of their commerce. In order to prevent the colonies from 
 making any efforts in trade or manufacture that might interfere 
 with the business of the mother country, they prohibited, by the 
 severest penalties, the establishment of the staple manufactures of 
 Spain, and the culture of the vine and olive. The inhabitants 
 trusted to old Spain both for articles of luxury and prime neces 
 sity. In exchange for these, the colonies sent to Spain the pro 
 duce of their mines and plantations. All that they produced 
 flowed into the ports of Spain, and nearly all that they consumed 
 issued from them. No foreigner could enter one of the Spanish 
 American settlements without express permission ; foreign vessels 
 were excluded from their ports, and the penalty of death and con 
 fiscation was denounced against all who presumed to trade with 
 them. Nor did the jealousy and narrow maxims cf the Spanish 
 government stop here. All communication was prohibited be 
 tween one province and another along the Pacific Ocean, though 
 each of these yielded peculiar productions, which could have been 
 interchanged, to the great promotion of the wealth, industry and 
 happiness of the people. Hostile nations have enjoyed more inter 
 course with each other than was permitted to the Spaniards of 
 Mexico, Peru, New Granada and Guatemala. 
 
 Such is the general outline of the ancient government of Spanish 
 America, a system dictated by avarice and ambition, selfish and 
 short-sighted, and rendered still more oppressive by superstition 
 Never, perhaps, was a despotism established with so little regard 
 to the rights of humanity ; the natives enslaved, the colonists 
 subjected to the arbitrary will of a constant succession of hungry 
 and rapacious rulers, who preyed upon their vitals with the re 
 morseless greediness of so many vultures ; prohibited from sup 
 plying their own wants, from intercourse with foreigners or the 
 neighboring colonies of their own countrymen, and obliged to 
 purchase the produce of the mother country at an extravagant 
 price. In order to secure the monopoly at which she aimed, Spain 
 conducted all her trade with America by means of two fleets with 
 strong convoys, one named the galeons, and the other the flotn ; 
 they were equipped annually, and sailed from Seville, touching at 
 Cadiz. In consequence of such a restricted mode of communi 
 cation, the profits on merchandise exported to America, generally 
 amounted to two and three hundred per cent. 
 
 Population was not likely to make rapid advances in settle 
 ments where men had so few inducements to think of their 
 posterity ; nor was industry likely to flourish under all these dis 
 couragements. As a further check upon both, the Catholic reli 
 gion, under the same form as in Spain, was established here, with 
 
 Q 
 
130 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 its full train of archbishops, bishops, deans and other dignita 
 ries, exacting a tenth out of the produce of the planter. This 
 tax on industry, which is no slight oppression to society even in 
 its most improved state, was highly grievous to the infant colonies, 
 as it affected every article of prime necessity. The indu&try of 
 the planter was taxed in every stage of its progress, but so fertile 
 were the regions which the settlers occupied, that population 
 gradually increased, in spite of every hindrance from the govern 
 ment, and the colonies were rilled with citizens of various distinct 
 orders. Among these the natives of Old Spain held the first rank, 
 by the name of chapetones ; and from the jealousy of the Spanish 
 ccurt in securing the dependence of the colonies, every office of 
 importance was filled from this class of persons. Those, who, by 
 their birth or long' residence in America, might be suspected to 
 have any interest separate from that of the mother country, were 
 the objects of distrust to such a degree that it amounted nearly to 
 an exclusion from all offices of trust or authority. The chape- 
 tones, therefore, were raised to such a pre-eminence in Spanish 
 America, that they looked down with disdain on every other 
 order of men. 
 
 The Creoles, or descendants of Europeans settled in America, 
 formed the second class of subjects in the Spanish colonies. Some 
 of these were the posterity of the original conquerors, and others 
 belonged to the noblest families of Spain, but by the enervating 
 influence of a sultry climate, and other causes, the original 
 vigor of their minds became so entirely broken, that the greater 
 part of them were accustomed to waste life in luxurious indul 
 gence. Commerce ^7 as too laborious an employment for them; 
 and the interior traffic of the colonies, as well as that with Spain, 
 was carried on solely by the chapetones, who acquired immense 
 wealth by this means, at the same time that they engrossed the 
 emoluments of government. The various passions excited by this 
 distinction of rank and character, settled down into the most im 
 placable hatred between these two classes, which, even at an early 
 period, broke out into occasional ferments. From a refinement, in 
 their distrustful policy, the court of Spain cnerished the seeds of 
 discord, and fomented this mutual jealousy, hoping to prevent the 
 two most powerful classes of its subjects in the New World from 
 combining against the parent state. The further effects of these 
 animosities, as exhibited in the revolutions to which Spanish 
 America has been subjected during the present century, will be 
 described in another portion of this work. 
 
 The third class of colonists was a mixed race, the offspring 
 either of an European and a negro, or of an European and Indian, 
 
RACES IN THE SPANISH COLONIES. 131 
 
 the former a mulatto, and the latter a mestizo. The several stages 
 of descent in their race, and the gradual variations of shade, until 
 the African black, or the copper-color of America brightened into an 
 European complexion, were accurately marked by the Spaniards, 
 and each distinguished by a peculiar name. The mechanic arts 
 were chiefly carried on by this mixed race, whose form is remarka 
 bly robust and hardy. The negroes held the fourth rank, and 
 were chiefly employed in domestic service. They were much 
 caressed by their masters, whose manners they imitated, and 
 whose passions they imbibed. Their dress and external appear 
 ance were hardly inferior to that of their lords. Elevated by this 
 distinction, they assumed a tone of superiority over the Indians, 
 and treated them with such insolence, that the antipathy between 
 the two races became deep and inveterate. 
 
 The Indians formed the fifth and the most depressed order of 
 inhabitants in that country which belonged to their ancestors. 
 By the edict of Charles V., which caused such disturbances, the 
 Indians were exempted from involuntary services ; but so much 
 inconvenience was experienced in carrying this edict into literal 
 execution, that, after many fruitless attempts, the project was 
 abandoned ; and measures were taken to secure the labor of the 
 Indians, and make them contribute to the support of government, 
 at the same time regarding them as freemen. A yearly tax was 
 laid upon every male from eighteen years of age to fifty, and the 
 nature and degree of the services required were fixed with preci 
 sion. Every Indian was either an immediate vassal of the crown, 
 or a dependent upon some person to whom the district where he 
 lived had been granted for a limited time, under the name of an 
 encomienda. In the former case about three fourths of the tax were 
 paid into the royal treasury; in the latter, the same proportion 
 went to the holder of the grant. According to the same rule, the 
 benefit arising from the services of the Indians, accrued either to 
 the crown, or to the grantee of the encomienda. The nature of 
 the work was not only defined, but a recompense, seemingly equi 
 table, assigned. On many occasions, however, both from the 
 avarice of individuals and the exactions of the magistrates, un 
 reasonable tasks were imposed, the term of labor prolonged, and 
 they were made to groan under all the insults and wrongs of an 
 enslaved and degraded people. The mines were the great source 
 of their oppression. Their constitutions were exhausted, and 
 their bodies worn down, by extracting ore from the bowels of the 
 earth, and refining it by a process no less laborious than un 
 healthy. How often must they have cursed the fatal wealth of 
 their soil, which not only tempted the Spaniards to conquest, but 
 
132 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 doomed them to a condition more completely wretched than that 
 of any other vanquished race ! 
 
 Porto Bello, on the Gulf of Darien, although situated in a most 
 unhealthy spot, became at one period the theatre of the richest 
 commerce that ever was transacted on the face of the earth. The 
 gold, silver and other productions of Peru and Chili, were carried 
 annually thither from Panama, to be exchanged for the manufac 
 tures of Europe, while, on the other hand, the galeons arrived 
 from Spain, laden with every article of necessity and luxury. At 
 this period Porto Bello was filled with people, its harbor crowded 
 with ships, and the neighboring fields covered with droves of 
 mules, laden with the precious metals. Instead of poverty and 
 solitude, its characteristics on ordinary occasions, the town ex 
 hibited, during the season of the fair, the most imposing show of 
 wealth and activity. Bales of goods, chests of treasure, and 
 bustling crowds everywhere met the eye. As soon as the galeons 
 were unloaded, and the merchants of Peru with the president of 
 Panama had arrived, preliminaries of the fair began. The depu 
 ties of the several parties repaired on boarS the admiral's ship, 
 where the prices of the different commodities were settled, in 
 presence of the commander of the galeons and the president of 
 Panama. The estimate was not adjusted according to the intrin 
 sic value of each article, but by its scarcity or plenty ; and the 
 ability of the agents was shown in forming their combinations so 
 judiciously, that the cargo imported from Europe should absorb 
 all the treasures that were sent from Lima. It was regarded as a 
 bad market when goods were left unsold for want of money, or 
 money remained unexpended for want of goods. In the former 
 case, and in that only, the Spanish merchants were permitted to 
 go and traffic in the South Sea ; and in the latter, only, the Peru 
 vian merchants might make remittances to Spain, for the purchase 
 of goods. 
 
 The prices being settled, the business of the fair began. This 
 was neither tedious nor difficult, but was conducted with that 
 simplicity and confidence which accompany extensive commerce. 
 No bale of goods was ever opened; no chest of treasure was 
 examined; both were received on the credit of the persons to 
 whom they belonged; and the exchanges were made with so 
 much honesty, that this liberal confidence was itever abused. 
 Chests of gold were found more than once mixed among chests of 
 silver ; and articles were contained in the bales not mentioned in 
 the invoice, but all these were accurately accounted for on the 
 return of the galeons. There was known one instance of fraud. 
 In 1654, all the coined silver which was shipped from Porto Bello 
 
133 
 
 to Europe, was found to have one fifth of alloy. The Spanish 
 merchants, with their usual integrity, sustained the whole loss, 
 and indemnified the foreigners by whom they were employed. 
 The fraud was detected, and the author of it, who was no other 
 than the treasurer of the mint at Lima, publicly burnt for his vil- 
 lany. The reputation, therefore, of the Peruvian merchants suf* 
 fered no stain. 
 
 The fair of Porto Bello was limited to forty days, on account 
 of the insalubrity of the place. After this, the galeons returned 
 to Spain by the way of Cuba, often with twenty millions of dol 
 lars in money and goods. The two towns of Porto Bello and 
 Panama, which were the main channels of communication be 
 tween Spain and her most valuable colonies, were reduced almost 
 to nothing after the galeons were abolished. 
 
 The quantity of gold and silver entered at the Spanish ports 
 from America, exceeded twenty millions of dollars per annum, 
 besides what was smuggled. It might naturally be supposed 
 that such a torrent of treasure must have rendered Spain the 
 richest country in the universe. But the event proved other 
 wise. All the greedy rapacity and oppression of the Spanish 
 conquerors have been unable to prevent Spain from sinking 
 into one of the poorest and feeblest powers in Europe. When 
 the American mines were first opened, and the intercourse be 
 tween the mother country and her colonies became active, the 
 industry and manufactures of Spain were so thriving that she 
 was able to answer the growing demands of the American set 
 tlements. The manufactures in wool, and flax, and silk, were 
 so considerable, as to furnish not only sufficient for her own con 
 sumption, but afforded a surplus for exportation. And when 
 a new market for them was opened, to which she alone had ac 
 cess, this new employment must have augmented her industry. 
 But a sudden and enormous influx of wealth must ever bring 
 pernicious consequences in its train, by overturning all sober plans 
 of industry, and breeding a taste for whatever is wild, extrava 
 gant and daring in business and action. The treasures of Spain 
 were accordingly squandered by Charles V. in attempts to over 
 turn the liberties of Germany, and by the imbecile and arrogant 
 Philip II., who imagined his feeble intellect equal to the task of 
 subjugating all Europe. Spain was thus drained of men and 
 money, The calamities of the country were increased by the 
 bigot, Philip III., who wantonly expelled from his dominions a 
 million of industrious Morescoes, who constituted the life of the 
 Spanish manufactures. 
 
 The demands of the colonies continued to increase in proportion 
 12 
 
134 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 as the parent state declined in population and industry. The 
 Spaniards, finding industry discouraged at home, repaired with 
 eagerness to the New World ; and another drain of her population 
 was opened in Spain by the flow of emigrants to the west. 
 Thinned of people and void of industry, she was unable to sup 
 ply the increasing demands of her colonies, and had recourse to 
 her neighbors. The manufactures of the Low Countries, of Eng 
 land, France and Italy, which her wants called into existence, or 
 animated with new vigor, furnished in abundance whatever she 
 required. In vain did the fundamental law of Ferdinand and 
 Isabella, excluding foreigners from the trade of America, oppose 
 this innovation. Necessity, more powerful than written statutes, 
 defeated its operations, and forced the Spaniards themselves to 
 concur in eluding it. Relying on the fidelity and honor of the 
 Spanish merchants, who lent their names to cover the transaction, 
 the English, the French and the Dutch sent out their manufac 
 tures to the Spanish colonies, and reaped the enormous profits 
 created by the misgovernment of the court of Madrid. That 
 probity, which is the pride and distinction of the Castilians, was 
 the security of foreigners in this traffic. Neither the dread of 
 danger, nor the allurements of profit ever induced a Spanish 
 agent to betray the trust confided in him. 
 
 Before the middle of the seventeenth century, not more than a 
 twentieth part of the commodities exported to Spanish America 
 was the growth or fabric of the parent state. All the rest was the 
 property of foreign merchants, though entered in the name of 
 Spaniards. The treasures of the New World may be said from 
 this time to have belonged not to Spain, but to foreigners. The 
 court of Madrid were astonished and distressed to behold their 
 American wealth vanish almost as soon as it appeared. In their 
 desperation and perplexity they had recourse to many wild and 
 ineffectual schemes. The exportation of gold and silver was made 
 a capital crime ; but this law, like the former, was eluded, and 
 Philip IV., unable to supply what was requisite in circulation, 
 attempted to raise copper coin to the value nearly of silver. The 
 lord of the mines of Mexico and Peru was driven to the necessity 
 of uttering base money ! 
 
 Under the feeble monarchs with whom the reign of the Austrian 
 line in Spain terminated, no remedy was applied totlie evils under 
 which the national trade and industry languished. These evils 
 continued to increase, and Spain, with dominions more extensive 
 and opulent than any other European state, possessed neither 
 money, vigor, nor industry. At length the violence of a great 
 national convulsion aroused the slumbering genius of the land in 
 
THE AS1ENTO, ETC. 135 
 
 the war of the succession, at the beginning of the last century. 
 This war rekindled, in some degree, the ancient spirit and energy 
 of the nation; while the various powers who favored the pre 
 tensions of the Austrian or Bourbon candidate for the throne, 
 France, England and Holland, sent formidable fleets and armies 
 to their support, and remitted immense sums of money to Spain, 
 which were spent there. Part of the American treasure, of which 
 the kingdom had been drained, flowed back ; and as soon as the 
 Bourbons obtained quiet possession of the throne, they discerned 
 this change in the spirit of the -people, and took advantage of it. 
 Accordingly the first object of Philip V. was to suppress an inno 
 vation which had taken place during the war, and which over 
 turned the whole system of the Spanish commerce with America. 
 
 The English and Dutch, by their superiority in naval power, 
 having acquired such command of the sea as to cut off all com 
 munication between Spain and her colonies, the court of Madrid, 
 in order to furnish the settlements with those necessaries of life, 
 without which they could not subsist, opened the trade of Peru to 
 the French. The privilege of this trade was granted by Louis 
 XIY. to the merchants of St. Malo, who entered into it with vigor 
 and prosecuted it upon principles very different from those of the 
 Spaniards. They supplied Peru with European commodities at a 
 moderate price and in large quantities. Such an abundance of 
 goods flowed into every province of Spanish America, as had 
 never before been seen; and if this intercourse had been con 
 tinued, the commerce with Spain must have ceased and the 
 dependence of the colonies on the mother country speedily come 
 to an end. Peremptory orders were therefore issued, prohibiting 
 the admission of foreign vessels into any part of Peru or Chili, 
 and a Spanish squadron was sent into the South Sea to enforce 
 the new system. 
 
 But though Spain by this means repelled one encroachment on 
 her commerce, she became exposed to another, hardly less fatal. 
 At the peace of Utrecht, Philip Y. transferred to Great Britain the 
 Asiento, or privilege of supplying the Spanish colonies with slaves, 
 and added to this grant the more extraordinary favor of allowing 
 the English to send annually to the fair of Porto Bello, a ship of 
 five hundred tons, laden with European commodities. By virtue 
 of this contract, which was vested exclusively in the South Sea 
 Company, British factories were established at Carthagena, Pa 
 nama, Vera Cruz, Buenos Ayres, and other Spanish settlements ; 
 and the company was farther permitted to freight, in the ports of 
 the South Sea, vessels of four hundred tons, to convey negroes to 
 all the ports of Peru, and to bring back the produce of their sales 
 in gold and silver, free of duty. 
 
136 SPANISH DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS. 
 
 Thus the veil with which Spain had hitherto covered the affairs 
 of her colonies was removed. The agents of a rival nation resid 
 ing in the towns of most extensive trade and of chief resort, had 
 the best opportunities of becoming acquainted with the interior 
 condition of the provinces. The merchants of Jamaica , and other 
 English colonies that traded to the Spanish main, were accord 
 ingly enabled to carry on the contraband trade with a facility and 
 success never before equalled. This, however, was not the most 
 fatal effect of the Asiento upon the commerce of Spain. The 
 agents of the British South Sea Company, under cover of the 
 importation which they were authorized to make by the ship sent 
 annually to Porto Bello, poured in their goods without measure or 
 restraint. Instead of a ship of five hundred tons, as stipulated 
 by the treaty, they employed one of more than double that size. 
 She was accompanied by three or four smaller vessels, which, 
 mooring in some neighboring creek, supplied her clandestinely 
 with fresh bales of goods as fast as the first were sold. The 
 inspectors of the fair and the officers of the revenue, corrupted 
 by exorbitant presents, connived at the fraud. 
 
 In this manner, almost the whole trade of Spanish America fell 
 into the hands of foreigners. The immense commerce of the 
 galeons, formerly the pride of Spain and the envy of other na 
 tions, was ruined by this competition, and the squadron itself, 
 reduced from fifteen thousand to two thousand tons, served hardly 
 any other purpose than to bring home the royal revenue arising 
 from the fifth on silver. 
 
 The attempts of the Spanish government to check this contra 
 band trade, by the establishment of guarda costas on the coast of 
 the Spanish main, precipitated her into a war with Great Britain, 
 in consequence of which the latter obtained a release from the 
 Asiento, and was left at full liberty, by the treaty of Aix la Cha- 
 pelleV to regulate the trade with her colonies without being re 
 strained by any foreign engagements. Subsequently to this, the 
 Spanish government permitted a considerable part of the Ameri 
 can trade to be carried on by register ships, which were despatch 
 ed by merchants in Seville and Cadiz in the intervals between the 
 voyages of the galeons and the flota. The advantages of this 
 new arrangement, were soon felt; the contraband trade was 
 checked, the number of register ships increased, ancfan 1748, the 
 galeons were finally abolished, after having been employed above 
 two centuries. All the register ships for the Pacific Ocean were 
 obliged to take their departure from Cadiz and return thither, 
 so that the American commerce remained still under the restraint 
 of a species of monopoly. 
 
BRAZIL. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Discovery of Brazil. Voyage of Amerigo Vespucci. Attempt of the French, under 
 Villegagnon, to establish a settlement at Rio Janeiro. Expulsion of the French. 
 Convicts transported to Brazil. De Souza appointed governor. Hostility of 
 the natives. Introduction of the Jesuits. They pacify the natives. Contrast of 
 the Spanish and Portuguese policies in the conquest of America. The Cariges. 
 Anecdote of Farnahaca, a Brazilian chief. Slaves brought into Brazil. New 
 attempts of the French. The Brazilian philosopher. 
 
 Modern hunters of Brazil. 
 
 BRAZIL was first discovered by Vincent Yanez Pinzon, one of 
 the companions of Columbus in his first voyage. Seven years 
 after this, Pinzon and his nephew Arias obtained a commission to 
 make fcirther discoveries. They sailed from Palos, with four 
 caravels, in 1499, and came in sight of Cape St. Augustine, Jan 
 uary 26, 1500. They gave this headland the name of Cape Con 
 solation, landed, cut inscriptions on the trees, and took possession^ 
 of the country for the crown of Castile. They had some hostile 
 dealings with the natives, and coasted south as far as the mouth 
 of the Amazon. From this point they sailed northwardly as far 
 as the Orinoco, and returned to Spain with specimens of cinnamon, 
 
138 BRAZIL. 
 
 ginger, Brazil wood and other commodities. The Spaniards, 
 however, made no attempt to colonize this country, as it was found 
 to lie within the limits which had been assigned to the Portuguese. 
 In fact, before the Pinzons returned to Spain, it had been taken 
 possession of by that power, 
 
 The Portuguese discovered it by accident. In 1500, Pedro 
 Alvarez Cabral sailed from Lisbon, with a fleet, for the East Indies ; 
 the passage thither round the Cape of Good Hope having first 
 been discovered by Vasco da Gama. The fleet, in order to avoid 
 the calms on the coast of Africa, stood a great distance to the 
 west, and, on the 24th of April, saw land in lat. 17 south. They 
 steered along the shore, and, on the 3d of May, landed at a 
 harbor, which they named Porto Seguro. This being the day 
 dedicated to the holy cross, Cabral named the country, Terra 
 
 Cabral taking possession of Brazil. 
 
 Nova de Vera Cruz, or New Land of the Holy Cross. The forests 
 abounded with trees producing a beautiful dye-wood as red as 
 lire, to which the Portuguese gave the name of brazil, from braza, 
 a live coal. This name afterwards was applied to the whole coun 
 try. Cabral took possession of it in the name of the crown of 
 Portugal. He sent a vessel back to Lisbon with the news of his 
 discovery, and proceeded on his voyage to India. 
 
 The king of Portugal immediately fitted out three ships, under 
 Amerigo Vespucci, who sailed to Brazil in 1501. Vespucci ex 
 plored the coast as far south as the 52d degree of latitude, but 
 made no settlement, and returned to Lisbon after a voyage of six 
 teen months. He made a second voyage in 1503, in which he lost 
 all his fleet but his own ship, established a settlement on the coast, 
 
RIO JANEIRO. 139 
 
 and carried home a cargo of brazil wood, the value of which 
 tempted many private adventurers to that country, and an estab 
 lishment of these volunteer colonists was soon formed at St. Sal 
 vador. The Portuguese government, however, strangely neglected 
 this valuable territory, and the French began to turn their eyes 
 in that direction. In 1558, Nicolas Yillegagnon, a Frenchman, a 
 knight of Malta, and an officer of high rank in the French navy, 
 sailed on an expedition to Rio Janeiro. He formed a settlement 
 on an island in that harbor, which still bears his name. The 
 design was to make this country an asylum for the Huguenots ; 
 and the leaders of that party in France used every effort to pro 
 mote it. Among these was the celebrated Admiral Coligny, and 
 the fortress on the island was called after his name. A colony 
 of Protestants was collected and sent out from France, under his 
 protection. Two clergyman of that persuasion were selected at 
 Geneva, with fourteen students of divinity, to act as pastors ; and 
 there was reason to hope that the Reformation would take root 
 here, and in process of time fill the south as well as the north of 
 the New World with a Protestant people. But Yillegagnon seems 
 to have been unworthy of his trust. He persecuted his follower^?, 
 who had fled from Europe to avoid persecution, till he drove them 
 from this asylum also. 
 
 The Portuguese settlers, jealous of this encroachment, and 
 alarmed at the progress of the reformed faith in this new country 
 sent a force from San Salvador, who drove the French from the 
 island, and demolished their fortress. The remnant of the Protes 
 tant garrison retired to the continent, and were well received by 
 the Tamoyas Indians, with whom they had formed an alliance. 
 They fixed themselves in a new situation near Rio Janeiro, where 
 they maintained themselves by new accessions of people from 
 Europe for ten years. But, in 1565, the Portuguese despatched 
 another expedition against them. After a struggle of two years, 
 the French were expelled from all their fortresses, and the colony 
 was completely crushed. The court of Lisbon ordered a survey 
 to be taken of the country, and, having ascertained that it afforded 
 neither gold nor silver, held it in such contempt, that they sent to 
 it no other colonists than condemned criminals. 
 
 India in those days attracted all the attention of the Portuguese. 
 It was the road to fortune, to power, and to fame. The great 
 exploits of the nation in the east, and the wealth brought from 
 that quarter, inflamed the imagination of every one. No person 
 went voluntarily to America ; but, fortunately for Brazil, those 
 unhappy men whom the inquisition had doomed to destruction, 
 were added to the convicts already transported thither. By the 
 
140 BRAZIL. 
 
 united industry of these exiles, who procured, from the island of 
 Madeira, slips of the sugar-cane, which they cultivated with great 
 care, sugar, which had hitherto been used only in medicine, by 
 reason of its scarcity, was furnished in such plenty as to become 
 an article of luxury. The rich and great were everywhere eager 
 to procure this new species of indulgence j a taste which proved 
 extremely favorable to Brazil. The court of Lisbon, notwith 
 standing its prejudices, began to be sensible that a colony might 
 become beneficial .to the mother country without producing gold 
 or silver. It now looked with less contempt on an immense re 
 gion which chance had thrown in its way, and which it had long 
 considered as a place only fit to receive the refuse of the kingdom. 
 
 Brazil had hitherto been left to the capricious management of 
 the settlers ; but it was at length thought to deserve some kind of 
 attention from the government. Thomas de Souza, a man of 
 abilities, was accordingly sent thither, in 1549, as governor. He 
 built a city, to which he gave the name of St. Salvador. Souza 
 began with reducing the desperate herd, who composed the greater 
 part of the colony, into a state of proper subordination, and bring 
 ing their scattered settlements nearer together. He next applied 
 himself to acquire some information respecting the natives, with 
 whom he knew he must be continually engaged either in traffic 
 or war. It was no easy matter to accomplish this. Brazil was 
 full of small nations of Indians, some of which inhabited the for 
 ests; others lived in the plains and along the rivers. Some had 
 settled habitations, but the greater number led "a roving life. 
 Most of them had no intercourse with each other. Those who 
 were not divided by hostilities, were kept apart by hereditary 
 hatred and jealousy. 
 
 Such manners did not dispose the Brazilians to submit tamely 
 to the yoke which the Portuguese wished to. impose upon them. 
 At rrrst they only declined all intercourse with the invaders ; but 
 finding themselves afterwards pursued, in order to be made slaves 
 and employed in the labors of the field, they took the resolution 
 of murdering all the Europeans, wherever they could seize them. 
 The friends and relatives of the natives that were taken also 
 ventured to make attempts to rescue them, and were sometimes 
 successful. This brought an increase of enemies against the 
 Portuguese, who were forced to attend to the double o*ecupation of 
 labor and of war. Souza did not bring forces sufficient materially 
 to change the situation of affairs. By building a city at St. Sal 
 vador, he gave a centre to the colony ; but the honor of settling, 
 extending, and making it really useful to the mother country, was 
 reserved for the Jesuits, whom he brought in his train. 
 
MISSION OF THE JEStrlTS. 141 
 
 Those intrepid and enterprising men, who have always been 
 prompted by motives of religion or ambition to undertake the 
 greatest designs, dispersed themselves among the Indians. Such 
 of the missionaries as were murdered from hatred of the Portuguese 
 name, were immediately replaced by others, who appeared to be 
 inspired only with sentiments of peace and charity. This mag 
 nanimity confounded the barbarians. By degrees they began to 
 place some confidence in men who seemed to seek them only with 
 a view of making them happy. Their attachment to the mission 
 aries grew up into a passionate fondness. When a Jesuit was 
 expected in one of their nations, the young people nocked to meet 
 him, concealing themselves in the woods along the road. As he 
 drew near they sallied forth, played upon their pipes, beat their 
 drums, danced, and made the air resound with joyful songs. They 
 omitted nothing that could express their satisfaction. At the 
 entrance of the village the old men and chief inhabitants were 
 assembled, who expressed as much joy, but with more sedateness. 
 A little farther on stood the women and young girls, in a respect 
 ful posture suitable to their sex. There all joined and conducted 
 the father in triumph to the place where they were accustomed to 
 hold their assemblies. There he instructed them in the fundamen 
 tal principles of religion ; exhorted them to regularity of manners, 
 to a love of justice, brotherly kindness, charity, and to an abhor 
 rence of human blood. After this he baptized them. 
 
 As the Jesuits were too few in number to transact all the 
 business themselves, they frequently deputed some of the most 
 intelligent natives in their stead. Proud of so honorable an office, 
 these Indians distributed hatchets, knives and looking-glasses 
 among the savages, and represented the Portuguese as harmless, 
 humane and good people. They never returned from their excur 
 sions without bringing with them some of their countrymen, who 
 followed them from motives of curiosity. When those savages 
 had once seen the Jesuits, it was with difficulty they ever quitted 
 them. If they returned home, it was to invite their families and 
 friends to come and share their happiness, and to display the pres 
 ents they had received. 
 
 Should any one be inclined to doubt these happy effects of 
 humanity and kindness in dealing with savage nations, let him 
 only compare the progress which the Jesuits made in a short time, 
 in South America, with what the fleets and armies of Spain and 
 Portugal were not able to effect in the course of two centuries. 
 While multitudes of soldiers were employed in changing two 
 populous and civilized empires into deserts, inhabited chiefly by 
 roving savages, a few missionaries have changed little wandering 
 
142 BRAZIL. 
 
 tribes into great and civilized nations. If these active and cour 
 ageous men had been less infected with the spirit of the church oi 
 Rome ; if when formed into a society in the most intriguing and 
 corrupt court in Europe, they had not insinuated themselves into 
 other courts to influence all political events ; if the chiefs of the 
 society had not made an ill use of the very virtues of its members, 
 the Old and New World would still have reaped the advantage of 
 their unquestionable zeal, talent and industry. 
 
 The Brazilian Indians had too much cause of hatred against the 
 Europeans, not to mistrust their kindness. But this diffidence 
 was in some measure removed by a signal act of justice. The 
 Portuguese had formed the settlement of St. Vincent on the sea- 
 coast, in the twenty-fourth degree of south latitude. There they 
 traded peaceably with the Cariges, the mildest and most civilized 
 nation in all Brazil. The advantages which they reaped from 
 their intercourse could not restrain the Portuguese from seizing 
 upon seventy of the Cariges, in order to make slaves of them. The 
 persons who had committed the offence were condemned to carry 
 the prisoners back to the place whence they had been taken, and 
 to make the proper excuses for so heinous an insult. Two Jesuits, 
 who were employed to dispose the Indians to accept of this satis 
 faction, which would never have been offered but at their desire, 
 gave notice of their commission to Farnacaha, the most respectable 
 man of his nation. He came out to meet them, and embraced 
 them with tears of joy. " My fathers," said he, "we consent to 
 forgive all that is past, and to enter into a fresh alliance with the 
 Portuguese ; but let them for the future be more moderate, and 
 more observant of the rights of nations. Our attachment entitles 
 us at least to equitable treatment ! We are called barbarians, yet 
 we respect justice and our friends." 
 
 The missionaries having engaged that for the future their nation 
 should religiously observe the laws of peace and justice, Farnacaha 
 proceeded thus : " If you doubt the faith of the Cariges, I will 
 give you a proof of it. I have a nephew, for whom I have a great 
 affection ; he is the hope of my family, and the comfort of his 
 mother ; she would die of grief, if she should lose her son. Yet I 
 will deliver him to you as a hostage. Take him along with you 
 cultivate his young mind; take care of his education, and 
 instruct him in your religion. Let his manners be gentle and pure. 
 I hope, when you return, you will instruct me also, and enlighten 
 my mind." Many of the Cariges followed the example of Farna 
 caha, and sent their children to St. Vincent's for education. Th 
 Jesuits were too artful not to take advantage of this circumstance 
 but it does not appear that they had any intention to enslave the 
 
THE BRAZILIAN PHILOSOPHER. 143 
 
 Indians. Avarice had not yet possessed the minds of these mis 
 sionaries, and the interest they had at court secured sufficient 
 respect in the colony, at once to gratify their ambition and to 
 make the situation of their converts a comfortable one. 
 
 This season of tranquillity was improved to the advantage of 
 the sugar-trade, by means of the slaves procured from Africa 
 No sooner had the Portuguese established settlements on that coast 
 than the) brought away a great number of negroes, who were 
 employed in Portugal in domestic uses. That practice, one of the 
 first which contributed to corrupt the character of the nation, was 
 introduced much later into the American settlements, where it 
 was not established till the year 1530. 
 
 The prosperity of the Portuguese colony, which was visible in 
 all the markets of Europe, excited the envy of the French. They 
 attempted to make settlements successively at Rio Janeiro, Par- 
 aiba, and the island of Maranham; but their levity would not 
 permit them to wait the usually slow progress of infant estab 
 lishments ; and, merely from inconstancy and impatience, they 
 gave up prospects that were sufficient to have encouraged any 
 other nation to persevere. France, however, derived one advan 
 tage from these fruitless invasions ; the honor of making mankind 
 acquainted with the character of the Brazilians, in regard to which 
 we should otherwise have remained in almost perfect ignorance, 
 as the jealousy of the Portuguese government, like that of Spain, 
 excluded all foreigners from their settlements, and they have 
 thrown no light upon that subject themselves. The following 
 dialogue, in which Lery. to whom we have already been much 
 indebted for information, was an interlocutor, is a valuable mon 
 ument of the natural good sense of those savages, notwithstanding 
 the barbarity of their manners. 
 
 The native Brazilians being greatly surprised to see the French 
 take so much pains to procure their wood, one of their old men 
 said to Lery, " What reason can induce you Frenchmen to come 
 so far, to get wood for firing ? Is there none in your own coun 
 try ?" " Yes," replied Lery, " and a great deal too, but not such 
 as yours, which we do not burn, but in the same manner as your 
 people employ it, to dye their plumes and bow-strings, we aiso 
 use it in dyeing." " Very well," said the Brazilian, " but do you 
 require so great a quantity?" "Yes," replied Lery, "for in our 
 country there are some merchants who have more red and scarlet 
 cloth than you ever saw here. One of these will buy several 
 cargoes of this wood." "Ha!" said the Brazilian, "thou tellest 
 me wonders." Then pausing a little upon the information he 
 had received, his curiosity operated thus : " But this rich man, 
 
144 BRAZIL. 
 
 of whom thou talkest, is he never to die?" " Yes, yes," said 
 Lery, "as well as others." On which the Brazilian inquired, to 
 whom all his wealth belonged when he. was dead. "It goes," 
 replied Lery, " to his children, or, if he has none, to his brothers, 
 sisters, or nearest of kin." " Truly," concluded the Brazilian, 
 " I now perceive that you Frenchmen are great fools. Must you 
 work so hard, and cross the seas, to heap up riches for those that 
 come after you, as if the earth, that has fed you, were not suffi 
 cient for them also ! We have children and friends, whom we 
 love, as thou seest ; but as we are sure that after our death, the 
 earth, which has provided for our subsistence, will likewise pro 
 vide for theirs, we give ourselves no concern about the matter." 
 
 The French were inflamed with that love of riches, which, in 
 those days, made all the maritime powers of Europe attempt es 
 tablishments in the New World. The Dutch, who had become 
 republicans from persecution, and merchants from necessity, were 
 more persevering, and, in consequence of that, more successful 
 than the French, in their attempts upon Brazil. Other causes, 
 however, conspired to favor their designs. / 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Conquest of Portugal by the Spaniards. The Dutch trade with Brazil. ~~They 
 invade the country and capture St. Salvador. Policy of the Spanish court. St. 
 Salvador retaken by the Portuguese. Success of the Dutch cruisers. Further 
 attempts of the Dutch on Brazil. Capture of Olinda. Expedition of Maurice 
 of Nassau. Success of the Dutch. Revolution in Portugal. The Dutch gov 
 ernment of Brazil. They neglect the colony. Conspiracy against them. 
 Clavalcante heads an insurrection of the Portuguese. The Dutch expelled from 
 Brazil, and the country secured to the Portuguese by treaty. 
 
 THE Portuguese, in the very meridian of their prosperity, when 
 in possession of a prodigious commerce, a'nd an -extensive empire 
 on the coast of Africa, in Arabia, India, the isles of Asia, and in 
 one of the most valuable parts of America, were struck down by 
 one of those unexpected blows, which, in a critical moment, de 
 cide the fate of nations. Don Sebastian, one of their greatest 
 princes, in an unfortunate expedition against the Moors of Bar- 
 bary, perished with the flower of his army, in 1581. In conse 
 quence of this disaster, the Portuguese fell under the dominion of 
 Spain. Nor was this their only misfortune. The inhabitants of 
 the low countries, whom the tyranny and cruelty of Philip II. 
 had excited to revolt, and who had thrown off the Spanish yoke 
 with indignation, were not satisfied with erecting themselves into 
 a free state, and supporting their independence by a successful 
 defensive, war; but, flushed with the juvenile ardor of a growing 
 commonwealth, pursued the Spaniards into the utmost recesses of 
 their extensive dominions, and grew rich and powerful by the 
 spoils of their former masters. They fell upon the Portuguese 
 possessions in the East Indies, and made themselves masters of 
 almost all the settlements of that depressed nation in Asia. After 
 this, they began to turn their eyes towards America, and the truce 
 of 1609 gave them time to bring their designs to maturity. 
 
 This enterprise was committed to Jacob Willekens. Precau 
 tions had been taken to procure the necessary information re 
 specting the country. Some Dutch ships had ventured to visit 
 Brazil, in defiance of the law that prohibited the admittance of 
 strangers. As they greatly undersold, according to the custom of 
 their country, the commodities that came from Spain and Portu 
 gal, they met with a favorable reception. At their return, they 
 13 s 
 
1 46 BRAZIL. 
 
 reported that the colony was in a species of anarchy ; that foreign 
 dominion had stifled, in the breasts of the Portuguese, the love of 
 their country; that self-interest had corrupted their minds; that 
 the soldiers were turned merchants; that they had forgotten the 
 art of war ; and that whoever should invade the country with a 
 competent force, would infallibly surmount the trifling obstacles 
 that might be opposed by the Portuguese. 
 
 Willekens, furnished with this intelligence, steered for Brazil, in 
 1624. San Salvador, the capital, betrayed by the cowardice of 
 the governor, surrendered on the appearance of the Dutch fleet. 
 Don Miguel de Texeira, the archbishop, alone supported the honor 
 of his nation. Believing that, in such an emergency, the service 
 of his country superseded the common obligations of his function, 
 he took arms, and, at the head of his clergy and a few scattered 
 forces, attempted a resistance. The Dutch, however, found an 
 immense booty in San Salvador, and in a short time made them 
 selves masters of the whole district of Bahia, the largest and 
 richest province in Brazil. 
 
 The news of this loss threw Portugal into the utmost conster 
 nation; but the Spanish ministry were rather pleased, than dis 
 composed, by it ; they were comforted for the triumph obtained 
 by the most inveterate enemies of their country, by reflecting on 
 the mortification which the Portuguese must experience. Ever 
 since the Spaniards had given a sovereign to this unfortunate 
 people, they had met with an opposition in their tyrannies, which 
 offended the haughty spirit of their despotic government. An 
 event that might reduce the pride of Portugal, and render her 
 more tractable, appeared, therefore, to them a fortunate circum 
 stance. But though Philip IV. had harbored these base senti 
 ments, he thought the majesty of his throne required of him 
 some outward demonstrations of resentment against the Dutch. 
 He accordingly wrote to the Portuguese of the first rank, exhort 
 ing them to make such vigorous efforts as the present exigencies 
 required. This they were already inclined to do, as most of 
 them had possessions in Brazil. Self-interest, patriotism,- the 
 desire of throwing a damper upon the joy of their tyrants, ail 
 concurred to quicken their alacrity. The monied men lavished 
 their treasures; others, who had more influence than wealth, 
 levied troops ; every one was eager to enter into tbe service. In 
 a few months, twenty-six ships were fitted out, and sailed, in the 
 beginning of the year 1626, in company with such ships from 
 Spain as the slow and cautious policy of that court had allowed 
 to assist the expedition. They were commanded by the Marquis 
 de Valduesa, and arrived safe in the bay of All Saints, in Brazil. 
 
OPERATIONS OF THE DUTCH WEST INDIA COMPANY. 147 
 
 The Dutch, since their conquest of San Salvador, had suffered 
 many hardships. The archbishop, at the head of fifteen hun 
 dred men, had often defeated their parties, and cut off their pro 
 visions ; and he held them closely blocked up, when death put a 
 period to his persevering efforts. This misfortune, however, pro 
 duced no revolution in favor of the Dutch, who continued in the 
 same condition till the arrival of the united fleets of Spain and 
 Portugal. These disembarked four thousand men under the com 
 mand of Don Manuel de Mengis, and found it easy to reduce a 
 place already fatigued with a long siege. The governor would 
 have attempted resistance, but the garrison obliged him to capitu 
 late. 
 
 The success of the Dutch West India Company by sea made 
 amends for this loss. Their ships never came into port, but 
 when laden with the spoils of the Spaniards and Portuguese. 
 Their prosperity was so great as to give umbrage even to the 
 powers most interested in the welfare of Holland. The ocean 
 was covered with their fleets. Their admirals endeavored, by 
 useful exploits, to preserve their confidence. The inferior officers 
 aspired to promotion, by seconding the valor and skill of their 
 commanders. The soldiers and sailors fought with unparalleled 
 ardor; nothing could discourage these resolute and intrepid men. 
 The fatigues of a seafaring life, sickness, and repeated engage 
 ments, seemed only to harden them for war, arid to increase their 
 emulation. The company encouraged this fervid spirit, by fre 
 quently distributing rewards. Exclusive of their pay, the sailors 
 were allowed to carry on a private trade, which proved a great 
 encouragement, and procured a constant supply of men. As, by 
 this wise regulation, their interest was immediately connected 
 with that of their employers, they wished to be always in action ; 
 they never struck to the enemy, nor ever failed to attack their 
 ships with that degree of skill and persevering courage, which 
 must always insure success. 
 
 This prosperity emboldened the West India Company to make 
 a second attempt on Brazil. Henry Touk, the Dutch admiral, 
 appeared on the coast of Pernambuco, in the beginning of 1630, 
 with forty-six ships of war. Thierry, of Wardenburg, who com 
 manded the land forces, disembarked with two thousand four 
 hundred men, and made himself master of the city of Olinda, 
 after an obstinate resistance. This invasion spread terror over 
 the whole country, and the Dutch took advantage of it quickly, 
 to reduce the whole neighboring district. The Portuguese made 
 a vigorous but ineffectual effort, the year following, to expel the 
 invaders. The Dutch not only kept possession of Pernambuco, 
 
143 BRAZIL. 
 
 but subdued the districts of Tamaraca, Paraiba, and Rio Grande, 
 in the years 1633,1634 and 1635. All these furnished annually a 
 large quantity of sugar, dye-wood, and other valuable commodi 
 ties. 
 
 The Dutch were so elated with the acquisition of this wealth, 
 which now flowed to Amsterdam, instead of Lisbon, that they 
 determined to conquer all Brazil, and entrusted Maurice of Nas 
 sau with the conduct of an enterprise for that object. He reached 
 the place of his destination in the beginning of 1637. He found 
 the soldiers so well disciplined, the officers so experienced, and so 
 much ardor in every one to engage the enemy, that he imme 
 diately took the field. He was successively opposed by Banjola, 
 Rocca de Borgia, and the famous native chief, Cameron, the idol 
 of his people, 'who was passionately fond of the Portuguese. 
 Brave, active and cautious, this savage commander lacked no 
 qualification of a great general, but a scientific knowledge of the 
 art of war. These several chieftains exerted their utmost efforts 
 to defend the places under their protection ; but their endeavors 
 proved ineffectual. The Dutch reduced the districts of Sierra, 
 Seregippe, and the greater part of Bahia. Seven of the fourteen 
 provinces into which Brazil is divided, had already submitted, 
 and the conquerors flattered themselves that one or two cam 
 paigns more would make them masters of all the possessions of 
 their enemies in that part of America, when an unexpected revo 
 lution gave a new turn to affairs. 
 
 The Portuguese had never borne with patience the yoke of 
 Spain, which everything conspired to render grievous. Philip 
 II., alike cruel, avaricious and despotic, had endeavored to de 
 grade and insult them, that he might obtain pretexts for his 
 oppressions. His son, Philip III., who too closely followed his 
 maxims, and thought it better to reign over a ruined nation, than 
 be indebted to their good will for submission, had suffered them, 
 as we have seen, to be deprived of a multitude of conquests, 
 which were a source of riches, power and glory to them, and 
 which they had acquired by much effusion of blood. Philip IY., 
 the successor of that weak prince, who had still less understand 
 ing than his father, openly and contemptuously attacked their 
 administration, tjheir privileges, their manners, and everything 
 that was most dear to them. These repeated outrages united all 
 the Portuguese, whom Spain had been laboring to divide. A con 
 spiracy, which had been forming for years with incredible secrecy, 
 broke out in December, 1640, when the Spanish ministers were 
 expelled from Lisbon, and the Duke of Braganza placed on the 
 throne of Portugal. The example of the capital was followed 
 
OPERATIONS OF THE DUTCH WEST INDIA COMPANY. 149 
 
 by that of the whole kingdom, and by all that remained of the 
 settlements formed in happier times, in Asia, Africa and America. 
 John IV., the new king, united his interests and his resent 
 ments with those of the English, the French, and all the enemies 
 of Spain. On the twenty-third day of June, 1641, he concluded 
 an oifensive and defensive alliance with the United Provinces of 
 Holland, for Europe, and ten years' truce for the East and West 
 Indies ; during which period each party was to retain what was 
 then in their possession. Some misunderstanding, however, 
 arose, relative to this article of the treaty. The Dutch, under 
 different pretexts, refused to restore certain places taken after the 
 time mentioned in the truce ; and the king of Portugal, piqued at 
 that conduct, took the resolution of permitting his subjects in 
 Brazil to act for their own and his interests, without seeming to 
 take any part in their proceedings. His officers accordingly af 
 fected to live in perfect harmony with their new allies. Nassau 
 was recalled, together with the greater part of his troops, as an 
 unnecessary charge to the company; and the government of the 
 Dutch possessions in Brazil was committed to Hamel of Amster 
 dam, Bassis, a goldsmith of Haarlem, and Bullistraa a carpenter 
 of Middleburg. 
 
 In the council founded by this triumvirate resided all authority ; 
 and their administration was such as might have been expected 
 from men of their condition. They readily entered into the par 
 simonious views of the company. Their own inclinations even 
 led them to push these views to a blamable excess. They suf 
 fered the fortifications, already too much neglected, to go to decay ; 
 they sold arms and ammunition to the Portuguese, who paid them 
 such an exorbitant price for these articles, as ought to have awa 
 kened their jealousy; and they granted to all the soldiers who 
 desired it, leave to return to Europe. Their whole ambition, in a 
 word, was to amass wealth by gaining and saving. In this con 
 duct they were confirmed by the. applause of the avaricious and 
 weak men who were entrusted with the direction of the compa 
 ny's affairs. With a view to increase still further the profits of 
 their countrymen, they began to oppress such of the Portuguese 
 as resided under their government. Tyranny made rapid pro 
 gress, and was at last carried to an excess, which at once roused 
 resistance and inspired the most desperate purposes. 
 
 The victims of these proceedings, who had secret assurances 
 of protection from the Portuguese court, wasted no time in com 
 plaints. In 1645, the boldest of them united to take revenge. 
 Their design was to massacre all the Dutch who had any share 
 in the government, at an entertainment in the city of Maurice, the 
 
150 BRAZIL. 
 
 new capital of Pernambuco ; and then to attack the people, who, 
 suspecting no danger, would be unable to resist them. The plot 
 was discovered, but the conspirators had time to leave the town, 
 and retire to a place of safety. Their chief, named Antonio Cal- 
 valcante. was a Portuguese of obscure birth. From a common 
 servant, he had risen to the rank of a merchant. His abilities 
 had enabled him to acquire a large fortune; his probity had 
 gained him universal confidence, and his generosity had procured 
 him an infinite number of friends. 
 
 Calvalcante was not discouraged by the disappointment. Ac 
 quainted with the wishes of his countrymen, as well as with the 
 weakness of the Dutch, he ventured to commence hostilities 
 without consulting the court. His name, his virtues, and his 
 objects, assembled the Brazilians, the Portuguese soldiers, and 
 even the colonists, about him. He inspired them with his own 
 ardor, his activity, and his courage. They determined to conquer 
 or to die with him. He ravaged the territories of the Dutch ; he 
 was frequently victorious in skirmishes ; but he did not allow 
 himself to slumber over success. Some checks which he met 
 with, served only to display the firmness of his spirit, the extent 
 of his capacity, and the elevation of his mind. He assumed a 
 threatening aspect, even after a disaster, and appeared yet more 
 formidable by his perseverance than by his intrepidity. Though 
 never publicly supported by government, he spread such terror 
 among his enemies, that they dared no longer to keep the field. At 
 that period of his glory, the purpose of his generous efforts was 
 in danger of being defeated, and all the blood spilt during a 
 struggle of ten years, might have been shed in vain. 
 
 The Dutch had frequently complained of the hostilities in 
 Brazil, and the court of Portugal had as often disavowed them, 
 and even declared that they would one day punish the authors of 
 these disturbances. As the republic was then engaged in a war 
 with England, some regard was paid to these evasive answers ; 
 but no sooner did any prospect of peace appear, than effectual 
 measures were taken by the Dutch for humbling the Portuguese 
 in Europe and America. John IV., unwilling to risk the issue of 
 a war with so powerful a nation, exerted himself in earnest to put 
 an end to the hostilities in Brazil. Clavalcante, who had now no 
 resource for the completion of his designs, but in his fortune, bis 
 interest and his abilities, did not even deliberate whether he shou Id 
 obey. "If the king," said he, "were but informed of our zeal 
 and our success, and acquainted with his own interest, far from 
 disarming us, he would encourage us to pursue our undertaking, 
 and would support us with all his power.' 1 In consequence of 
 
TREATY OF 1661. 151 
 
 this way of thinking, he determined to hasten his operations, lesi 
 the ardor of his companions should abate. Accordingly, he made 
 a last effort, and with the assistance of Baretto, Vidal, and some 
 others, who were able and willing to serve their country, he com 
 pleted the ruin of the Dutch. Such of these republicans as escaped 
 the sword and famine, evacuated Brazil agreeably to a capitula 
 tion signed on the twenty-eighth day of January, 1654. 
 
 The peace, concluded three months after, between England and 
 the United Provinces, seemed to place the Dutch in a condition to 
 recover a valuable possession, which had been lost by an ill-judged 
 parsimony. But both the republic and the West India Company 
 disappointed the general expectation. No attempt was made for 
 that purpose ; and the treaty which adjusted the claims of the 
 contending powers, in 1661, secured to Portugal the sole possession 
 of Brazil, in consideration of the sum of one million seven hun 
 dred thousand dollars, which that crown engaged to pay to the 
 United Provinces. Thus did the Dutch part with a conquest 
 which might have become the richest of all the European colonies 
 in the New World, and which would have given the republic a 
 degree of consequence which it could never have acquired from 
 its own territory, nor even from its East India possessions. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Improvements in the colony. Condition of the natives. Extension of the settlements 
 The river Amazon. Expeditions of Orellana and Orsua. The tyrant 
 Aguirre. Settlement of Para. Expedition of Texeira across the continent to 
 Quito. Scheme for navigating the Amazon. Mission of the Spanish Jesuits in 
 Brazil. Indolence of the natives. Settlements on the Rio de la Plata. Estab 
 lishment at St. Sacrament. Expulsion of the Portuguese from that place. It is 
 restored to them* by treaty. Final adjustment of the boundaries with the Span 
 iards. History of the Paulists. Their lawless and .profligate life. They enslave 
 the Indians. Ravages committed by them. Attempts of the Portuguese to pene 
 trate into the interior. 
 
 Orellana sailing in search of the nation with temples of gold. 
 
 As soon as the Portuguese were entirely freed from the Dutch, 
 they employed themselves in placing Brazil in better condition than 
 it had hitherto been, even before the war. -The first step taken 
 for this purpose, ,was to regulate the condition of such of the 
 natives as had already submitted, or might hereafter be reduced 
 to subjection. Upon an attentive examination, it was found that 
 the accounts, which represented these savages impatient of any 
 control, were without foundation. The first impression made 
 upon them by the sight of the Europeans, was a sense of danger 
 mingled with diffidence. The conduct of the Portuguese con- 
 
THE JESUITS AMONG THE INDIANS. 153 
 
 firmed their suspicions, and rendered them ferocious. The diffi 
 culty of understanding one another gave still more frequent 
 occasion for animosity on both sides. If, on more mature acquaint 
 ance, the Indians sometimes renewed their hostilities, it was 
 commonly because they were roused to vengeance by the rapa- 
 ciousness, cruelty and perfidy of that ambitious power which had 
 come to disturb the peace of this part of America. On other 
 occasions they might perhaps be charged with imprudence, in too 
 hastily taking up arms from false apprehensions of danger; 
 but never with injustice or duplicity. They were always found 
 true to their promises, to the faith of treaties, and to the sacred 
 rights of hospitality. The just idea which was at length enter 
 tained of their character, induced the Portuguese to collect them 
 into villages along the coast, or some little way up the country. 
 By this means a communication was secured between the remote 
 settlements of the Portuguese ; and the savages, who infested the 
 intermediate parts by their depredations, were kept at a distance. 
 
 Some missionaries, mostly Jesuits, were entrusted with the tem 
 poral and spiritual government of these new communities. These 
 ecclesiastics, according to the best information, were absolute 
 tyrants ; such as retained any sentiments of moderation or human 
 ity, whether from indolence or superstition, kept those little societies 
 in a state of perpetual infancy. They neither improved their 
 understanding nor their industry, beyond a certain degree ; and 
 possibly, had they been ever so willing, they might have found it 
 difficult to have been more serviceable to them ; for the court of 
 Lisbon, while it exempted the Indians from all taxes, subjected 
 them to the labors of vassalage. This fatal law made them depend 
 ent upon the neighboring commandants and magistrates, who, 
 under the usual pretence adopted by men in office, of making them 
 work for the public, too often imposed labors upon them for their 
 own selfish purposes. Those who were not employed for them as 
 their spiritual directors, were generally idle. If they shook off 
 their natural indolence, it was to go hunting or fishing, or to culti 
 vate as much cassava as was necessary for their own subsistence. 
 Their manufactures were confined to some cotton girdles or sashes, 
 to cover their loins, and the arrangement of a few feathers to 
 adorn their heads. Those among them who were most industrious, 
 procured the means of purchasing a few articles of cutlery, and 
 other things of small value. 
 
 Such was the state of the Brazilian natives, who had submitted 
 to the crown of Portugal, and whose number never exceeded two 
 hundred thousand. The independent natives had little intercourse 
 with the Portuguese, except by the captives which they sold them, 
 
 T 
 
154 ' BRAZIL. 
 
 or those of their number that were made such, for the purpose of 
 servitude. A sense of mutual interest made acts of hostility less 
 frequent between the two nations, and a total cessation of them 
 at last took place. The Portuguese have not been in danger from 
 the natives, since 1717, and have not molested them since 1756. 
 
 While the court of Lisbon was engaged in regulating the inte 
 rior concerns of the colony, some of the subjects of Portugal were 
 devising the means of extending it. They advanced to the south 
 towards Rio de la Plata, and to the north as far as the Amazon. 
 The Spaniards seemed to be in possession of both these rivers ; 
 and the Portuguese were determined to expel them, or to share 
 the navigation with them. 
 
 The Maragnon or Amazon, no less famous for its length of 
 course than for that vast body of water with which it swells the 
 ocean, derives its common name, the river of Amazons, from the 
 fabulous relation of Orellana, a Spaniard, who sailed down it ; and 
 who, among other marvellous particulars, described a republic of 
 female warriors inhabiting its banks. This absurd fiction the 
 fond credulity of the age believed ; and what more particularly 
 excited the Spaniards, was another circumstance in Orellana's 
 story. He described a nation on the banks of the river, whose 
 temples were covered with gold. In quest of this rich country 
 Orellana himself embarked in 1644, with four hundred men, and 
 the title of governor over all the regions he should conquer ; but a 
 train of disasters ruined his ships; his men perished by diseases, 
 or were cut off by the natives ; and he himself fell a victim to his 
 own vainglorious ambition, in attempting to realize some part of 
 the tale he had invented. 
 
 The civil war of Peru prevented any second attempt to take 
 possession of the country bordering on the Amazon, till the year 
 1560, when, tranquillity being restored, Pedro de Orsua, a Spaniard 
 distinguished for his talent and bravery, offered to renew the 
 undertaking. He accordingly set out from Cuzco, with seven 
 hundred men ; but these adventurers proved to be unprincipled 
 and lawless desperadoes. They massacred their commander, and 
 selected for their leader, Lope de Aguirre, a native of Biscay. 
 With their consent he assumed the title of king; and while he was 
 a man of ferocious and bloody disposition, destitute of common 
 humanity, he promised them all the treasures of tfie New World. 
 Inflamed with such flattering hopes, these desperate men sailed 
 down the Amazon into the Atlantic Ocean, and landing at Trini 
 dad, murdered the governor and plundered the island. The 
 coasts of Cumana, Caracas and St. Martha, were still more 
 severely treated, because they were richer. The plunderers next 
 
EXPEDITION FROM BRAZIL TO QUITO. 155 
 
 penetrated into New Granada, and were advancing towards Quito 
 and the interior part of Peru, when they were unexpectedly 
 attacked and dispersed by a body of troops hastily assembled. 
 Aguirre, their chief, seeing no way to escape, marked his despair 
 by an atrocious action. " My child," said he to his only daughter, 
 who attended him in this expedition, " I thought to have placed 
 thee upon a throne, but the event has not answered my expecta 
 tions. My honor and thine own will not permit thee to live and 
 be a slave to our enemies. Die then by a father's hand ! " Hav 
 ing uttered these words, he plunged a dagger into her heart. His 
 strength soon failed him; he was taken prisoner, and suffered the 
 punishment due to his crimes. The inhabitants of the country 
 believe, to this day, that the soul of "the tyrant" wanders in the 
 savannas, like a flame that flies at the approach of man. 
 
 After these unfortunate expeditions, the river Amazon was 
 entirely neglected, and seemed to be totally forgotten for half a 
 century. Some attempts were again made to resume the discovery 
 of the countries stretching along its banks, but with no better 
 success than formerly. The honor of surmounting every difficulty, 
 and acquiring a useful knowledge of that great river, was reserved 
 for the Portuguese. They had built a town called Para, near the 
 mouth of the river. At this place Pedro de Texeira embarked in 
 1638, and with a great number of canoes, full of Indians and Por 
 tuguese, sailed up the river, as far as the confluence of the Napo, 
 and then up the Napo, which brought them almost to Quito, 
 whither he proceeded by land. Notwithstanding the enmity sub 
 sisting between the Spaniards and Portuguese, though at that 
 time subject to the same prince, Texeira was received at Quito 
 with the regard and confidence due to a man who had performed 
 a signal service. He returned in company with Da Cunha and 
 de Astieda, two learned Jesuits, who were appointed to verify his 
 observations and to make others. An accurate account of these 
 two successful voyages was sent to the court of Madrid, where it 
 gave rise to a very extraordinary project. 
 
 The communication between the Spanish colonies had long 
 been found very difficult. The Buccaneers at that time infested 
 both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and interrupted their navi 
 gation. Even those ships which had reached Havana and 
 joined the fleet, were not perfectly safe. The galeons were fre 
 quently attacked, and taken in whole squadrons by the Dutch ; 
 and they were always pursued by privateers, who seldom failed 
 to carry off the straggling vessels. The river Amazon, it was 
 hoped, would remedy all these inconveniences. It was thought 
 to be even an easy matter, to convey thither the treasures of New 
 
156 
 
 BRAZIL. 
 
 Granada, Popayan, Quito, Peru, and of Chili itself, by navigable 
 rivers, and that, descending the river, they would find the galeons 
 ready in the harbor of Para to receive them. The fleet from 
 Brazil would then have joined and strengthened the fleet from 
 Spain. They would have sailed with great security in latitudes 
 little frequented by cruisers. But the revolution which placed 
 the duke of Braganza on the throne of Portugal, put an end to 
 these important projects. Each of the two nations was then 
 intent only upon securing to itself that part of the great river 
 which best suited its own situation. 
 
 The Spanish Jesuits undertook to establish a mission in the coun 
 try lying between the Amazon and the Napo, and near the con 
 flux of these two rivers. Every missionary, attended only by one 
 man, took with him hatchets, knives and needles, and all kinds 
 of iron tools, and penetrated into the thickest of the forest. There 
 they spent whole days in climbing up the trees, to see if they 
 could descry any hut, perceive a smoke, or hear the sound of a 
 drum or life. When they were assured by some of these tokens 
 that any savages were in the neighborhood, they advanced 
 towards them. Most of them fled ; but those whom the mission 
 ary could reach, were easily allured by such presents as were 
 offered them. This was all the eloquence the missionary could 
 employ, and all that he had occasion to exert. When he had 
 assembled a few families, he led them to the spot where he had 
 determined to build a village ; but they were not easily persuaded 
 to take up their abode there. As they were accustomed to rove 
 about, they found it an insupportable hardship to remain forever 
 in the same place. The state of savage independence in which 
 they had always lived, they thought preferable to the social life 
 that was recommended to them ; and their unconquerable aversion 
 .to la^or induced them to return constantly to the forests, where 
 they passed their lives in idleness. Even those who were re 
 strained by the authority or paternal kindness of their pious 
 legislators, seldom failed to disperse in their absence, though ever 
 so short, and their death always occasioned a total subversion of 
 the settlement. 
 
 But the perseverance of the Jesuits at last conquered these ob 
 stacles, apparent!^- invincible. Their mission, whicji began in 
 1637, gradually acquired some degree of firmness, ancf, before the 
 dissolution of the order, consisted of thirty-six villages, twelve of 
 which were situated along the Napo, and twenty-four on the 
 banks of the Amazon. The number of inhabitants, however, in 
 these villages was very inconsiderable, and the increase must 
 always have been slow. The women of this part of America 
 
THE INDIANS ST. SACRAMENT. 157 
 
 are not fruitful ; the climate is unhealthy, and contagious distem 
 pers are frequent. These obstructions to population were aug 
 mented by the natural stupidity of the people. Of all the Indians 
 whom the Jesuits had collected, they found none so intractable 
 and incapable of being roused to exertion, as those inhabiting the 
 banks of this river. Every missionary was obliged to put him 
 self at their head, in order to make them pick up the cocoa, the 
 vanilla and the sarsaparilla, which nature spontaneously offers 
 them. Their whole property, usually, consisted of a hut open on 
 all sides, and covered with palm leaves ; some fishing tackle ; a 
 tent, a hammock, and a canoe. It was impossible to inspire them 
 with a desire beyond these articles. They were so well satisfied 
 with what they possessed, that they wished for nothing more. 
 They lived unconcerned, and died without fear : and if happiness 
 consists more in an exemption from the uneasy sensation that 
 attends want, than in the multiplicity of enjoyments that our wants 
 create, these Indians may be said to have been the happiest people 
 upon the face of the earth. 
 
 The Portuguese paid more attention to their settlement towards 
 the Rio de la Plata. They had established themselves, in 1679, at 
 St. Sacrament, opposite Buenos Ayres, when they were acci 
 dentally discovered by the Spaniards. The Guaranis, under the 
 command of their spiritual leaders, hastened thither to make 
 amends for the neglect of government. They attacked the newly- 
 erected fortifications of the Portuguese with great intrepidity, and 
 demolished them. The court of Lisbon, which had built great 
 hopes upon that settlement, was not discouraged by this misfor 
 tune, and requested that, till such time as their claim could be 
 adjusted, the Portuguese might be allowed a place where they 
 could be sheltered from the storms, if forced by stress of weather 
 to enter the Rio de la Plata. Charles II., of Spain, who dreaded 
 war and hated business, was weak enough to comply with their 
 request, only stipulating that the place so granted should be con 
 sidered his property ; that no more than fourteen Portuguese fam 
 ilies should be sent thither ; that the houses should be built of 
 wood and thatched ; that no fort should be erected ; and that the 
 governor of Buenos Ayres should have a right to inspect both the 
 settlement and the ships which should come into its harbor. 
 
 If the Jesuits who conducted the war had also been trusted 
 with the negotiation, such a permission would never have been 
 granted. It was impossible that a fixed settlement in such a situ 
 ation, however inconsiderable, should not become a frequent 
 source of altercation with enterprising neighbors, whose claims 
 were very strong ; who were sure of the protection of all the ene- 
 14 
 
153 
 
 BRAZIL. 
 
 mies of Spain, and whose vicinity to the settlements of their 
 countrymen would enable them to take advantage of every oppor 
 tunity to aggrandize and fortify themselves. The event soon 
 discovered the danger that might have been foreseen. Immedi 
 ately on the elevation of a French prince to the throne of Spain, 
 while all was still in confusion and uncertainty in regard to the 
 consequences of that great revolution, the Portuguese restored the 
 fortifications of St. Sacrament with amazing celerity. The pre 
 caution which they took, at the same time, of threatening the 
 tribe of Guaranis, by ordering some troops to advance towards their 
 frontiers, induced them to hope that they should prevent any dis 
 turbances from that quarter. But they were mistaken. The 
 Jesuits, having .detected the artifice, brought their converts to St. 
 Sacrament, which was already besieged. . Those brave Indians, 
 on their arrival, offered to mount the breach, though they knew it 
 was but just opened. When they began their approach, some 
 batteries were fired upon them from the town, but they stood the 
 cannonade without breaking their ranks, nor could they be re 
 strained by the fire of the small-arms, which killed many of them. 
 The intrepidity with which they continued to advance, raised 
 such astonishment among the Portuguese that they fled to their 
 ships and abandoned the place. 
 
 The misfortunes which Philip V. experienced in Europe, pre 
 vented this success from being of any advantage. The settle 
 ment of St. Sacrament was firmly re-established by the peace of 
 Utrecht. Queen Anne, who made that peace, and who neither 
 neglected her own interests nor those of her allies, required Spain 
 to give up this contested spot. Being now under no apprehen 
 sion, the Portuguese of St. Sacrament began to carry on an im 
 mense trade with Buenos Ayres. This contraband traffic had 
 long subsisted, though in an inferior degree. Rio Janeiro fur 
 nished Buenos Ayres with sugar, tobacco, wine, brandy, negroes, 
 and woollen goods ; and received flour, biscuit, dried or salt meat, 
 and money. As soon as the two colonies had a safe and commo 
 dious mart of trade, their connexions were unlimited. The court 
 of Madrid, which soon perceived the road the treasures of Peru 
 were taking, showed great marks of discontent; and this in 
 creased as the injury complained of grew to a greater height. 
 
 A perpetual source of division was thus opened "between the 
 two nations ; and as the conciliatory methods proposed from time 
 to time were found impracticable, an open rupture was expected to 
 be the consequence. At last, however, matters were adjusted. It 
 was agreed at Madrid, on the thirteenth day of January, 1750, 
 that Portugal should give up to Spain the colony of St. Sacra- 
 
THE PAULISTS. 159 
 
 ment. and the north banks of Rio de la Plata ; together with the 
 village of St. Christopher, and the adjacent lands situated between 
 the rivers Ypara and Issa, which fall into the river Amazon. 
 Spain, on her side, gave up all the lands and habitations border 
 ing on the east side of the river Uruguay, from the river Ibicui, to 
 the north ; the village of Santa Rosa, and all others on the eastern 
 bank of the Guarapey. 
 
 In the district of St. Vincent, the southernmost in Brazil, and 
 nearest to Rio de la Plata, thirteen leagues from the sea, is a town 
 called St. Paul. It was founded by those convicts who were first 
 sent from Portugal to America. As soon as they perceived that 
 they were to be subjected to the restraints of law, they withdrew 
 from the place they had first inhabited, intermarried with the 
 natives, and in a short time became so profligate that their fellow- 
 citizens broke off all intercourse with them. The situation of 
 their town, which could be defended by a handful of men, against 
 the most powerful armies that could be sent against them, inspired 
 them with the resolution of being subject to no foreign power; 
 and their ambition was successful. Profligate men, of all nations, 
 resorted in great numbers to this establishment. All travellers 
 were shut out from the new republic, under the severest prohibi 
 tions. In order to gain admittance, it was previously necessary to 
 promise to settle there, and candidates were subjected to a severe 
 trial. Those who could not go through that kind of noviciate, or 
 who were suspected of perfidy, were barbarously murdered, as 
 were all who had any inclination to quit the community. 
 
 A pure air, a serene sky, a temperate climate, though in the 
 twenty-fourth degree of south latitude, and a territory abounding 
 with corn, sugar, and excellent pasture, conspired to induce the 
 Paulists to lead a life of indolence and effeminacy ; but that rest 
 lessness so natural to fierce spirits, that habit of roving, acquired 
 by a lawless banditti, that desire of dominion, which is nearly 
 connected with a love of independence, the progress of freedom, 
 which leads men to wish for glory of some kind or other, and to be 
 emulous of distinguishing themselves, all these causes, combined 
 or separate, prompted the Paulists to forego an easy life, and to 
 engage in toilsome and hazardous excursions. 
 
 The first object of these excursions was to procure slaves. 
 When they had depopulated the adjacent country, they proceeded 
 to the province of Guayra, where the Spanish Jesuits had collec 
 ted and civilized the Guaranis. These new Christians were ex 
 posed to such violences, and so many of them were carried off, 
 that they suffered themselves to be persuaded to remove to the 
 im wholesome banks of the Parana and the Uruguay, which they 
 
160 BRAZIL. 
 
 still inhabit. They reaped little advantage, however, from this 
 compliance ; for it was found that they could enjoy no safety, 
 unless they were allowed to defend themselves with the same 
 weapons as those with which they were attacked. To request that 
 they should he furnished with such arms, was a matter of too 
 delicate a nature to be proposed abruptly ; it was necessary, in 
 the first place, to show the propriety of such a measure. Spain 
 had laid it down as a fundamental maxim, never to introduce the 
 use of fire-arms among the Indians, lest these unfortunate victims 
 of her insatiable avarice should one day make use of them to 
 free themselves from a yoke which they found so galling. The 
 lawgivers of the Guaranis applauded this jealous precaution in 
 regard to slaves, who were kept under by compulsion ; but they 
 thought it unnecessary in respect to men who had voluntarily 
 submitted to the king of Spain, and who were too sensible of the 
 benefits they now possessed, ever to think of revolting, so long as 
 they were permitted to enjoy their freedom. In a word, they plead 
 ed the cause of their converts so well, that, in spite of opposition 
 and prejudice, they obtained their request. The Guaranis were 
 indulged with fire-arms in 1639, and soon made such good use of 
 them, that they became the bulwark of Paraguay, and were able 
 to repel the Paulists. 
 
 These desperate men now resolved to procure by craft, what 
 they could no longer obtain by force. Dressed in the habit of 
 Jesuits, they repaired to the places where the missionaries were 
 accustomed to resort in quest of converts, and there they set up 
 crosses. They made some trifling presents to the Indians they met 
 with, and some of the most intelligent among them made a short 
 discourse in the Indian language, with which they were generally 
 acquainted, on the nature of Christianity, accompanied with the 
 waimest exhortations to induce their auditors to embrace it. 
 When, by these artifices, they had assembled a number of prose 
 lytes, they proposed to conduct them to a certain place, where 
 everything was in readiness to make them happy. The greater 
 part followed them implicitly ; and when they arrived at a par 
 ticular station, the troops that lay concealed, rushed out upon the 
 credulous Indians, loaded them with fetters, and carried them off. 
 Some, who made/ their escape, gave the alarm, which produced a 
 general suspicion, extremely prejudicial to the piouS- purposes of 
 the Jesuits, but which also occasioned a termination of these 
 deceitful practices. 
 
 The Paulists afterwards carried on their depredations in another 
 quarter, and extended them as far as the river Amazon. They are 
 said to have destroyed no less than a million of Indians. Those 
 
THE PAULISTS. 161 
 
 who escaped their fury, in an extent of three or four hundred 
 leagues, became more savage than in their original state. They 
 fled for safety to the caves of the mountains, or dispersed them 
 selves among the darkest recesses of the forests. Their persecu 
 tors did not share a better fate ; having all gradually perished in 
 these dangerous excursions. Unhappily, however, for Brazil, 
 their place was supplied by vagabond Brazilians, fugitive ne 
 groes, and Europeans, who were captivated with a roving life. 
 The same spirit continued to prevail at St. Paul's even after some 
 particular circumstances had induced that disorderly society to 
 acknowledge the dominion of Portugal. But their excursions 
 were afterwards carried on in such a manner, that they rather 
 promoted than obstructed the views of the mother country. By 
 following the course of several rivers, they attempted to open a 
 way into Peru by the north of Paraguay. The vicinity of lake 
 Xarayes put them in possession of the gold mines of Guiaba and 
 Montegrosso, which they worked without meeting any opposition 
 from Spain. They would have carried their usurpations further, 
 had they not been prevented by the Chiquitos, a formidable tribe 
 of Indians. 
 
 14* 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Flourishing condition of Brazil. Productions of the country. Discovery of gold 
 mines. Method of working them. Discovery of diamonds. The diamond com- 
 pany. Submission of the Paulists. General policy of the Portuguese govern 
 ment. Removal of the court to Brazil. Its effects upon the country. Brazil 
 made a kingdom. Becomes independent of Portugal. The emperor Don Pedro. 
 Present government of the country. 
 
 Slaves washing for gold. 
 
 WHILE these restless and enterprising men were ravaging the 
 banks of the Amazon and the Plata, and the mountains of Peru, 
 the seacoasts of Brazil were daily improving. This colony sent 
 annually to the mother country thirty-two million pounds of sugar, 
 which was not only enough for its own consumption, but sufficient 
 to supply a great part of Europe ; while it produced a considerable 
 quantity of tobacco, which could be disposed of to advantage 
 either in Africa or the European markets. The other productions 
 were capivi, a balsamic oil, which distils from incisions made in 
 a tree; ipecacuanha, well known as a mild emetic; cocoa, which 
 grew wild in some places, and was cultivated in others; coUon, 
 superior to that of the Levant or the Carribee islands; indigo, 
 which the Portuguese have never sufficiently attended to ; hides, 
 the produce of cattle that run wild as in other parts of South 
 America ; and lastly, brazil wood. 
 
BRAZIL WOOD GOLD MINES. 163 
 
 The tree producing this wood, which gives its name to the 
 country, is as tall as the oak. But he who judges of the quantity 
 of the timber by the size of the trees will be much deceived, as the 
 bark forms the greater part of the plant. The trunk is commonly 
 crooked and knotty. The leaves are small, roundish and of a 
 bright green ; the blossoms, which resemble lilies of the valley, are 
 of a lively red, and exhale a fragrant smell. The wood takes a 
 fine polish, but its chief use is for the red dye. The tree gener 
 ally grows in dry, barren and rocky grounds. It is found in most 
 parts of Brazil, but chiefly in Pernambuco. The best grows ten 
 leagues from Olinda, the capital of that province. 
 
 In exchange for these commodities, Portugal supplied Brazil 
 with flour, wine, brandy, salt,. woollen goods, silks, linen, hard 
 ware, and paper ; in a word, with all the articles which Europe 
 exports to America, except gold and silver stuffs, which the mother 
 country excluded from her colonies. The whole trade was carried 
 on by a fleet, which sailed every year from Lisbon and Oporto in 
 the month of March, and consisted of about twenty ships for Rio 
 Janeiro, thirty for Bahia, and as many for Pernambuco. and seven 
 or eight for Para. The ships parted when they came to a certain 
 latitude, and proceeded to their respective destinations. They 
 afterwards met at Bahia, to sail for Portugal, which they reached 
 in September or October, the year following. 
 
 Notwithstanding the errors in government which generally pre 
 vailed, though not in the same degree, in all parts of Brazil, it had 
 long been in a prosperous way, when, towards the beginning of the 
 eighteenth century, the discovery of the gold mines gave it an 
 additional lustre. The circumstances that produced this discov 
 ery are variously related ; but the most common opinion is, that a 
 caravan of Portuguese, who went from Rio Janeiro in 1695, pen 
 etrated into the continent, and meeting with the Paulists, received 
 from them gold dust, which they understood was procured from 
 the mines of Parana, in exchange for European commodities. A 
 few years after, a company of soldiers from Rio Janeiro, who were 
 sent to quell a rebellion of some Indians in the inland parts, found, 
 on their march, some gold fish-hooks, and were informed that 
 many torrents rushing from the mountains brought gold into the 
 valleys. Upon this information strict search was made ; and though 
 few veins of gold were found so rich as to answer the purpose of 
 working for any time, the gold picked up in such valleys as had 
 been overflowed, and in the sands of rivers, after the waters had 
 subsided, almost exceeded belief. This labor was chiefly per 
 formed by negroes. If the slave procured the quantity of gold 
 required of him, his master could claim nothing more. The over- 
 
164 BRAZIL. 
 
 plus was his own property. It was some consolation to him to be 
 able to alleviate the burden of slavery, and have a prospect of 
 purchasing his freedom, by the very toils that are attached to that 
 state. If we were to estimate the quantity of gold that Brazil 
 annually furnished, by the fifth which the king of Portugal 
 received, it might be computed at ten millions of dollars ; but we 
 may venture to assert, without exaggeration, that the desire of elud 
 ing the duty, deprived the government of one third of the produce. 
 
 There are very few diamond mines. Till the last century none 
 were known except in the East Indies ; and some apprehensions 
 were entertained that the continual wars in that country would 
 put a stop to this source of riches ; but these were removed by a 
 discovery at Serro do Frio, in Brazil. Some slaves, who were con 
 demned to look for gold, used to find little bright stones, which 
 they threw away among the sand and gravel. Some curious 
 miners preserved several of these pebbles, which were shown to 
 Pedro de Almeyda, governor-general of the mines. As he had 
 been in the East Indies, he suspected that they were diamonds. 
 In order to ascertain this, the court of Lisbon, in 1730, despatched 
 Da Cunha, the minister to Holland, to make the necessary inqui 
 ries. He put some of them into the hands of able artificers, who, 
 having cut them, declared that they were very fine diamonds. 
 The Portuguese immediately searched for them ; with such success, 
 that the Rio Janeiro fleet, in 1732, brought home eleven hundred 
 and forty-six ounces. This caused them to fall considerably in 
 price ; but the ministry took such measures as made them soon 
 rise to their original value, which they have maintained ever 
 since. They conferred on a company the exclusive right of search 
 ing for, and selling diamonds ; and even to restrain the avidity of 
 the company itself, it was required to employ no more than six 
 hundred slaves in that business. The company, however, were 
 afterwards permitted to employ as many as they pleased, on con 
 dition of paying a certain sum, amounting to about three hundred 
 dollars, for every slave. But in both contracts the court reserved 
 to itself all diamonds that were found above a certain size. 
 
 The gold and diamond mines, added to a rich culture, ought to 
 have made Brazil the most flourishing colony in the New World. 
 In order to effect this, however, it was necessary that the country 
 should be preserved from intestine commotions and foreign inva 
 sions. Both these objects were therefore taken into consideration. 
 All the mines are situated in the districts of St. Yincent and Rio 
 Janeiro, or in the adjacent lands. Some were in the hands of the 
 Paulists, and the rest lay exposed to their inroads. As those 
 banditti were too numerous and too brave to be brought under 
 
REMOVAL OF THE COURT OF PORTUGAL TO BRAZIL. 165 
 
 subjection by force, it was thought advisable to treat with them. 
 As they could make no use of their newly-acquired wealth, with 
 out a free communication with those parts where the conveniences 
 and luxuries of life were to be purchased, they were more tracta 
 ble than was expected. They consented to pay, like the rest of 
 the Portuguese, a fifth of their gold to the crown; but they 
 determined the amount of this tribute themselves, and never made 
 it what it should have been. The government prudently winked 
 at the fraud. It was foreseen that these connexions and the new 
 way of life of the Paulists would gradually soften their manners, 
 and that sooner or later they would be brought to submission. 
 This revolution accordingly happened in 1730, when the whole 
 republic of the Paulists acknowledged the authority of the court of 
 Lisbon, and were placed on the same footing with the other Por 
 tuguese in Brazil. 
 
 During the remaining part of the last century the country 
 offered little to attract the notice of the historian. The policy 
 of the government was narrow and illiberal. Industry was neg 
 lected, and commerce fettered by restrictions and monopolies. The 
 attention of the government was engrossed by the search for gold 
 and diamonds. Foreigners were excluded from the country or 
 jealously watched, and trade was confined to the fortified ports. 
 This state of things continued till the beginning of the present 
 century, when a great change was effected in the political and 
 social condition of the country by the emigration of the court of 
 Portugal to Brazil. 
 
 The design of removing the court of Portugal to Brazil, as 
 affording an asylum to a weak government against the oppressions 
 of its more powerful neighbors, had been long entertained in the 
 mother country. In 1761, the Marquis de Pombal had determined 
 on the measure, and preparations were made to transport the royal 
 family across the Atlantic ; but as the danger of invasion subsided, 
 the project was abandoned. But in 1808, when the French inva 
 ded Portugal and overran the kingdom, the court abandoned the 
 country and took up their residence at Rio Janeiro. This event 
 resulted in great advantages to the Brazilians. In January, 1808, 
 the king issued a royal charter, abolishing the old exclusive system 
 of trade, and granting to the inhabitants of Brazil the commerce 
 of all foreign nations, and opening all the ports of the country. 
 Shortly after, another decree permitted the free exercise of industry 
 to all classes of people. The press, which for three centuries had 
 been prohibited, was now established in the country, and, in 1808, 
 the first book was printed in Brazil. Nothing can mark more 
 emphatically the deplorable state of darkness and ignorance in 
 
166 BRAZIL. 
 
 which this fine country had been kept by the government, than 
 this simple fact. 
 
 Brazil was made a separate state in 1815. A royal decree, of 
 the 16th December, elevated it to the dignity of a kingdom, thence 
 forth, to be called the kingdom of Brazil, which with the European 
 territories should constitute the United Kingdoms of Portugal, 
 Algarves and Brazil. In 1817, an insurrection broke o\ t at Per- 
 nambuco, but although it was speedily quelled, the country 
 continued to be agitated by disturbances which were augmented 
 by the political fluctuations in the mother country. It was plain 
 ly to be perceived that a strong disposition existed in the people 
 of Brazil to detach themselves entirely from Portugal. This 
 inclination manifested itself in a variety of ways, and at length 
 became so decidedly pronounced, that a general legislative and 
 constituent assembly of deputies from every part of the country, 
 was called to take the subject into consideration. On the 12th 
 October, 1822, Don Pedro, son of the king, was proclaimed con 
 stitutional emperor of Brazil; all connexion with Portugal was rent 
 asunder and formally abjured by the people, and Brazil became 
 an independent power. The king of Portugal acknowledged her 
 independence, and was recognised as emperor, with the succession 
 of Don Pedro. Ten millions of dollars were paid by Brazil for 
 this acknowledgement. Don John remained in Portugal, and Don 
 Pedro governed Brazil as regent. 
 
 Don John died on the 10th March, 1826, and Don Pedro became 
 emperor of Brazil. The country, however, continued in an unset 
 tled state, and the government prospered so little under his sway 
 that he was forced to abdicate the crown on the 6th of April, 1831. 
 His infant son, Pedro II., succeeded, and the government has since 
 been administered by a regency in his name. Since these occur 
 rences, Brazil has been involved in wars with her neighbors, and 
 has suffered from internal embarrassments and convulsions ; but 
 the government of the country has undergone no change, nor have 
 the vicissitudes of its history afforded any events which can 
 interest the general reader. [1842.] 
 
THE WEST INDIES. 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Settlement of Porto Rico by Ponce de Leon. Insurrection of the natives. The 
 Spaniards settle in Cuba. Behavior of the cacique Hatuey. Extirpation of the 
 Cubans. Havana founded. Jamaica settled by the Spaniards conquered by 
 the English. Barbadoes, Antigua, Nevis, St. Christopher's, the Virgin Islands, 
 Grenada, Tobago, St. Vincent's, Dominica, Trinidad, acquired by the English 
 Martinique, Guadaloupe, Deseada, Marie Galante, by the French other islands 
 by the Dutch, Swedes and Danes. Introduction of slaves from Africa by Las 
 Casas. The slave trade. The Asiento. Abolition of slavery in the British 
 West Indies. 
 
 THE settlement of Hispaniola by the Spaniards has already 
 been described. Their next important acquisition was the island 
 of PORTO Rico. Although this island had been discovered by 
 
168 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 Columbus in 1493, the Spaniards made no attempt to settle it 
 till 1509, when the pursuit after gold carried them thither from 
 Hispaniola, under the command of Ponce de Leon. They met 
 with no resistance from the natives, who had been fully informed 
 of the hard fate which had overtaken their neighbors. They, 
 too, regarded the invaders as superior beings, to whose authority 
 they willingly submitted. A little intercourse, however, with 
 their visitors having convinced them that they were mortal men, 
 they rose in insurrection and massacred a hundred of the Span 
 iards. Ponce de Leon made a vigorous attack upon the insurgents 
 and defeated them with great loss. During the struggle, his forces 
 were recruited by a fresh arrival from St. Domingo, which caused 
 the natives to Relieve that the Spaniards whom they had massa 
 cred were come to life again. Struck with terror by this impres 
 sion, they submitted again to the yoke. They subsequently met 
 with the fate of the natives of Hispaniola, being condemned to 
 the mines, where they all miserably perished. 
 
 Moro at Havana. 
 
 CUBA was the next island occupied by the Spaniards. Diego 
 de Velasquez, in 1511, invaded the eastern part with four ships. 
 This district was under the government of a cacique named 
 Hatuey, a native of Hispaniola, who had fled from that island to 
 escape the tyranny of the conquerors. A number of his country 
 men had followed him in his retreat, where he formed a little 
 state and ruled in peace. He saw at a distance the Spanish sails, 
 and dreaded their approach. He called his people around him, 
 and exhorted every man to throw all the gold he possessed into 
 the sea. " Gold," said he, " is the god of the Spaniards, and we 
 
THE WEST INDIES. 169 
 
 must not expect any happiness as long as the Spaniard's god 
 remains among us. They seek him in every place. Were he 
 hidden in the bowels of the earth, they would discover him. 
 Were we to swallow him, they would plunge their hands into our 
 bowels and drag him out. There is no place but the bottom of 
 the ocean that can elude their search !" Animated by this ha 
 rangue, the Indians threw all their gold into the sea. 
 
 The Spaniards landed in Cuba, attacked and dispersed the 
 natives. Hatuey was pursued, taken, and condemned to be burnt 
 to death. When he was fastened to the stake, and waited only 
 for the application of the torch, a priest advanced and proposed 
 to baptize him, with a promise of the joys of paradise. "Are 
 there any Spaniards in that happy abode?" asked the cacique. 
 " Yes," replied the ghostly comforter ; " but none except good 
 ones." " The best of them," replied the savage, " are bad enough. 
 I will not go where there is any danger of meeting one. Leave 
 me alone to die!" The cacique was burned, and Velasquez 
 found no more enemies to oppose him ; yet this easy submission 
 did not secure the tranquillity of the unhappy Cubans. Wanton 
 massacres, the labor of the mines and the small-pox, soon swept 
 away the whole population, and nearly reduced the fertile island 
 of Cuba to a desert. 
 
 Little progress was made in the settlement till 1519, when the 
 pilot Alaminos first sailed through the Bahama channel, carrying 
 to Europe the news of the success of Cortez in Mexico. It was 
 judged that this would be the most convenient route for the ships 
 sailing between Mexico and Europe, and it was desirable to pos 
 sess a seaport on the passage. This led to the foundation of Ha 
 vana, which, originating with the Mexican trade, received subse 
 quently a great augmentation from the Porto Bello and Carthagena 
 traffic. Cuba continues to be a Spanish colony to the present day. 
 
 JAMAICA, now in possession of the British, was first settled by 
 the Spaniards in 1509. Diego Columbus, the son of the discov 
 erer, sent to that island from St. Domingo a body of seventy 
 men, under Juan de Esquimel. These were soon after joined by 
 other adventurers, the whole constituting a band of blood-thirsty 
 wretches. There was no gold in Jamaica, yet these barbarous 
 invaders never sheathed their swords while one of the inoffensive 
 islanders remained alive. The settlement of the island went on 
 slowly, and it contained a population of no more than three thou 
 sand, half of whom were slaves, when, in 1655, a British force, 
 under Penn and Venables, made themselves masters of it. Since 
 that time it has remained a British colony. 
 
 15 v 
 
War in the West Indies. 
 
 Castle in Jamaica. 
 
 Plantation in Jamaica. 
 
THE WEST INDIES. 171 
 
 BAREADOES, the most easterly of all the West India islands, 
 appears never to have had any aboriginal inhabitants. In 1627, 
 some English families settled there, but without any authority 
 from the government. Two years after, a regular colony was 
 established in the island by the Earl of Carlisle. The whole sur 
 face was covered with enormous trees, but the industry and perse 
 verance of the British settlers soon cleared the soil to such a 
 degree as to make it one of the most productive territories belong 
 ing to that nation in this quarter. 
 
 ANTIGUA was found, totally uninhabited, in 1628, by some 
 Frenchmen, who fled from the .Spaniards at St. Christopher's. 
 Hardly any attempt at a settlement was made there till 1666, when 
 Lord Willoughby, to whom Charles II. had granted the island, 
 sent a colony thither. The sugar-cane was first planted here in 
 1680. NEVIS was occupied by the English in 1628, andMoNTSER- 
 EAT in 1632. 
 
 ST. CHRISTOPHER'S was the nursery of all the English and 
 French colonies in the West Indies. Both nations arrived in that 
 island on the same day, in 1625. They shared the island between 
 them, signed a treaty of perpetual neutrality and alliance against 
 their common enemy, the Spaniards. Unfortunately for the peace 
 of the settlers, many things, as the woods, the fishing, the harbors, 
 and the salt-pits, were all held in common, which soon led to 
 jealousies, encroachments and hostilities. When war broke out 
 between the mother countries, the islanders fought with a degree 
 of animosity not to be seen elsewhere. They alternately drove 
 each other from the plantations, but, in 1702, the French were 
 totally expelled, and the treaty of Utrecht confirmed the British 
 in the possession of the whole island. 
 
 The VIRGIN ISLANDS are about sixty in number, but all are small. 
 The Spaniards for many years resorted to them solely for the pur 
 pose of catching turtle. The Dutch made a small settlement at 
 Tortola, one of the group, but, in 1666. they were driven from it by 
 the English, who soon after dispersed themselves over the neigh 
 boring islands and rocks. There they lived, during nearly a cen 
 tury, in a semi-barbarous state, employed solely in raising cotton. 
 After the peace of 1748, they turned their attention to sugar. 
 Before this period there was no form of regular government in the 
 islands. They are now in the possession of the British. 
 
 GRENADA was first settled by the French, in 1651. On their 
 arrival they gave a few hatchets, some knives, and a barrel of 
 brandy, to the chief of the Caribs they found there ; and imagin 
 ing they had purchased the island with these trifles, assumed the 
 sovereignty, and soon acted as tyrants. The savages, unable to 
 
172 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 contend with them by open force, murdered all whom they found 
 alone or defenceless. Troops were sent from France to defend 
 the settlement. All the natives were exterminated by the sword, 
 except a small remnant who escaped to a steep rock. Here they 
 were besieged by the invaders, and, preferring to die rather than 
 fall into the hands of their enemies, they leaped from the preci 
 pice and were dashed to pieces. A subsequent conquest, con 
 firmed by the treaty of 1763, secured this island to Great Britain. 
 
 TOBAGO received a Dutch settlement in 1632, but the natives 
 joined with the Spaniards of the neighboring island of Trinidad, 
 against them. Most of the settlers were massacred, and the rest 
 abandoned the island. The Dutch neglected the island for 
 twenty years, but, in 1654, sent a new colony thither. The Eng 
 lish and French afterwards disputed the possession of it, and the 
 French prevailing, Louis XIV. restored it to the Dutch. These 
 two lafcer nations afterwards being at war, the French invaded 
 the island, laid it completely waste, and carried away all the 
 inhabitants. They did not, however, replace them with their 
 own people, and Tobago lay neglected and desolate till Great 
 Britain took possession of it, and by the treaty of 1763, it was 
 confirmed to that power. 
 
 The BAHAMA ISLANDS having been speedily depopulated by the 
 Spaniards who shipped off the natives to work in the mines in 
 other places, were left desert and abandoned for more than a cen 
 tury. In 1629 the English took possession of New Providence 
 and established themselves there till 1641, when they were driven 
 out by the Spaniards, who murdered the governor and committed 
 other acts of cruelty. In 1666, the English again settled in these 
 islands, and remained till 1703, when the French and Spaniards 
 again expelled them and destroyed their plantations. The Baha 
 mas then became a rendezvous for pirates, who were finally sup 
 pressed by the English, under Captain Woodes Rogers, who became 
 governor of New Providence. The other islands were then colo 
 nized by the English, and remained quietly in their possession 
 till the war of the American revolution, when they were attacked, 
 in 1776, by the American squadron under Commodore Hopkins, 
 who captured New Providence and carried off the governor. In 
 1781 the Spaniard's again took possession of these islands, but they 
 were retaken by the English and confirmed to them by the treaty 
 of 1783. 
 
 The BERMUDAS were discovered in 1522 by Juan Bermudez, a 
 Spaniard, who found them uninhabited. Sir George Somers was 
 wrecked on them in 1609, on which account they were sometimes 
 called after his name. He built a small vessel of cedar, without 
 
THE WEST INDIES. 173 
 
 any iron except one bolt in the keel, and sailed to Virginia. The 
 islands were settled shortly after by the English, and have ever 
 since remained in their possession. 
 
 ST. VINCENT'S was first colonized in 1719 by the French from 
 Martinique. They had much trouble, even at that late period, 
 in subduing the fierce Carib natives. The British acquired the 
 island by the treaty of 1763. DOMINICA was settled about the 
 same time, and in like manner came into the hands of the British. 
 ST. LUCIA received a colony of English in 1639, but they were 
 all massacred by the Caribs. The French next began a settle 
 ment in 1650, but it did not succeed. The island changed hands 
 between the English and French several times, but was finally 
 established under the British dominion. TRINIDAD was first colo 
 nized by the Spaniards in 1535. Great Britain obtained posses 
 sion of it in 1797, and still holds it. 
 
 MARTINIQUE and GUADALOUPE were settled by the French in 
 1635. They subsequently obtained possession of DESEADA, MARIE 
 GALANTE and ST. MARTIN'S. These, with the small islands called 
 the SAINTS, now belong to the French. CURAQAO was first pos 
 sessed by the Spaniards in 1527. It was captured by the Dutch 
 in 1634 This nation acquired afterwards ST. EUSTATIA, SABA 
 and half of ST. MARTINS, which still remain in their power. The 
 Danes obtained possession of ST. THOMAS, ST. JOHN, and ST. 
 CROIX; and the Swedes, of ST. BARTHOLOMEW, and now retain them. 
 
 While we deplore the cruelties which blotted out a whole race 
 of men from the face of the earth, our regrets are augmented by 
 the contemplation of another evil which grew out of this calamity, 
 the introduction of negro slavery into America. The extermina 
 tion of the unfortunate islanders could not fail to excite a certain 
 degree of sympathy even among the Spaniards ; and a philan 
 thropist arose who claimed the name of protector of the Indians. 
 This was Bartholomew de Las Casas, bishop of Chiapa, who, 
 smitten with compassion for the wretched Americans, took up 
 their cause, and used every exertion to check the oppressions of 
 the conquerors. He openly asserted the injustice of reducing 
 them to servitude, and pleaded the cause of humanity with suclj 
 effect at the Spanish court, that Cardinal Ximenes, the regent, 
 despatched him, with four associates ; to America, with full powers 
 to remedy the evil. These commissioners set all the natives at 
 liberty. But the want of hands to till the soil, drove the well- 
 meaning Las Casas to an expedient which drew incalculable 
 woes upon the western world. He proposed to purchase negroes 
 from the Portuguese settlements on the coast of Africa, and trans 
 port them to the West Indies. Negroes had been carried to St. 
 
174 
 
 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 Domingo as early as 1502 ; but these were few, and the importa 
 tion was soon prohibited, for the alleged reason that they taught 
 the natives insubordination. 
 
 The scheme of Las Casas, unfortunately, met with favor at the 
 Spanish court. Charles V., in 1517, granted a patent for the 
 
 Charles V. signing a patent for sending negroes to America. 
 
 exportation of four thousand negroes annually to Hispaniola. This 
 patent was assigned to some Genoese merchants, and the slave 
 trade became from that time a regular and established traffic. 
 The English engaged in this business in 1562, and the French 
 and Portuguese in 1564. The latter people had carried slaves from 
 Guinea to Lisbon as early as 1442. The project of Las Casas. 
 however, gave this traffic the main impulse, and organized it into 
 a permanent system. The English pursued the slave trade with 
 geat ardor. They made settlements on the African coast, from 
 which they not only furnished their own West India colonies 
 with negroes, but so far monopolized the business as to obtain, in 
 1689, the Asiento, or contract from the Spanish government for 
 supplying the colonies of that nation, also, with slaves. As late as 
 1770 the number imported into America by the English exceeded 
 forty-seven thousand in a single year. 
 
 In this manfier the West India islands became filled with an 
 African population, which still continue in a stale of servitude 
 except in the British colonies and the independent island of Hayti. 
 The slave trade was prohibited by the British government in 
 1805 ; and by act of parliament, all the slaves in the British West 
 Indies were set free on the 1st of August, 1834. Twenty millions 
 sterling were paid the owners of the slaves as an indemnity. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE BUCCANEERS. 
 
 Origin of the buccaneers. Their enmity towards the Spaniards. Their expedi 
 tion to California. Their mode of life. They become formidable. History of 
 the buccaneer Montbar. Michael de Basco. The buccaneers take Venezuela. 
 Exploits of Morgan. Capture of Porto Bello. Morgan's expedition to Pa 
 nama. His treachery towards his associates. Van Horn, Grammont, Godfrey, 
 Jonque and De Graff e. Capture of Vera Cruz. Expeditions to the South 
 Sea. Terror of the Spaniards. Grammont' s conquest of Campeachy. Ex 
 travagance of the French buccaneers. Expedition of Pointis. Capture of 
 Carthagena. Sack of the city. Immense booty of the captors. Treachery of 
 Pointis. Second capture of Carthagena. Final extinction of the buccaneers. 
 
 Buccaneers making an attack. 
 
 BEFORE the English had made any settlement at Jamaica, and 
 the French at St. Domingo, some pirates of both nations, who 
 have since been so distinguished by the name of buccaneers, had 
 driven the Spaniards out of the small island of Tortuga, situated 
 at the distance of two leagues from St. Domingo, and fortifying 
 themselves there, had made incursions with amazing intrepidity 
 against the common enemy. They formed themselves into small 
 companies, consisting of fifty or a hundred each. These bands 
 styled themselves "The Brethren of the Coast;" but they soon 
 became famous to the world by the name of buccaneers ; a word 
 of dubious etymology, but which appears to have been derived 
 
176 . THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 from the practice, adopted by these adventurers, of drying by 
 smoke the flesh of the cattle they killed in St. Domingo, a prac 
 tice called buccan by the natives. The dress of a buccaneer at 
 first usually consisted of a shirt dipped in the blood of some 
 animal he had killed ; a pair of trowsers ; a leathern girdle, from 
 which hung a sabre and several knives ; a hat without a brim ; 
 shoes of raw hide, and no stockings. Armed with heavy mus 
 kets, and accompanied by dogs, they ranged the woods and sa 
 vannas of St. Domingo, and subsisted upon the cattle they killed, 
 selling their hides to such vessels as touched upon the coast. As 
 their numbers increased, they ventured to make inroads upon the 
 Spanish settlements. The Spaniards, unable to expel these trou 
 blesome neighbors,, adopted the expedient of starving them out, 
 by killing all the cattle in the island. This drove the buccaneers 
 to piracy. Boats were all their naval force. These were scarcely 
 large enough for a person to lie down in, and they had nothing 
 to shelter them from the heats of a burning climate, nor from the 
 rains that fall in these torrid regions. They were often in want 
 of the most necessary supports of life. But all these calamities 
 were forgotten at the sight of a vessel. They never deliberated on 
 an attack, but proceeded immediately to board the ship, of what 
 ever size she might be. As soon as they threw out their grap 
 pling-irons, the vessel was easily taken. 
 
 In cases of extreme necessity, the buccaneers attacked the people 
 of every nation; but they fell upon the Spaniards at all times. 
 They thought that the cruelties they had exercised on the Ameri 
 cans, justified the implacable hostility they had sworn against 
 them. But this extraordinary kind of humanity was heightened 
 by personal resentment, from the mortification they felt in seeing 
 themselves debarred from the privilege of hunting and fishing, 
 whih they justly considered as natural rights. Such was their 
 infatuation, that, whenever they embarked on any expedition, 
 they used to pray to Heaven for success ; and they never came 
 back from their plundering excursions without constantly thank 
 ing God for the victory. 
 
 The ships that arrived in America from Europe, seldom tempted 
 their cupidity. They would have found nothing but merchandise 
 in them, the sale''of which would not have been very profitable, 
 and would have required too constant an attention. They always 
 waited for the ships on their return, when they were laden with 
 the gold and silver of Peru. If they met a single ship, they never 
 failed to attack her. They followed the large fleets, and any vessel 
 that straggled or remained behind, was inevitably lost. The 
 Spaniards, who trembled at the sight of these implacable enemies, 
 
THE BUCCANEERS. 177 
 
 commonly surrendered without resistance. Life was granted 
 to them, if the cargo proved a rich one ; but if the conquerors 
 were disappointed in their expectations, the crew were frequently 
 thrown into the sea. 
 
 A body of fifty-five buccaneers, who had sailed into the Pacific 
 Ocean, proceeded as far as California. To return into the Atlan 
 tic, they were obliged to sail three thousand leagues against the 
 wind, in a canoe. When they were at the straits of Magellan, 
 they were seized with rage at having made no plunder in so rich 
 a quarter of the world. They steered back for Peru. Here they 
 were informed that in the port of Yauca was a ship, the cargo of 
 which was valued at several millions of dollars. They imme 
 diately attacked and captured her with all this enormous treasure. 
 
 When the buccaneers had gathered a considerable booty, they 
 held their rendezvous first at the island of Tortuga, in order to 
 divide the spoil. If any one among them was convicted of per 
 jury, which seldom happened, he was left, as soon as an opportu 
 nity offered, upon some desert island, as an infamous person. 
 The first shares of the booty were always given to those who had 
 been maimed in battle. If any one had lost a hand, an arm, or a 
 leg, he received two hundred crowns. An eye or a finger, lost in 
 fight, was valued at half that sum. The wounded were allowed 
 half a dollar a day for two months, to enable them to have their 
 wounds cured. If the company had not money enough to enable 
 them to fulfil these sacred obligations, the whole company were 
 bound to engage in some fresh expedition, and to continue it till 
 they had acquired a sufficient stock to enable them to satisfy such 
 honorable duties. 
 
 After this act of justice and humanity, the remainder of the 
 booty was divided. The commander, in strictness, could only 
 lay claim to a single share like the rest ; but they complimented 
 him with two or three, in proportion as they were satisfied with 
 his skill and conduct. When the vessel in which they cruised, 
 was not the property of the company, the person who had fitted 
 it out, and furnished it with necessary arms and provisions, was 
 entitled to a third of the prize-money. Favor had never any in 
 fluence in the division of the booty, for every share was rigidly 
 determined by lot. This probity was extended even to the dead. 
 Their share was given to their families. If there were no friends 
 or relatives, it was distributed to the poor and to churches, which 
 were to say masses for the person in whose name these benefac 
 tions were given* 
 
 They afterwards indulged themselves in profusion of all kinds. 
 Unbounded licentiousness and every kind of debauchery were 
 
178 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 carried to the utmost pitch of excess, and were checked only When 
 their money was gone. The possessors of millions were often 
 ruined in an instant, and, destitute of clothes and provisions, 
 they returned to sea, and the new supplies they acquired were 
 soon lavished in the same manner. 
 
 The Spanish colonists were reduced almost to despair at finding 
 themselves a perpetual prey to these ruffians, and at length grew 
 weary of venturing to sea. They gave up all the benefits of 
 commerce and mutual intercourse, and kept themselves apart 
 in their separate states. They were sensible of the inconve 
 niences arising from such conduct; but the dread of falling into 
 the hands of savage and rapacious pirates had greater influence 
 over them than the dictates of honor, interest and policy. Such 
 was the commencement of that spirit of inactivity, which con 
 tinued in Spanish America down to the present century. 
 
 This despondency but served to increase the boldness of the 
 freebooters. As yet, they had only appeared in the Spanish 
 settlements, in order to carry off provisions ; and even this they 
 had done very seldom. They no sooner began to find their cap 
 tures diminish, than they determined to recover by land what 
 they were losing at sea. The richest and most populous commu 
 nities of the continent were plundered and laid waste. The 
 culture of lands was now neglected as well as navigation, and the 
 Spaniards dared no more appear in their public roads, than sail in 
 the latitudes frequented by their enemies. 
 
 Among the buccaneers who signalized themselves in this new 
 species of excursions, Montbar, a gentleman of Languedoc, par 
 ticularly distinguished himself. Having by chance in his infancy 
 met with a circumstantial account of the cruelty of the Spaniards 
 in the New World, he conceived an aversion for them, which he 
 Qarried to a degree of frenzy against that nation. Upon this point, 
 a story is told of him, that when he was at college, and acting in 
 a play the part of a Frenchman, who quarrelled with a Spaniard, 
 he fell upon the person who personated the Spaniard with such 
 fury that he would have strangled him, had he not been rescued 
 out of his hands. His heated imagination continually represented 
 to him innumerable multitudes of people massacred by savage 
 monsters wha-came out of Spain. He became animated with an 
 irresistible desire to avenge so much innocent bltf&d. The enthu 
 siasm to which this spirit of humanity worked him up was 
 turned into a rage more cruel than the thirst for gold, or the 
 fanaticism of religion, to which so many victims had been sacri 
 ficed. The ghosts of these unhappy sufferers seemed to rouse him 
 and call upon him for vengeance. He had heard some account 
 
THE BUCCANEERS. 179 
 
 of the Brethren of the Coast, as the buccaneers were then called 
 They were represented as the most inveterate enemies of the 
 Spanish name ; he therefore embarked for America to join them. 
 
 On the passage he met with a Spanish vessel, attacked her, and 
 as was usual in those times, immediately boarded her. Montbar, 
 with a sabre in his hand, fell upon the enemy, broke through 
 them, and, hurrying twice from one end of the ship to the other, 
 levelled everything that opposed him. When he had compelled 
 the enemy to surrender, leaving to his companions the task of 
 dividing so rich a booty, he contented himself with the savage 
 pleasure of contemplating the dead bodies of the Spaniards lying 
 in heaps upon the deck. 
 
 His savage disposition, as well as that of the other buccaneers 
 who attended him, having obliged the Spaniards to confine them 
 selves within their settlements, these freebooters resolved to attack 
 them there. This new method of carrying on war, required 
 superior forces, and their associations in consequence became more 
 numerous. The first considerable body of troops was formed by 
 Lolonois, a Frenchman, who derived his name from Sables d'- 
 Olonne, the place of his birth. From the abject state of a bonds 
 man, he had gradually raised himself to the command of two 
 canoes and twenty-two men. With these, he was so successful 
 as to take a Spanish frigate on the coast of Cuba. A slave, hav 
 ing observed that all the men who were wounded were put to 
 death, and fearing lest he should share the same fate, attempted 
 to save himself by a perfidious declaration, but very consistent 
 with the part he had been destined to take. He assured the buc 
 caneers that the governor of Havana had put him on board to serve 
 as executioner to all the buccaneers he had sentenced to be hung, 
 not doubting in the least that they would all be taken prisoners. 
 The savage Lolonois, fired with rage at this declaration, ordered 
 all the Spaniards to be brought before him, and cut off their heads, 
 one after another. He then repaired to Port au Prince, at which 
 place were four ships, fitted out purposely to sail in pursuit of him. 
 He took them, and threw all the crews overboard except one man, 
 whom he saved. This person he sent with a letter to the governor 
 of Havana, acquainting him with what he had done, and assuring 
 him that he would treat in the same manner all the Spaniards that 
 should fall into his hands. After this expedition, he ran his 
 canoes and prize ships aground, and sailed with his frigate to the 
 island of Tortuga. 
 
 Here he met with Micfrael de Basco, who had so highly distin 
 guished himself in capturing, under the cannon of Porto Bello, a 
 Spanish ship, with a cargo valued at above a million of dollars 
 
180 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 and by other actions equally daring. These two adventurers 
 gave out that they were going together upon an important expe 
 dition, and they were joined by four hundred and forty men. This 
 corps, the most numerous which the buccaneers had yet been able 
 to muster, sailed to the Bay of Venezuela, which runs up into the 
 country for the space of fifty leagues. The fort at the entrance 
 was taken, the cannon spiked, and the whole garrison, consisting 
 of two hundred and fifty men, put to the sword. They then re-em 
 barked, and proceeded to Maracaibo, on the western coast of the 
 lake of the same name, at the distance of ten leagues from its 
 mouth. The city, which had become rich and flourishing by its 
 trade in skins, tobacco and cocoa, was deserted. The inhabitants 
 had retired with. their effects to the other side of the bay. If the 
 buccaneers had not lost a fortnight in riot and debauch, they would 
 have found at Gibraltar, near the extremity of the lake, everything 
 that the inhabitants had secreted, to secure it from being plun 
 dered. On the contrary, they met with fortifications lately erected, 
 which they had the useless satisfaction of capturing, at the ex 
 pense of a great deal of blood. The inhabitants had already 
 removed to a distance the most valuable part of their property. 
 Exasperated at this disappointment, they set fire to Gibraltar ; and 
 Maracaibo would have shared the same fate, had it not been 
 ransomed. Beside the sum they received for its ransom, they also 
 carried off all the crosses, pictures, and bells of the churches, 
 intending, as they said, to build a chapel in the island of Tortuga, 
 and to consecrate this part of their spoils to sacred purposes. Such 
 was the religion of these barbarous people, who could make no 
 other offering to Heaven than that which arose from their robber- . 
 ies and plunder ! 
 
 While they were idly dissipating the spoils they had captured 
 on the coast of Venezuela, Henry Morgan, the most renowned of the 
 English freebooters, sailed from Jamaica to attack Porto Bello. 
 His plan of operations was so well contrived, that he surprised 
 the city, and took it without opposition. In order to secure the 
 fort with the same facility, he compelled the women and the priests 
 to fix the scaling ladders to the walls, from a full conviction that 
 the gallantry and superstition of the Spaniards would never suffer 
 them to fire at the persons they considered as the objects of their 
 love and reverence. But the garrison were not te be deceived by 
 this artifice, and yielded only to the force of arms ; the treasures 
 that were carried away from this famous port were acquired by 
 the buccaneers at the expense of much Bloodshed. 
 
 The conquest of Panama was an object of much greater impor 
 tance. To secure this, Morgan thought it necessary to sail in the 
 
THE BUCCANEERS. 181 
 
 latitudes of Costa-Rica, and to procure guides in the island of St. 
 Catharine, to which the Spaniards transported their malefactors. 
 This place was so strongly fortified that it might have stopped the 
 progress of the most intrepid commander. Notwithstanding this, 
 the governor, on the first appearance of the buccaneers, sent 
 privately to concert measures how he might surrender without 
 incurring the imputation of cowardice. The result of this consul 
 tation was that Morgan in the night time should attack a fort at 
 some distance, and that the governor should sally out of the cita 
 del to defend this important post ; that the besiegers should then 
 attack him in the rear, and take him prisoner, which would occa 
 sion a surrender of the place. It was agreed that a brisk firing 
 should be kept up on both sides, without doing mischief to either. 
 This farce was admirably carried on. The Spaniards, without 
 being exposed to any danger, appeared to have done their duty ; 
 and the freebooters, after having totally demolished the fortifica 
 tions, and put on board their vessels a prodigious quantity of war 
 like stores, which they found at St. Catharine's, steered towards 
 the river Chagres, the only channel by which they could proceed 
 towards Panama. 
 
 At the entrance of this river stood a fort, built upon a steep rock, 
 against which the waves of the sea constantly beat. This bul 
 wark, very difficult of access, was defended by an officer, whose 
 extraordinary abilities were equal to his courage, and by a garri 
 son that deserved such a commander. The buccaneers for the first 
 time met with a resistance that could only be equalled by their 
 perseverance. It was a doubtful point whether they would suc 
 ceed, or be obliged to raise the siege, when an accident happened, 
 that proved favorable to their wishes and fortune. The comman 
 der was killed, and the fort accidentally took fire. The besieg 
 ers, taking advantage of this double calamity, made themselves 
 masters of the place. 
 
 Morgan left his vessels at anchor, with a sufficient number of 
 men to guard tiiem, and sailed up the river in his boats for thirty- 
 three miles, till he came to Cruces, where the stream ceased to be 
 navigable. He then proceeded by land to Panama, which was 
 only five leagues distant. Upon a wide plain that lies before the 
 city, he met a considerable body of troops, whom he put to flight 
 with the greatest ease, and entered into the place, which was no w 
 abandoned. 
 
 Here were found prodigious treasures, concealed in the wells 
 
 and caves. Some valuable commodities were taken from the 
 
 boats that were left aground at low water. In the neighboring 
 
 forests were also rich deposites. But the party of buccaneers who 
 
 16 
 
182 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 were making excursions into the country, little satisfied with their 
 booty, exercised the most shocking tortures on the Spaniards, 
 negroes and Indians, to oblige them to confess where they had 
 secreted their riches. A beggar, accidentally going into a castle 
 which had been deserted through fear, found some fine clothes 
 which he put on. He had scarcely dressed himself, when he was 
 perceived by the invaders, who demanded where his gold was. 
 The unfortunate man showed them the ragged clothes he had just 
 thrown off. He was instantly put to the torture, but, as he mado 
 no discovery, he was given up to some slaves, who put an end to 
 his life. Thus the treasures the Spaniards had acquired in the 
 New World by massacres and tortures, were extorted from them 
 in the same manner. Panama was burnt, and the buccaneers set 
 sail with a great number of prisoners, who were ransomed a few 
 days after. The expedition proceeded to the mouth of the Cha- 
 gres with a prodigious booty. 
 
 Before the dawn of the day that had been fixed upon for the 
 division of the plunder, Morgan, with most of the Englishmen of 
 the band, while the rest of the pirates were in a deep sleep, stole 
 away silently from the rendezvous and sailed to Jamaica in a 
 vessel which they had laden with all the spoils of the enterprise. 
 This instance of treachery, the first of its kind that had happened, 
 excited a rage and resentment not to be described. The remaining 
 English pursued the robber, in hopes of wresting from him the 
 booty, but without success. The French, the sharers in the loss, 
 retired to the island of Tortuga, from whence they made several 
 expeditions. But they were all trifling, till, in the year 1683. 
 they attempted one of greater importance. 
 
 The plan of this expedition was formed by Yan Horn, a native 
 of Ostend, though he had served all his life among the French. 
 His intrepidity would never let him suffer the least signs of cow 
 ardice among those who were associated with him. In the heat 
 of an engagement he went about his ship, and immediately killed 
 those who shrunk at the sudden report of a gun or pistol. This 
 extraordinary discipline had made him the terror of the coward, 
 and the idol of the brave. In other respects, he readily shared 
 with the men of spirit and bravery the immense riches that were 
 acquired by so fierce and warlike a disposition. When he ventur 
 ed upon his expeditions, he generally sailed in a ship which was 
 his own property. But these new designs requiring greater means 
 to carry them into execution, he took to his assistance Grammont, 
 Godfrey and Jonque, three Frenchmen, distinguished by their 
 exploits, and Lawrence de Graff, a Dutchman, who had signalized 
 
THE BUCCANEERS. 183 
 
 himself still more. Twelve hundred buccaneers joined these 
 famous commanders, and sailed in six vessels for Vera Cruz. 
 
 The darkness of the night favored their landing, which was 
 effected at three leagues from the place, at which they arrived with 
 out being discovered. The governor, the fort, the barracks, and 
 the posts of the greatest consequence, everything, in a word, that 
 could occasion any resistance, was taken by break of day. All 
 the citizens, men, women and children, were shut up in the 
 churches, whither they fled for shelter. At the door of each 
 church were placed barrels of gunpowder to blow up the building. 
 A freebooter with a lighted match was to set fire to it upon the 
 least appearance of an insurrection. 
 
 While the city was kept in such terror it was easily pillaged ; 
 and after the buccaneers had carried off what was most valuable, 
 they made a proposal to the citizens, who were kept prisoners in 
 the churches, to ransom their lives, by a contribution of two 
 millions of dollars. These unfortunate people, who had neither 
 eaten nor drank for three days, cheerfully accepted the terms. 
 Half the money was paid the same day; the other part was 
 expected f 'om the inland part of the country ; when there ap 
 peared, on an eminence, a considerable body of troops advanc 
 ing, and near the port, a fleet of seventeen ships from Europe. 
 At the sight of this armament, the buccaneers, without any marks 
 of surprise, retreated quietly with fifteen hundred slaves they had 
 carried off as a trifling indemnification for the money they ex 
 pected. The final settlement of the account they deferred to a 
 more favorable opportunity. These ruffians sincerely believed 
 that whatever they pillaged or exacted by force of arms upon the 
 coasts where they made a descent, was their lawful property ; 
 and that religion, as well as custom, sanctioned the right not 
 only to what they had ^ already received, but even the interest of 
 that part of the sum that was not yet paid. 
 
 Their retreat was equally daring and successful. They boldly 
 sailed through the midst of the Spanish fleet, which allowed 
 them to pass without firing a gun ! The Spaniards, in fact, were 
 rather afraid of being attacked and beaten. They would not 
 probably have escaped so easily, if the vessels of the pirates had 
 not been laden with riches, or if the Spanish fleet had been 
 freighted with any other effects than such merchandise as was 
 little valued by the buccaneers. 
 
 A year had scarcely elapsed, when, on a sudden, they were 
 seized with the desire to invade Peru. They expected, undoubt 
 edly, to find greater treasures upon a sea hitherto little frequented 
 by them. Four thousand men directed their course to this part 
 
184 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 of the new hemisphere. Some of them came by the continent, 
 others by the Straits of Magellan. If the intrepidity of these bar 
 barians had been directed by a, skilful and respectable com 
 mander, to one single uniform end, this important colony would 
 have been lost to Spain. But their natural character was an 
 invincible obstacle to such a result. They always formed them 
 selves into several distinct bodies, sometimes so smal. as ten or 
 twelve in number, who acted together or separately, as the most 
 trifling caprice directed. Grognier, L'Ecuyer, Picard and Le 
 Sage, were the most distinguished officers among the French; 
 David, Samms, Peter, Wilner and Townley, among the English. 
 Such of these adventurers as arrived in the South Sea by the 
 Isthmus of Darienj seized upon the first vessels they found along 
 the coast. Their associates, who had sailed in their own vessels, 
 were but poorly provided. Weak, however, as they were, the ad 
 venturers defeated, sunk, or took all the ships that were fitted out 
 against them. The Spaniards then suspended their navigation. 
 The buccaneers were forced to make descents upon the coasts to 
 get provisions, or to go by land and plunder those cities where 
 the booty was secured. 
 
 Universal terror prevailed throughout Spanish America; the 
 approach of the freebooters, and even the fear of their arrival dis 
 persed the people. The Spaniards, grown effeminate by the 
 most extravagant luxury, enervated by the peaceful exercise of 
 their tyranny, and reduced to the state of their slaves, never 
 waited for the enemy, unless they surpassed them in numbers at 
 least twenty to one ; and even then they commonly suffered defeat. 
 They retained nothing of the pride and nobility of their origin. 
 They were so much degenerated, that they had lost all notions of 
 the art of war, and were even scarcely acquainted with the use of 
 firerarms. They were little better than the native Americans 
 whom they trampled upon. This extraordinary cowardice was 
 increased by the idea they had conceived of the ferocious men 
 who attacked them. Their monks had depicted them in the same 
 hideous colors with which they portrayed evil spirits ; and they 
 themselves had overcharged the picture. Such representations, 
 the offspring of a wild and terrified imagination, imprinted on 
 every mind the utmost aversion and terror. 
 
 Notwithstanding the excess of their resentment, the Spaniards 
 only wreaked their revenge upon their foes when they were no 
 longer able to inspire terror. As soon as the buccaneers had 
 quitted the place they had plundered, if any one of them had been 
 killed in the attack, his body was dug up, mutilated, or made to 
 pass through the various kinds of torture, that would have been 
 
THE BUCCANEERS. 
 
 185 
 
 practised upon the man had he been alive. This abhorrence of 
 the freebooters was extended even to the places on which they 
 had exercised their cruelties. The cities they had taken were 
 excommunicated ; the very walls and soil of the cities which had 
 been laid waste, were anathematized, and the inhabitants aban 
 doned them forever. 
 
 While such piracies were committed on the Southern Ocean, the 
 northern seas were threatened with the same outrages by Gram- 
 mont. He was a native of Paris, by birth a gentleman, and had 
 distinguished himself in a military capacity in Europe ; but his 
 passion for wine, gaming and debauchery, had induced him to 
 join the buccaneers. His virtues were almost sufficient to have 
 atoned, in some measure, for his vices. He was affable, polite, 
 generous and eloquent; he was endued with a sound judgment, 
 i and was a person of approved valor, which soon made him the 
 chief of the French buccaneers. As soon as it was known that 
 he had taken up arms, he was immediately joined by a number of 
 brave associates. Grammont's design was to attack Campeachy. 
 The governor of St. Domingo, who had at length prevailed upon 
 the king of France to approve of a project for fixing the bucca 
 neers in some place, and inducing them to become cultivators of 
 the soil, was desirous to prevent the concerted expedition, and 
 therefore forbade it in the king's name. Grammont, who had a 
 greater share of sense than his associates, was not on that ac 
 count inclined to comply, and sternly refused obedience to this 
 order. His answer greatly pleased all the freebooters, who im 
 mediately embarked for Campeachy. This occurred in 1685. 
 
 They landed without opposition. At some distance from the 
 coast they were attacked by eight hundred Spaniards. These 
 they defeated and pursued to the town, where both parties entered 
 at the same time. The cannon they found were immediately 
 levelled by the invaders against the citadel. As these had little 
 effect, they were contriving some stratagem to enable them to 
 become masters of the place, when intelligence was brought that 
 it was abandoned. There remained in it only a gunner, an Eng 
 lishman, and an officer of such signal courage that he chose 
 rather to expose himself to the greatest danger than basely fly 
 with the rest. The commander of the buccaneers received him 
 with marks of distinction, generously released him, gave him all 
 his effects, and besides, complimented him with some valuable 
 presents. Such influence have courage and fidelity, even on the 
 minds of those who seem to violate all the laws of society. 
 
 The conquerors of Campeachy spent two months in searching 
 the environs of the city for twelve or fifteen leagues round, carry- 
 
186 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 ing off everything of value that the inhabitants had secreted, 
 When all the treasure collected from every quarter was deposited 
 in the ships, a proposal was made to the governor of the province, 
 who still kept the field, with nine hundred men, to ransom his 
 capital. His refusal determined the buccaneers to burn it, and 
 demolish the citadel. The French portion of them, on the fes 
 tival of St. Louis, were celebrating the anniversary of their king ; 
 and, in the transports of their patriotism and intoxication, they 
 burnt stores of logwood to the value of two hundred thousand dol 
 lars. After this extravagant instance of folly, which Frenchmen 
 alone could practise, the buccaneers returned to St. Domingo. 
 
 A few enterprising men had fitted out, in 1697, in the ports of 
 France, and under the sanction of government, seven ships of the 
 line and a proportional number of smaller vessels. This fleet, 
 commanded by Commodore Pointis, conveyed troops for the land 
 service; their destination being against Carthagena, one of the 
 richest and best fortified towns of the New World. The French 
 expected that this expedition would be attended with great diffi 
 culties ; but they hoped these would be surmounted, if the bucca 
 neers would assist them, which in fact they engaged to do ; out of 
 complaisance to Ducasse, governor of St. Domingo, a man highly 
 esteemed by them. 
 
 Carthagena was accordingly attacked by the united forces, and 
 the buccaneers, whose boldness could not be restrained, did even 
 more than was expected from them. No sooner had they per 
 ceived a small breach in the walls of the lower town, than they 
 stormed the place, and planted their standards upon the ramparts. 
 They carried the other works with the same intrepidity. The 
 town surrendered, its capture being attributable to the buccaneers. 
 
 All kinds of enormities followed the surrender. The French 
 general, who was an unprincipled, greedy and cruel man, broke 
 every article of the capitulation. Although the apprehensions of 
 an army, that was collecting in the inland country, had made him 
 consent that the inhabitants should keep half their movable 
 effects, yet everything was given up to indiscriminate plunder. 
 The officers were the first thieves; and it was not till they had 
 gorged themsejyes with the spoils, that the soldiers were suffered 
 to ransack the houses. As for the buccaneers, they were kept in 
 employment out of the town while the treasures were seized. 
 Pointis pretended that the spoils did not exceed a million and a 
 half or two millions of dollars. Ducasse valued them at six mil 
 lions, and othe-rs at eight millions. The buccaneers, according to 
 agreement, were to receive one quarter of the whole. They were, 
 however, given to understand that their profit would amount 
 to but foi ty thousand crowns. 
 
THE BUCCANEERS. 187 
 
 The ships had set sail when this statement was made to these 
 intrepid men, who had decided the victory. Exasperated at this 
 treatment, they resolved immediately to hoard the general's ship, 
 which, at that time, was too far distant from the rest of the fleet 
 to receive assistance. This infamous commander was upon the 
 point of being massacred, when one of the maleconteuts cried out, 
 "Brethren, why should we attack this rascal? He hath carried 
 off nothing that belonged to us. He hath left our share at Car- 
 thagena, and there we must go to recover it." This proposal 
 was received with general applause. A savage joy at once suc 
 ceeded that gloomy melancholy which had seized them, and 
 without furiner deliberation, all the ships of the buccaneers sailed 
 back to Carthagena, again took possession of the city, and having 
 imprisoned all the men in the cathedral, demanded a million of 
 dollars as their ransom. One of the priests mounted the pulpit, 
 and made use of all the influence that his character, his authority 
 and his eloquence gave him, to persuade his hearers to give up all 
 their gold, silver and jewels. The collection made after this ser 
 mon not furnishing the sum required, the buccaneers again fell to 
 plundering the city. From the houses they proceeded to pillage 
 the churches and even the tombs, but with no great success ; and 
 the instruments of torture were at length produced. Four citi 
 zens, of the greatest distinction, were seized, to extort a confession 
 where the money was concealed. They all protested their igno 
 rance with so much sincerity and firmness, that avarice itself was 
 disarmed. Some muskets were, however, fired off, to induce a 
 belief that these unfortunate men had been shot. Every one ap 
 prehended the same fate; and that very evening two hundred 
 thousand dollars were produced. The following days produced 
 also something more. Despairing, at length, to add anything to 
 what they had already amassed, the buccaneers set sail. On their 
 voyage homeward, they fell in with a fleet of Dutch and English 
 ships, both those nations being then in alliance with Spain. Sev 
 eral of their smaller vessels were either taken or sunk; the rest 
 escaped to St. Domingo. 
 
 Such was the last memorable event in the history of the bucca 
 neers. They subsequently dispersed and settled in various parts 
 of the West Indies. History will preserve their memory as a 
 most remarkable race of men. Without any regular and fixed 
 system of government, without revenues, without any degree of 
 subordination, they ravaged extensive countries, and became the 
 terror of Spanish America and the astonishment of the age in 
 which they lived. Had they been animated with the spirit of 
 conquest, as they were with that of rapine, they would have sub 
 dued the whole of the Western World. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Depopulation of St. Domingo. Settlement of Tortuga. Establishment of the 
 French in St. Domingo. Effect of the French revolution on the island. The 
 mulattoes petition for political privileges. Enfranchisement of the colored popu 
 lation. Vincent Oge attempts a revolt. General insurrection of the slaves.^ 
 Massacre of the inhabitants. Landing of the British. Arrival of a French 
 army. Toussaint Z/' Ouverture. Expedition of Le Clerc. Destruction of his 
 army. Independence of Hayti. Reign of Dessalines . Christophe. Petion. 
 Civil war. Christophe crowned king. His reign and overthrow. Union of 
 aUpaits of the island under President Boyer. 
 
 Christophe crowned king of Hayti. 
 
 THE Spaniards having, in about half a century, exterminated 
 the whole native population of St. Domingo, estimated at more 
 than two millions, remained the sole masters of this beautiful 
 island. The gold mines being exhausted, the whole territory 
 became little better than an abandoned waste, and they remained 
 the undisputed and useless possessors of this fertile soil, till 1630, 
 when some English and French, who had been driven out of St. 
 Christopher's, took refuge there and established themselves on the 
 northern coast. The little island of Tortuga, two leagues from 
 the shore, offered them a secure retreat. From this spot they 
 issued to hunt wild animals in St. Domingo, and sold their hides 
 
ST. DOMINGO. 189 
 
 to the Dutch. The culture of tobacco increased their means of 
 subsistence, and the colony received great augmentations from 
 various quarters. Out of this establishment grew the celebrated 
 band of freebooters, whose history we have just related. 
 
 This settlement alarmed the court of Madrid, and they gave 
 orders for its destruction. The commander entrusted with this 
 commission, took the opportunity when the Tortugans were mostly 
 abroad, hunting and fishing, and hanged or put to the sword all 
 he found in the island. The others stood upon their defence, and, 
 placing at their head an Englishman named Willis, retook the 
 island in 1638, and fortified it strongly. Willis collected recruits 
 of his own nation, and soon found himself strong enough to give 
 law to the whole band. He began to act the tyrant, which dis 
 gusted particularly the French portion of his subjects, and they 
 called in their countrymen from St. Christopher's. The English 
 were expelled, and the Tortugans continued to be engaged in 
 hostilities with the Spaniards, who drove them from the island 
 three times successively, but the French as often recovered it. 
 The court of Versailles at length acknowledged this colony, and 
 sent Bertrand D'Ogeron to establish laws and superintend the 
 government. D'Ogeron carried women to Hispaniola, who were 
 sold for. wives to the planters. The settlement began to flourish, 
 and was increased by the acquisition of a great number of slaves 
 which the French captured from the Spaniards and English. 
 
 The Spanish government, after many ineffectual attempts to 
 expel the French, at length consented to their stay, and at the 
 treaty of Ryswick, in 1691, Spain formally ceded to France the 
 western half of the island. In 1776, a new boundary line was 
 agreed upon, and a liberal commerce opened between the two na 
 tions. The French portion of the island far surpassed the Spanish 
 in productiveness and wealth. The former increased rapidly in 
 population and culture, while the latter declined in both ; and it 
 was not till the year 1765, that it began to show any symptoms 
 of prosperity. The political convulsions of Europe, however, 
 were destined to exercise a most important influence upon this 
 island. 
 
 When the French revolution broke out, the colony of St. Do 
 mingo had attained the summit of prosperity. It was the boast 
 of the French that their half of this fertile island was worth all 
 the remainder of the West Indies. The political enthusiasm of 
 the mother country spread to the colonies, and the revolutionary 
 frenzy seized upon the minds of the more wealthy part of the 
 colonists. In the midst of a population of slaves, who outnum 
 bered the rest of the inhabitants in the proportion of seven to one, 
 
190 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 they planted the tree of liberty, deposed the existing authorities, 
 and preached the doctrine of equality and the rights of man. 
 The conduct of the white colonists, however, seemed to create 
 but little sensation among the negroes ; but the mulattoes, who 
 were already free, and at least equal in number to the white 
 population, soon set up their claim to an equality of rights for 
 their whole class. A mulatto, by the name of Lacombe, presented 
 a petition to the proper authorities, in which he demanded " all the 
 rights and privileges of man." The petition was voted to be 
 treasonable, and the author sentenced to the gallows. At Petit 
 Goave, a planter was torn in pieces, without trial, for having pre 
 sented a petition in favor of the people of color, and all who had 
 signed it were banished from the colony. 
 
 These violent measures against the mulattoes, who were in 
 general a wealthy and respectable body of men, were followed by 
 a declaration, on the part of a self-constituted general assembly 
 of the whites, " that they would rather die than share their politi 
 cal rights with a spurious and degenerate race." This race, how 
 ever, had powerful advocates of their own class in France, who, 
 through the means of Brissot, La Fayette and Robespierre, the 
 leading members of the society called " Friends of the Blacks," 
 ultimately procured the decree of the 15th of May, 1791, by which 
 all people of color, resident in the French colonies, born of free 
 parents, were entitled to the full enjoyment of the privileges 
 of French citizens. It was on this occasion that Robespierre 
 uttered that memorable exclamation, which at once put an end to 
 all the hopes and intrigues of the colonial planters resident in 
 Paris, " Perish the colonies rather than sacrifice one iota of our 
 principles ! " There had been in Paris, the preceding year, a 
 young mulatto, named Vincent Oge, whose widowed mother held 
 a coffee plantation in St. Domingo. This youth determined by 
 force of arms to cause the rights of his class to be respected. He 
 landed secretly at Cape Francois, reached his mother's dwelling, 
 ancl was joined by about three hundred of his own color ; but 
 they were soon dispersed or made prisoners. Oge escaped into the 
 Spanish part of the island, but having been betrayed, was tried, 
 condemned and executed. More than twenty others shared the 
 same fate. f 
 
 These judicial massacres created the utmost hor*or among the 
 mulattoes, and. by changing the guilty into martyrs of liberty, 
 separated forever the class of mulattoes from that of the Creoles, 
 The revolutionary spirit continued to increase among the whites : 
 the constituted authorities were insulted or overthrown ; and at 
 length the slaves began to display symptoms of disorder. In 
 
ST. DOMINGO. 191 
 
 August, 1791, on the occasion of a fire at a plantation in the 
 north, and an attempt made by a slave, at another place, on the life 
 of the bailiff, all the negroes on these two plantations were seized as 
 criminals and made the victims of Creole justice. In a few days, 
 a general insurrection of the slaves broke out; the negroes set 
 fire to the plantations ; the whole northern part of the island was 
 in flames and all the whites that fell into the hands of the insur^ 
 gents were put to death without distinction of sex or age. Those 
 who escaped, fled into the town of Cape Frangois, where a gene 
 ral consternation prevailed. The domestic blacks were locked 
 up ; a great fury was excited against the mulattoes, as the sup 
 posed instigators of the insuriection, and numbers of innocent 
 men of this class were put to death. The population flew to 
 arms, and all hands were employed in fortifying the town, which 
 the negroes approached in detached parties, carrying fire, pillage 
 and massacre all over the surrounding country. In four days, 
 the whole French part of the island lay in ashes. The fire 
 which they set to the plantations of canes, the sugar-mills, the 
 dwelling-houses and stores, covered the face of heaven during the 
 day with volumes of smoke. In the night the horizon was in a 
 blaze like that of volcanoes, which communicated to every object 
 the glowing tint of blood. 
 
 The whites, on the other hand, tortured and massacred all 
 the negroes, whether guilty or innocent, that fell into their hands. 
 After a while they attempted conciliation, but the negroes had 
 become organized under leaders, and refused submission. In this 
 terrible war, blood was poured forth in torrents. Within two 
 months after the revolt began, upwards of two thousand whites, 
 of all ages and conditions, were massacred. One hundred and 
 eighty sugar plantations, and nine hundred coffee, cotton and 
 indigo settlements were destroyed, and twelve hundred Christian 
 families reduced from opulence to such a state of misery as to 
 depend for food and clothing on charity. Of the insurgents up 
 wards of two thousand perished by the sword or famine, and 
 some hundreds by the hand of the executioner. An insurrection 
 followed in the west ; all the country for thirty miles round Port 
 au Prince was burnt and laid waste. 
 
 Meantime the decree of the 15th of May was repealed by the 
 National Assembly at Paris. When this intelligence reached St. 
 Domingo, the mulattoes, believing themselves betrayed by the 
 whites, flew to arms ; the most bloody conflicts ensued. Three 
 commissioners had been sent from France with an armed force to 
 regulate the affairs of the colony and carry into effect the decree 
 of the National Assembly. Their arrival caused the utmost terror 
 
192 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 among the whites, from the suspicion of a design to declare a gen 
 eral emancipation of the negro slaves. The commissioners acted 
 in a most arbitrary manner, cashiered three governors, and finally 
 quarrelled among themselves. All was confusion and uproar. 
 Terrified at these scenes, and apprehensive of still more dreadful 
 ones, thousands of persons, of all descriptions, embarked with the 
 wrecks of their fortunes for the United States. Some of the 
 planters repaired to England, and made such representations to the 
 government that an expedition under General Whitelocke was sent 
 from Jamaica to occupy such parts of the island as might be wil 
 ling to put themselves under British protection. On the 19th Sep 
 tember he took possession of Jeremie, and a few days afterward of 
 the port and harbor of St. Nicholas ; but the town refused to sub 
 mit and joined the republican army raised by the throe jacobin 
 commissioners. This army consisted of the troops brought from 
 France, the national guards and the militia, amounting to fourteen 
 thousand whites ; to which were added a motley band of slaves 
 who had deserted their masters, and negroes from the jails ; making 
 altogether a force of twenty-five thousand men. The commis 
 sioners, not thinking this army sufficient to repel the attack of the 
 British, proclaimed the total abolition of negro slavery. In conse 
 quence of this, upwards of one hundred thousand blacks fled to the 
 mountains and possessed themselves of the natural fortresses of 
 the interior. A desperate band of thirty or forty thousand armed 
 negroes and mulattoes ravaged the whole of the northern districts, 
 more intent on plunder than on opposing the progress of the 
 English, who, after several skirmishes, became masters of the 
 western coast of the island. 
 
 On the capture of Port au Prince by the English, the republican 
 commissioners retired towards the mountains, but finding the 
 mulattoes and blacks in possession of the heights, under the mulatto 
 general, Rigaud, and a negro by the name of Toussaint L/Ouver- 
 ture, they deemed it necessary to abandon a country which their 
 own rash precipitation had plunged into ruin. 
 
 Toussaint L'Ouverture soon became the leader. This man was 
 born a slave, and continued so for nearly fifty years. When 
 the insurrection broke out he refused to join in it, and assisted in 
 procuring his master a passage to the United States. After this, 
 he joined the French forces, and rose by successive steps to the 
 rank of brigadier general. He obtained such influence that all 
 the proceedings of the French commissioners were directed by 
 him. The Directory at Paris became jealous of him, and sent out 
 General Hedouville to observe his conduct and restrain his ambi 
 tion. Toussaint, however, refused to submit to his management 
 
ST. DOMINGO. 193 
 
 Bonaparte, on becoming first consul, confirmed him as comman- 
 der-in-chief, and Toussaint succeeded in freeing the island from 
 the English. He introduced order and discipline into the gov 
 ernment, and under his sway the colony advanced, as if by 
 enchantment, towards its ancient splendor. The lands were again 
 put under cultivation ; all the people appeared to be happy, and 
 considered Toussaint as their guardian angel; both blacks and 
 whites regarded him with esteem and confidence. 
 
 The general enthusiasm which he had excited was sufficient to 
 instil vanity into the strongest mind, and he had some excuse for 
 saying he was the Bonaparte of St. Domingo ! He had in early 
 life stored his memory with an incoherent jumble of Latin phrases 
 from the psalter, of which he made a whimsical use after his ele 
 vation. Sometimes a negro or mulatto would apply to be made 
 a magistrate or judge : " Certainly," he would reply; " you un 
 derstand Latin, of course? " " No, General." " How ! wish to 
 be a magistrate, and not know Latin !" and then he would pour 
 forth a torrent of Latin jargon, which sent the sable candidate away 
 with the opinion that the general was a most portentous scholar. 
 
 The prosperity of the colony was unfortunately of short con 
 tinuance. After the peace of Amiens, Bonaparte, urged on by 
 the expelled planters and mercantile speculators, determined to 
 recover the colony, reinstate the former proprietors and subjugate 
 the emancipated slaves. For this purpose he despatched his bro 
 ther-in-law, General Le Clerc, with a force of twenty-five thousand 
 men. On the appearance of the fleet in the bay of Samana, 
 Toussaint exclaimed, "We shall all perish; all France is come 
 to St. Domingo." The army landed, and several desperate battles 
 were fought. Le Clerc at last found himself under the necessity 
 of proclaiming liberty and equality to all the inhabitants, with 
 the reservation, however, of the approval of the French govern 
 ment. The negroes, tired of the war, deserted their leaders, and 
 a treaty of peace was concluded, by which the sovereignty of 
 France over the island was acknowledged and a general amnesty 
 granted. In direct violation of this agreement, Toussaint was 
 seized by Le Clerc and carried to France, where he died in prison. 
 
 This outrage on the person of their favorite chief exasperated 
 the blacks to a high degree. They flew to arms, and organized 
 themselves under leaders, among whom Dessalines and Christophe 
 soon became conspicuous. They spread slaughter and devasta 
 tion among the French, who could offer little resistance against 
 them on account of the excessive heat of the summer 1802. 
 Le Clerc and most of his officers were attacked by sickness, and 
 all the reinforcements sent from France suffered successively from 
 17 y 
 
194 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 the pestilence. Yet they continued to practise great barbai- 
 ities towards the unfortunate blacks. In the midst of these scenes 
 of horror, Le Clerc died, and the command devolved on General 
 Rochambeau, who fought several battles with varied success ; but 
 the losses sustained in these actions, added to disease, reduced 
 the French to the necessity of shutting themselves up in their 
 strong holds, while the blacks were daily increasing in number 
 and confidence. By the end of the year 1802, no less than forty 
 thousand Frenchmen had perished. 
 
 Dessalines, now commander-in-chief of the negro army, advanc 
 ed to the plain of Cape Francois, to besiege the French in cheir 
 head-quarters. A bloody battle followed, in which neither could 
 claim the victory. The French were said to have tortured their 
 prisoners, and then put to death five hundred of them. Dessalines, 
 hearing of this, caused five hundred gibbets to be erected, and 
 after selecting all the French officers, made up the number out of 
 the other prisoners, and hung them up at break of day in sight of 
 the French army. The misery of the French was completed by 
 the breaking out of the war with England, in 1803. A British 
 squadron blockaded Cape Francois; the town was reduced by 
 famine, and Rochambeau surrendered at the end of the year. 
 
 On the first of January, 1804, the independence of the island 
 was formally proclaimed, and it resumed its aboriginal name of 
 Hayti. Jean Jacques Dessalines was appointed governor-general 
 for life. His first act was to encourage the return of those blacks 
 who had taken refuge in the United States. He next excited the 
 people to a horrible massacre of the whites, which took place on 
 the 28th of April. By a series of cruelties and perfidies he got 
 rid of all whom he conceived to be his enemies, and on the 8th 
 October, 1804, procured a Capuchin missionary to crown him em 
 peror, by the name of Jacques I. On this occasion he signed a 
 constitution declaring the empire of Hayti to be a free, sovereign 
 and independent state. It proclaimed the abolition of slavery, the 
 equality of rank, the equal operation of the laws, the inviolability 
 of property, &c. Under this government the island rapidly ad 
 vanced to prosperity. Dessalines, though a cruel and sanguinary 
 tyrant, was not without skill in the art of government. When 
 emperor, he appointed his ancient master to the office of butler to 
 his household, which he said was precisely what- the old man 
 wished for, as his love for wine made up for the abstemiousness 
 of Dessalines, who drank only water. 
 
 Dessalines closed his bloody career on the 17th October, 1806, 
 being assassinated by the mulatto soldiers of Petion. At his death 
 Christophe was called to the head of the government, and a con- 
 
ST. DOMINGO. 195 
 
 projected which should guarantee the safety of persons and 
 property. A proclamation was issued, denouncing the crimes of 
 which Dessalines had been guilty, and, among other things, accused 
 him of having robbed the public treasury of twenty thousand 
 dollars for each of his twenty mistresses. Christophe, however, 
 deplored the fate of Dessalines, and affirmed that he had been put 
 to death by the mulattoes without inquiry into his conduct. The 
 blacks, always jealous of the mulattoes, attacked Petion, who with 
 his adherents escaped into the southern and western districts, 
 where a new constitution was prepared, and on the 27th Decem 
 ber, 1806, Petion was proclaimed president of the republic of 
 Hayti. A civil war now sprang up between the partisans of the 
 two chiefs, till at length, by a sort of tacit agreement, the mulatto 
 president fixed himself in the south and west, while Christophe 
 established himself in the north, where, on the 2d of June, 1811 
 the royal crown was placed on his head and he was proclaimed 
 Henry I., king of Hayti. 
 
 King Henry established his court and government in all the 
 pomp of an European monarchy. He maintained an army of 
 twenty-five thousand men. He created orders of nobility, with 
 princes, dukes, earls, barons and chevaliers, knights of the grand 
 cross, &c. He set up a sort of feudal system, partitioning out the 
 vacant lands among his retainers. He founded a royal college, 
 established schools, endowed an academy for music and painting, 
 built a theatre, patronised the arts, and encouraged magnificence 
 in dress. He was born a slave in the island of St. Christopher's, 
 from whence he took his original name ; yet his literary acquire 
 ments were respectable, and he spoke French and English well. 
 The country prospered under his administration, and for a time 
 he ruled in tranquillity. 
 
 Petion, the president of the republic, was a native mulatto of 
 the island, and received an education at the military academy of 
 Paris. His manners were shy, but his disposition was gentle and 
 conciliatory. He appears to have governed with equity and mod 
 eration, and enjoyed the full confidence of his people. He was 
 evidently much superior to the men by whom he was surrounded ; 
 and it is believed that he died of chagrin, on finding his schemes 
 of philanthropy and political improvements impracticable among 
 the barbarous population of Hayti. His death took place in 1818. 
 He was succeeded by Jean Pierre Boyer, who is still at the head 
 of the government. 
 
 Christophe reigned nine years ; but, in the midst of apparent 
 peace and prosperity, he lived in continual suspicion of plots 
 against his life. He distrusted his officers and the persons about 
 
196 THE WEST INDIES. 
 
 him. His palace was defended with all possible care, and he 
 never journeyed without strict precautions for his safety, carrying 
 loaded pistols, and surrounding himself with his body-guard. 
 His fears were not entirely groundless ; numerous circumstances 
 had diminished his popularity, and prepared the way for his 
 downfall. He became severe, arbitrary and tyrannical; he no 
 longer consulted his nobles and principal officers on public affairs ; 
 he displaced and degraded them, from ill-humor and caprice, and 
 at length losing all the affections and confidence of his people, he 
 became as much the object of their dread as he had formerly been 
 of their admiration. At length, a burst of passion impelled him 
 to order a barbarous massacre of a number of mulatto women. 
 This extinguished the last spark of attachment that lingered in 
 the breast of the people. A mutiny of the soldiers broke out 
 shortly afterwards. Christophe gave orders to put the ringlead 
 ers to death. The soldiery, instead of executing this order, took 
 sides with the mutineers, and Christophe, in despair, shot himself 
 through the head with a pistol, in October, 1820. 
 
 This was the end of the Haytian monarchy. An attempt in 
 deed was made by the conspirators to maintain the old govern 
 ment, and one of Christophe' s nobles, Romaine, the prince of 
 Limbe, endeavored to get himself proclaimed king. He was foiled 
 in his attempt, and the people invited Boyer into their territory. 
 Boyer marched to Cape Francois, at the head of twenty thousand 
 men, and was proclaimed the sole authorized chief of Hayti. The 
 Spanish portion of the island voluntarily placed itself under his 
 government in 1821. Since this event the three governments 
 have remained united. In 1825, a treaty was concluded with 
 France, by which the independence of Hayti was acknowledged 
 on condition of the payment of one hundred and fifty millions of 
 francs, in five annual instalments. This treaty has been censured 
 as imprudent and highly prejudicial to the Haytians, by draining 
 their country of an enormous sum of money, which they could 
 not pay without the most ruinous sacrifices, and for which they 
 received no equivalent. Hayti, at present, has little commerce, 
 but being free from intestine commotions, the island may in time 
 recover a portion of its former prosperity. A fatality, however, 
 seems to hang constantly over this fair territory. On the 7th day 
 of May, 1842, the whole island was shaken by an. earthquake, 
 which destroyed the town of Cape Haytien, formerly Cape Fran- 
 c,ois, with ten thousand inhabitants, leaving scarcely a third of the 
 population remaining. 
 
SPANISH SETTLEMENTS. 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 PERU. Insurrection of Tupac Amaru. Character of this leader. His attempts 
 in favor of the Peruvians. Becomes the patron of the Indians. Apprehensions 
 of the Spaniards. Commencement of the insurrection. Trial and execution of 
 Arriaga. Policy of Tupac Amaru. Conquest of Quispicancha by the Indians. 
 They advance upon Cuzco. Battle of Sangarara. Slaughter of the Spaniards. 
 Triumphs of Tupac. He assumes the crown of Peru. Expedition against 
 Puno. Defeat of the Indians. Siege of Puno. Invasion of Chucuito. Ad 
 ventures of Tomas Catari. Rebellion in Chayanta. Arrival of a Spanish army 
 from Buenos Ayres. Defeat of the Indians. Cruelties of the Spaniards. 
 Oruro taken and plundered by the Indians. Furious excesses of the insurgents. 
 War of extermination. The whole of Peru raised in arms. Tupac marches 
 upon Cuzco. Defence of the city by the cacique Pomacagua. The siege of 
 Cuzco raised. Retreat of Tupac. 
 
 THE native Peruvians, after their subjugation, quietly submit 
 ted, for more than two centuries, to the yoke of their conquerors. 
 To a casual observer, all memory of their ancient independence 
 and the glories of the empire of Manco Capac appeared to be lost. 
 But toward the close of the eighteenth century, events occurred, 
 which proved, in the most striking manner, that the national spirit 
 was not extinct among the Peruvians, nor the remembrance of 
 their better days entirely out of their thoughts. Groaning under 
 the severest bondage, their minds still dwelt upon the days of 
 their independence, and they wanted only a leader to encourage 
 them to burst their fetters, and rise in rebellion against their 
 tyrannical masters. 
 
 Such a leader they found in Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui, com 
 monly known by the name of Tupac Amaru, which he took upon 
 himself by right of his maternal descent from the Inca of that 
 name, the last of the sovereigns of Peru, put to death by the 
 Spaniards. This celebrated individual first attracted attention in 
 Peru, by assuming the Peruvian name, proving his descent from 
 Manco Capac, and urging his pretensions, before the court of 
 Lima, to the vacant marquisate of Oropesa, which had been 
 granted to Sayri Tupac, his ancestor. Of a noble physiognomy 
 and a robust frame, vast designs, vehement passions, firmness of 
 enterprise, and intrepidity amid dangers, but with only the imper 
 fect education which he could acquire by a few years' study at 
 the colleges of Cuzco and Lima, he conceived the bold design of 
 IT* 
 
Overseer of a royal Peruvian mine. Fighter at a butt feast. 
 
 Servants Natives of Peru. Festive costumes of Indians. 
 
INSURRECTION OF TUPAC AMARU. 199 
 
 delivering his countrymen from the tyranny under which they 
 groaned. 
 
 Tupac Amaru, in the first place, endeavored to procure some 
 mitigation of these unparalleled burdens, by gaining the coopera 
 tion of several eminent dignitaries in the church, led by the 
 Bishop of Cuzco, a noble Peruvian, and using their influence with 
 the government in behalf of the oppressed Indians. Yet, foresee 
 ing that persuasion would avail but little with their avaricious 
 and cruel masters, he resorted to other means of redress, by 
 assiduously courting popularity among his countrymen, exhibit 
 ing himself as the protector of the injured, alleviating the suffer 
 ings of the distressed by pecuniary aid, and thus gradually 
 leading the whole nation to regard him as the descendant and 
 rightful representative of their ancient sovereigns. 
 
 In the meantime, the Peruvians, who sympathized in the 
 miseries of the Indians, urged upon the advisers of the crown the 
 necessity of a reform in the internal administration of the country, 
 in such strong terms, and expressed so decided a belief that some 
 fearful political crisis was impending, that the Spanish court began 
 to listen to their representations. Accordingly, two noble Peru 
 vians, Don Ventura Santelices and Don Bias Tupac Amaru, were 
 called to Spain, to aid the council of the Indies in devising means 
 to improve the condition of the Indians. Probably they would 
 have succeeded, had they not prematurely perished by chance 
 or by assassination, the one at Madrid, the other on his passage 
 back to Peru. Tupac Amaru now came forward in person, and 
 made new exertions. But his zeal only seemed to draw upon him 
 the animosity of the petty despots of the provinces, who lorded it 
 over his subject race. These men, seeing that the failure of San 
 telices and of Don Bias Tupac Amaru had not cooled the Inca's 
 ardor, now doubled the burdens of his countrymen, and think 
 ing thereby to crush the rising spirit of resistance, pushed their 
 tyranny beyond the verge of human endurance. Their madness 
 hastened the crisis which they strove to avert. The Indians grew 
 desperate, and now first breaking forth into a determined insur 
 rection, rallied round the Inca. The commencement of the revo 
 lution was signalized by an act of vengeance, performed with all 
 the solemnity of the law, and therefore the better calculated to 
 strike terror into the hearts of the Spaniards, and to arouse the 
 courage of the Peruvians. Don Antonio Arriaga, corregidor of 
 Tinta, was infamous for the cruelty and rapacity which he exer 
 cised on the Indians of his province. Tupac Amaru brought him 
 to Tunja Tuca, under pretext of a sedition, and then instituting 
 his trial with his own official registers, caused him to be con- 
 
200 PERU. 
 
 demned as a public robber, and executed on the gallows, in the 
 name of the king of Spain, on the 10th of November, 1780. All 
 the odious forms of taxation and bondage were abolished from this 
 instant, and the flames of civil war burst out in Peru. 
 
 Tupac Amaru was cautious and wary in the introductory 
 scenes of the revolution, because he wished to conciliate the timid 
 among his nation, and lull his enemies into security, by making 
 them regard his proceedings in the light of a mere local tumult. 
 Hence, all his proclamations, decrees and other formalities atten 
 dant on the opening of his insurrection, appeared in the name of 
 the king. Adhering to this plan, and pretending to be in the exe 
 cution of the king's mandates, he passed rapidly into the province 
 of Quispicancha, with the intention of causing the corregidor 
 Cabrera to undergo the fate of Arriaga; but Cabrera, anticipa 
 ting his purpose, escaped by a hasty flight, leaving his rich maga 
 zines and the treasures of the government to be distributed among 
 the Indians^ By these movements, the neighboring provinces 
 were now thrown into general consternation, and Tupac Amaru, 
 actively extended the flame, disseminating his edicts, wherein, 
 calling on the names of thQ Incas and of liberty, he sought to 
 awaken the national enthusiasm of the Peruvians. 
 
 The consternation soon spread to the city of Cuzco, and meas 
 ures were taken to oppose the Inca's progress. A body of troops, 
 amounting to about six hundred Spaniards, Creoles and Indians, 
 marched out and encamped at Sangarara, not far from Cuzco. 
 They were immediately attacked by a much superior body of 
 Indians, and compelled to take refuge in the church. Tupac 
 Amaru proposed to them to submit on honorable terms, which 
 were disdainfully rejected. The situation of the besieged was 
 rendered hopeless by an unexpected accident. Their powder- 
 magazine exploded, blew off a part of the roof of the church, and 
 opened a breach in the walls. Still these determined men main 
 tained their resolution with all the heroism to which their nation 
 owes its wonderful conquests. Discharging a cannon through the 
 breach, they killed seven of the Indians near the person of Tupac. 
 After which, they threw open the doors of the church, and trusted 
 their fate to the desperate attempt of forcing a way through the 
 surrounding multitude of enemies. In this they failed. Of six 
 hundred and four combatants, who had occupied the church, all 
 died heroically, sword in hand, except about sixty Creoles and 
 Indians. 
 
 The result of this victory was of the utmost consequence to 
 the Inca. Success had now crowned his arms, and he dexter 
 ously took advantage of the respect and terror which it inspired. 
 
INSURRECTION OF TUPAC AMARU. 201 
 
 In most places where the intelligence reached, nothing was now 
 heard among the Indians but acclamations in favor of the deliverer 
 of Peru. He, therefore, assumed the symbols of the ancient gran 
 deur of his progenitors, and bound around his temples the imperial 
 borla of the Incas. Elated by his recent triumphs, after an inef 
 fectual attempt on Cuzco, he directed the principal division of his 
 forces towards Puno. He himself, having received letters from 
 his wife informing him that his exploits had excited attention in 
 Lima, and it was therefore necessary to collect all his strength, 
 retraced his steps towards Tinta. The expedition against Puno, 
 was unsuccessful. The Indians displayed the greatest resolution 
 and obstinacy in their attack on the place, as, if they succeeded 
 in the capture of Puno, there would have been nothing to inter 
 rupt their march toward the important city of La Paz. In one 
 engagement, the Indians, to the number of five thousand, were 
 beaten by about eight hundred Spaniards. They penetrated, 
 however, to Puno, and besieged the city, eighteen thousand 
 Indians occupying the eminences which commanded the district ; 
 but they were finally repulsed ; on which, exasperated rather 
 than disheartened by defeat, they suddenly turned away from 
 Puno, and poured themselves, like a torrent, over the unprotected 
 province of Chucuito. 
 
 No province adhered to Tupac Amaru more devotedly than 
 Chayanta. This arose from the commotion in which it was 
 already involved, from the following causes: There lived in 
 Chayanta, an Indian named Tomas Catari, who felt the liveliest 
 sensibility to the wrongs of his countrymen, and before the rising 
 of Tupac Amaru, had protested against some extraordinary acts 
 of oppression perpetrated by the corregidor Don Joaquin De Aloz. 
 Placing no confidence in the court of Charcas, which was noto 
 riously corrupt, Catari carried his complaints directly to the 
 viceroy. Buenos Ayres was at this time governed by Don Juan 
 De Vertiz, a man of unimpeachable integrity, and of mild, pacific 
 and amiable virtues. He saw with disgust the abuses which 
 custom authorized, but he could afford no other relief than to 
 order the royal audience to examine the matter judicially. 
 Catari returned to his province, concealing his dissatisfaction, 
 and giving out, in mysterious language, that redress was about to 
 be afforded by a superior power. His real object was to prepare 
 his nation to shake off the yoke of servitude. 
 
 Shortly after his return, Catari was thrown into prison by Aloz, 
 under the false pretext of his having killed a partisan of the gov 
 ernment. The Indians immediately released him by force. From 
 that time forward, he experienced the greatest vicissitudes of for- 
 
202 PERU. 
 
 tune : at one moment persecuted by Aloz ; at another, protected 
 by the Indians. While his exertions were suspended by imprison 
 ment, his brothers, Damaso and Nicolas, zealously promoted his 
 designs. The Indians were to assemble in the village of Pocoata. 
 to prepare the subscription list for the mita of Potosi. Aloz, 
 apprehending the meeting might end in some popular tumult, 
 hastily collected a guard of two hundred men for his defence, but 
 Damaso, nevertheless, demanded the release of his brother, who 
 was then confined in the jail of Chuquisaca. This demand 
 brought on an altercation, in the course of which, Aloz shot an 
 Indian with his pistol. The incensed natives instantly marched 
 from all quarters to the public square, where Aloz awaited them 
 with his troops drawn up in order of battle. They attacked him 
 with an enthusiasm which supplied every defect of arms and dis 
 cipline, and after a sanguinary contest, killed or routed the whole 
 Spanish force, and made Aloz himself prisoner. The audience of 
 Charcas were filled with dismay. They gladly released Tomas 
 Catari, trusting to his influence for the preservation of Aloz, whom 
 the Indians compelled as the price of his life, to send an order for 
 the seizure of a cacique, named Lupa, odious on account of his 
 subserviency to the government. The cacique was put to death 
 by them, and his head was affixed on the gates of Chuquisaca. 
 
 But the misfortunes of Tomas Catari were not yet finished. 
 At the moment when his reputation and seeming security were 
 the greatest, he was made prisoner. The whole population of the 
 country flew to his rescue, but too late ; for he was immediately 
 put to death. The rage of the Indians now passed all bounds ; 
 and the manifestoes of Tupac Amaru, proclaiming independence, 
 and the empire of their ancient monarchs, reaching them at the 
 very height of this popular resentment, they seized upon the 
 occasion with inconceivable ardor, to signify, by acclamation, 
 their unanimous adhesion to the Inca. 
 
 The disturbances in Chayanta had before this obliged the vice 
 roy of Buenos Ayres to send a force to quell them, commanded 
 by Don Ignacio Flores, who, for that purpose, was invested with 
 very ample powers. Stimulated by the presumption of the 
 Indians, who were now proclaiming the new Inca, and still 
 more by the complaints of the audience of Charcas, who censured 
 the slowness of his operations, Flores waited not for the veteran 
 troops speedily expected from Buenos Ayres, but attacked the 
 Indians without delay, and gained a complete victory. He took 
 sixty prisoners, and with the view of inspiring the vanquished 
 with greater terror, put them all to torture and death. This pre 
 cipitate act inflamed the Indians with such furious hatred of the 
 
INSURRECTION OF TUPAC AMARU. 203 
 
 Spaniards, that all were now ready to throw away their lives, as 
 martyrs in the cause of liberty, and the insurrection raged more 
 violently than ever. 
 
 In the meantime, a succession of the most tragical events was 
 taking place in the rich town of Oruro, the capital of a district 
 of that name. In Carabaya and Paria, too, the Indians were all 
 in arms, and had killed some of the principal Spaniards, and sent 
 their heads to Tupac Amaru. The corregidor, fearing a hostile 
 irruption into the town, enlisted a corps of four hundred men, com 
 posed chiefly of Cholos, the offspring of whites and mestizoes, 
 esteemed the hardiest and most active class of the population. 
 Everything was then apparently tranquil ; but never was repose 
 more fallacious. The new recruits, practising the most profound 
 dissimulation, determined to take advantage of their situation 
 to enrich themselves out of the pillage of the town. To obtain 
 arms, which were not yet delivered to them, they first spread 
 a rumor that the European Spaniards designed to assassinate 
 them in their quarters. The next night, they raised a cry 
 that the insurgent Indians were approaching. On their arms 
 being given them, their true object was developed. A part 
 remained in their quarters; the rest took post on a hill, and 
 sounding their trumpets, gave the signal for the Indians of 
 the mines to rush into the town and begin the plunder. The 
 European Spaniards were the first objects of their fury. They 
 had taken refuge in the house of one of the wealthiest of their 
 number, and there collected their silver for safe keeping. The 
 Indians and Cholos, finding the house fortified, set fire to it, and 
 thus compelling the unfortunate Spaniards to come forth, put 
 them all to the sword. They found in the house upwards of 
 seven hundred thousand dollars. But this rich plunder served 
 only to sharpen their avarice the more. To crown the miseries 
 of this devoted town, the Indians of other provinces, amounting 
 to twenty thousand in number, now flocked into it, and for ten 
 days Oruro wore the aspect of a city taken by storm. Not a 
 commercial house in the place but was pillaged. The churches 
 were profaned, the female population driven into the convents; 
 dead bodies scattered over the public squares. Such was the dis 
 astrous spectacle which the rich city of Oruro exhibited. In 
 toxicated with their success, the insurgents would have reduced 
 it entirely to ashes, but for the interposition of a noble Indian, Don 
 Lope Glmngara, who united with the inhabitants to rescue it from 
 complete destruction, and thus diverted the fury of the Indians 
 into a different channel. 
 
 Similar excesses were committed elsewhere, particularly in 
 
204 PERU. 
 
 Sicasica and Cochabamba. The Indians of this latter district 
 conspired to cut off every Spaniard, whether European or 
 American. They pursued this war of extermination for some 
 time, unresisted, sparing neither age, sex, nor condition. The 
 proclamation of Tupac Amaru had here fallen among men whose 
 native ferocity, hardened by oppression and confirmed by igno 
 rance, displayed itself in acts of savage violence, at which 
 humanity shudders. But their courage was not equal to their 
 cruelty. They were repeatedly routed by a small Spanish force 
 and compelled to fly to the fastnesses of the mountains. 
 
 The rapid progress of the insurrection soon made it necessary 
 for the viceroy of Peru to put in motion the troops of Lima. The 
 theatre of the war was now so far extended, as to require the 
 exertion of the whole military force of the country. Tupac Amaru 
 used the greatest diligence in raising recruits, and then marched for 
 Cuzco, causing himself to be received on the way, under a pavilion, 
 with all the ostentation of sovereignty. He halted on the heights 
 of Yauriquez, a few leagues from Cuzco, and summoned the city 
 to surrender. His enterprise had been encouraged by several of 
 its noblest citizens ; and it was in reliance upon their cooperation, 
 that he hoped to gain possession of Cuzco. But his faithless 
 friends hesitated for a few days, and all was lost. Pomacagua, 
 the celebrated cacique of Chincheros, and other caciques, who 
 adhered to the Spaniards, led their followers to the defence of the 
 city. The threatened danger inspired even the clergy with war 
 like ardor. While the dean of the church was proceeding to cele 
 brate the publication of the bull, he was forced to assume the 
 military garb, and place himself in front of his squadron. The 
 friendly Indians sallied out alone to attack the besiegers, but suf 
 fered great slaughter. The Spaniards, however, wilh the cholos, 
 speedily joined in the engagement, changed the fortune of the day, 
 and compelled Tupac Amaru to raise his camp, and fall back 
 upon Tinta. 
 
Virgin of the sun. Female Indian, as the Minerva of Peru. 
 
 Persons of the middle class of Peru. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 PERU CONTINUED. Progress of the insurrection of Tupac Amaru. Adventures of 
 Juan Apasa. His extravagant conduct. He attempts the total extirpation of 
 the Spaniards. His authority over the Indians. Atrocities perpetrated by his 
 command. The Indians assault La Paz. Desperate battles. Siege of La Paz. 
 Defeat of the Indians by Voile. Capture of Tupac Amaru. His brother 
 Diego, assumes the command of the Peruvians. Siege ofPuno. Expedition of 
 Vallefor its relief. Desperation of the Indians. The Spaniards abandon Puno. 
 Pillage of that town by the Indians. Cruelties of Tupa Catari. Siege of 
 La Paz. Arrival of a Spanish force under Flores. The siege raised and 
 recommenced. Trial and execution of Tupac Amaru. Barbarous cruelty of the 
 Spaniards. Vindictive spirit of the Indians. Exploits of Miguel Bastidas. 
 Siege of Sorata. The Indians inundate the place. Sorata taken and sacked. 
 The Indians press the siege of La Paz. Desperate condition of the place. Arri 
 val of Reseguin, and relief of the city. Defeat of the Indians by Reseguin. 
 Consternation of the Indians. Submission of their leaders. Trial and execution 
 of Tupa Catari. Narrow escape of the Spaniards. Obstinate warfare of the 
 Indians of Los Yungos. Battle of Hucumarimi. Defeat of the Indians, and 
 termination of the insurrection. 
 
 A NEW personage now began to make a figure in these impor 
 tant scenes, who soon rendered himself no less terrible to the 
 Spaniards of La Paz, than Tupac Amaru and the Cataris were 
 in other provinces. This was an Indian called Juan Apasa, who, 
 having intercepted a courier sent by Tupac Amaru to Tomas. 
 Catari, when the latter no longer lived, deceived the Indians with 
 the belief that it was directed to himself, assumed the name of 
 Tupa Catari, and the state and pretensions of the inca's viceroy. 
 He was a baker by trade, and as ignorant as presumptuous. He 
 succeeded in attaining the authority of a Peruvian Masaniello. 
 Extravagance, madness, effrontery, vanity, sagacity and fertility 
 of expedients and ideas adapted to his situation, went to make up 
 the character of this adventurer. The great city of La Paz was 
 the centre of his operations. He began by sending orders in 
 every direction, ha-ving for their object the revival of the usages 
 of the ancient Peruvians. He commanded the Indfans to hold 
 assemblies on the mountain tops ; to eat no bread ; to drink no 
 water from the springs; to burn the churches, and abjure the 
 Christian faith. Every Spaniard indiscriminately, or in the com 
 prehensive language of the proclamation, every one who wore a 
 
 irt) was doomed to death. Charged with these instructions, an 
 
INSURRECTION OF TUPAC AMARU. 207 
 
 Indian mode his appearance at Tiguina, whose exterior was well 
 calculated to inspire alarm. His neck was bound with a rope, 
 and he bore a knotted cord in his hand. Calling thrice with a loud 
 voice, he summoned the Indians together, and explained the 
 meaning of these symbols. The cord around his neck denoted 
 that he would be hung if he departed from truth. The knot on 
 the cord intimated that as he was forbidden to unloose this on the 
 way, so was it unlawful to open the message of his Inca, king 
 Tupa Catari. After these preliminaries he untied the mysterious 
 knot, and published in the name of the king, a peremptory decree, 
 imposing the rights of his new legislation, and commanding the 
 instant execution of the proscribed Spaniards. 
 
 The tumultuary voices of the concourse signified prompt obedi 
 ence. They ran to the church, where the Spaniards had sought 
 refuge ; forced them out by setting it on fire, and killed them all 
 without mercy. From thence they proceeded to the sanctuary of 
 Cobacabana, and repeated the same act, killing all but the 
 priests. These atrocities portended the storm which was speedily 
 to break upon La Paz. The protection of this important pass 
 had been committed to Don Sebastian de Segurola, an officer of 
 great military talents. He attempted to dislodge a small party of 
 eighty Indians, who annoyed him with their slings, from a neigh 
 boring height. Thrice did the Spaniards gain the summit, each 
 succeeding time with fresh assailants; and thrice were they driven 
 back with loss, before they could overpower this handful of brave 
 men. Discomfiture under such circumstances was more useful 
 to the Indians than victory. It taught them their strength. 
 Accordingly, in his next enterprise, Segurola sustained a signal 
 defeat. Ascertaining that some auxiliaries sent from Sorata, had 
 fallen into the hands of the Indians, who were masters of the 
 heights of La Paz, he resolved to attack them on three sides. 
 But the incessant flights of stones from the slings of the Indians, 
 and the huge masses of rock, which they rolled down the sides 
 of the mountain, drove the Spaniards from the field. Segurola 
 made another attempt, with four field-pieces and a larger force 
 than before. The Spaniards succeeded in ascending about half 
 way up the eminence, but were again repulsed by the Indians, 
 who fought with enthusiastic energy, routed the Spaniards, pre 
 cipitated themselves down the mountain with the rapidity of 
 a torrent, pursued their flying enemies to the gates of La Paz, and 
 laid close siege to the city. 
 
 Meantime, Valle, at the head of sixteen thousand men, had 
 marched in quest of Tupac Amaru, and although meeting with 
 constant resistance, at last penetrated to Tungasuca. Sound 
 
808 PERU. 
 
 policy would have dictated to Tupac Amaru the plan of avoiding 
 pitched battles in the open plain. In this mode of warfare the 
 Spaniards had every advantage, by the superiority of their arms, 
 their discipline, and the skill of their leaders. If the Indians had 
 confined themselves chiefly to the highlands, of which they had 
 the entire command, they might, by repeated short incursions into 
 the plains, have prolonged the war at pleasure. Instead of this, 
 they risked all their strength in a general engagement, and were de 
 feated, leaving the field of battle covered with their dead. Tupac 
 Amaru himself narrowly escaped by flight, and was not long 
 afterwards taken prisoner, with his wife and sons. It was imag 
 ined that the capture of the Inca would put an end to the insur 
 rection; but the Indians rallied again under his half brother, 
 Diego Cristobal Tupac Amaru, who prosecuted the war with 
 unabated vigor. They were extremely anxious to reduce the 
 town of Puno, from which they had been once repulsed. Diego 
 Cristobal renewed the attempt with greater obstinacy, and with 
 talents which, under more propitious circumstances, must have 
 ensured success. He invested the town on all sides, and after 
 several skirmishes at the outposts, made a simultaneous assault 
 at several different points. The divisions of his troops, all acting 
 in concert, drove the besieged up the streets, into the heart of the 
 town ; but here the Spaniards made a desperate stand, and at the 
 close of the day forced the Indians to retire. Four days in suc 
 cession were these animated assaults repeated with the most 
 obstinate courage, before Diego abandoned the enterprise in de 
 spair, and retreated into Carabaya. 
 
 While these events were passing, Valle was endeavoring to 
 relieve Puno. In his progress thither, he was repeatedly attacked 
 by the Indians, who resolutely disputed every inch of the way, 
 and who, although repeatedly vanquished, yet yielded most dear- 
 bought victories to the Spaniards. On one occasion, a small body 
 of eighty Indians, when attacked, chose a voluntary death, by 
 throwing themselves over a high precipice, rather than surrender 
 to the Spaniards. In consequence of these delays, before Yalte 
 reached Puno, it was again invested by Tnpa Catari, with a host 
 of ten thousand Indians. They prepared for battle, and Yalle had 
 the fairest prospect, of success ; but, fearful of losing the fruit of 
 his late victories, he imprudently ordered Puno to be- evacuated, 
 and fell back upon Cuzco. Nothing could have been more ill- 
 judged than this movement. The Indians were enriched by the 
 pillage of Puno, and its dependent villages, w^ere they found a 
 hundred thousand head of cattle, together with other valuable 
 spoil. Shortly afterwards, they completely routed a large body 
 
INSURRECTION OF TUPAC AMARU. 209 
 
 of Spaniards in Sicasica. Elated by success, Tupa Catari now 
 concentrated all his forces, and bent his whole strength to the 
 reduction of La Paz. 
 
 Here it was that this extraordinary adventurer held his court 
 His actions were indicative of mad caprice, which sudden eleva 
 tion from the lowest condition to the exercise of unlimited power, 
 usually engenders in the human breast. Surrounded with all the 
 pomp of an Asiatic despot, he ruled the submissive Indians with 
 an Asiatic despot's prodigality of life. To secure obedience to 
 his mandates by the influence of terror, he established twenty- 
 four places of execution in the circumference of the blockading 
 lines. Never was the gallows unemployed. Indians, who de 
 serted from the city ; those of his own soldiers and captains, who 
 betrayed the least sign of cowardice or of despondence ; all who 
 in any way thwarted his humor, were condemned to death, and 
 their execution was precipitated to take away the chance of 
 repentance. No ties of religion or decency controlled his will, 
 and the Indians were at length shocked by his sacrilege and 
 impiety. Their murmurs induced him, therefore, to assume a 
 devout exterior. He caused a temporary chapel to be erected, in 
 which, sitting beneath a canopy at the side of his queen, sur 
 rounded by ambassadors, and by his principal officers, he cele 
 brated mass with the most imposing ceremonials. 
 
 Nevertheless, the Indians still yielded him implicit obedience, 
 and prosecuted the siege of La Paz, under his orders, with a con 
 tempt of death, an assiduity, and a patience of fatigue, never sur 
 passed. Segurola had contracted his entrenchments within the 
 narrowest limits, leaving out all the suburbs of the city, on 
 account of the smallness of the garrison. His only hope was in 
 holding out until Don Ignacio Flores, who was collecting troops 
 for that purpose in the province of Tucuman, should come to his 
 relief. The Indians kept La Paz closely besieged for one hundred 
 and nine days, and scarcely a day passed without a vigorous 
 assault on their part, or a desperate sally of the Spaniards. The 
 besiegers had six pieces of artillery, which caused the city great 
 damage; but, impatient of delay, and enraged at the determined 
 resistance they met with, they attempted to set fire to the place, 
 When this and all other expedients failed, and they savr that the 
 assaults and sallies only produced mutual carnage, without bring 
 ing the siege any nearer to a close, they promised themselves final 
 success from the all-conquering power of famine. The besieged 
 were now reduced to the utmost extremity of distress, and must 
 speedily have surrendered the smoking ruins of the city, had not 
 18* A 2 
 
210 PERU. 
 
 Flores arrived at this very conjuncture, and saved La Paz from 
 total destruction. 
 
 We will not stop to describe the march of Flores and his troops 
 from Tucuman. The name and influence of Tupac Amaru had 
 extended to the ridges of Salta and Jujui, and the whole Indian 
 population was in arms for the Inca. The route to La Paz was a 
 continued succession of battles. Even after passing the city of 
 Chuquisaca, five sanguinary engagements took place, in one of 
 which Tupa Catari himself commanded, and was routed with 
 great slaughter. Finally, Flores reached La Paz, and forced the 
 Indians to raise the siege, but the relief which he afforded was of 
 short duration. A considerable body of Indians encamped on a 
 hill near the city.; Flores and Segurola attempted to dislodge 
 them. The Spaniards marched to the assault in three columns, 
 commanded by their best officers, but were repulsed in such con 
 fusion, that scarcely a single man escaped uninjured. Flores, 
 therefore, retreated to a post about four leagues from the city, and 
 the vigilant Indians instantly resumed their old stations on the 
 heights of La Paz. A portion of the Spanish forces, contending 
 that their term of service had expired, deserted and separated to 
 their respective homes. All these circumstances compelled Flores 
 to go in quest of new auxiliaries, and in the meanwhile to aban 
 don La Paz to its fate. 
 
 During the progress of the first siege of La Paz, the trial and 
 execution of Tupac Amaru and his family had taken place. 
 When tortured, to compel him to disclose his accomplices, he 
 nobly replied, "Two, only, are my accomplices ; myself and you 
 who interrogate me; you, in continuing your robberies on the 
 people, and I, in endeavoring to prevent you :" a short sentence, 
 which defines the nature of the Spanish government. The sen 
 tence of death was executed on him with a studied cruelty dis 
 graceful to the Spaniards. His judges seem to have indulged in 
 a spirit of personal vengeance, while pronouncing the doom of the 
 law. He was forced to look on and behold the death of his wife, 
 his children and his kindred ; his tongue was next plucked out' by 
 the hands of the hangman, and he was then torn asunder limb 
 from limb, by four wild horses. Such was the fate of a patriot 
 and hero, who was only goaded into his attempt to vindicate the 
 rights of his nation by arms, after the failure of reiterated efforts 
 to procure an improvement of their condition by peaceable means. 
 He did not fall unavenged. The savage vindictiveness displayed 
 in the manner of his execution, produced an effect directly con 
 trary to that which the Spaniards anticipated. The Indians 
 fought, after this event, as if each individual had the death of his 
 
INSURRECTION OF TUPAC AMARU. 211 
 
 dearest kinsman to revenge ; and the survivors of the family of 
 Tupac Amaru imbibed new hatred toward their oppressor. His 
 brother, Diego Cristobal, united and sustained the interest of the 
 Indians no less effectually than he had done, and a new ad\ en- 
 turer arose, Miguel Bastidas, otherwise named Andres Tupac 
 Amaru, claiming to be the son, but being in fact the nephew of 
 Jose Gabriel. The superior talents and sanguinary character of 
 this individual made him still more terrible to the Spaniards. 
 He was at this time only seventeen years of age, but he dis 
 tinguished himself above all the Indian chiefs, by the siege and 
 destruction of Sorata. 
 
 The Spaniards of the province of Larecaja had collected all 
 their treasures in Sorata, where they entrenched themselves, and, 
 being well supplied with provisions and ammunition, courage 
 ously awaited the Indians. Andres Tupac Amaru, by the influ 
 ence of the name he bore, gathered an army of fourteen thousand 
 men, and beleagured the town. The Spaniards, unintimidated by 
 his threats, made a brave defence, but were subdued at last by 
 the laborious ingenuity of the Indians. A ridge of lofty moun 
 tains, called Tipuani, overlooked Sorata. Availing himself of the 
 great number of men at his command, Andres dug a spacious 
 dam on the side of the town, and conducted into it all the numer 
 ous mountain torrents of Tipuani, now swelled by the melting of 
 the snows. When his artificial lake was filled, he poured out 
 upon Sorata the whole immense body of water, which tore up the 
 entrenchments, washed away the houses, and submerged the 
 whole town beneath an irresistible deluge. There was no longer 
 any barrier to oppose the impetuosity of the Indians. They 
 rushed into the place as the water subsided, and in a sack of six 
 days' duration, gained possession of an immense booty, and glut 
 ted their rage in the indiscriminate slaughter of the Spaniards. 
 
 After gathering the fruits of this important victory, Andres 
 marched his forces to assist in the protracted siege of that ill- 
 starred city. Tupa Catari was much dissatisfied with the move 
 ments of Andres, who, he foresaw, would thus divide with him 
 the glory of success, without having participated in half the labors 
 of the siege. But after some altercation, they agreed to bury their 
 jealousy in the common zeal for assuring the triumph of their 
 nation. The new siege presents a repetition of the same scenes 
 which marked the former, except that the ardor and obstinacy 
 of the parties seem to have been augmented by the greater hope 
 of success entertained by the one, and the increased peril of the 
 other. 
 
 Flores, in the meantime, was diligently engaged in assembling 
 
212 PERU. 
 
 forces at Oruro, where an army of five thousand men was at 
 length formed, and placed under the command of Don Jose de 
 Resegnin. This officer was brave, prudent, and indefatiga 
 ble. He set forth on his march to La Paz without delay, and, 
 fortunately for the city, his march was not much impeded; for 
 La Paz was on the very point of yielding to the Indians. In 
 structed by the advantage they had obtained from the inundation 
 of Sorata, they threw a strong dam across the river Chuquiaco, one 
 of the sources of the main branch of the Amazon, which flows 
 through the middle of La Paz. This huge mole was fifty yards 
 high, a hundred and twenty long, and twelve thick at the founda 
 tion. Only two days before the arrival of Reseguin, the water 
 burst the embankment, and rose so high as to inundate the three 
 bridges of the city. The terror which this artificial flood inspired, 
 and the probability of its being repeated with still worse effects, 
 presented to the inhabitants the alternative of abandoning the 
 city, or remaining exposed to the horrible catastrophe of Sorata. 
 Such was the perilous condition of La Paz, when the waving of 
 the Spanish banners on the distant heights, and the murmur of 
 martial sounds announced to the joyful inhabitants the approach 
 of Reseguin. 
 
 The Indians, conscious of their inability to cope with these new 
 enemies, precipitately fled before them. Reseguin halted at La 
 Paz three days to refresh his troops, and then marched in pursuit. 
 He overtook them, drawn up as usual on the. upper side of a 
 sloping ground, and joined battle without hesitation. He com 
 pelled them, after an obstinate struggle, to retreat and save them 
 selves among the ravines of the mountains. 
 
 After Reseguin's victory, universal consternation and despon 
 dency took possession of the Indians, in the place of their former 
 energy and patriotism. Persuaded that all was lost, if they 
 contended further, since every combat afforded fresh triumph to 
 their enemies, they still distrusted the proffered clemency of the 
 Spanish government. But, finally, allured by the promises of 
 Reseguin, Tupa Catari and Andres Amaru wrote letters to him 
 from the place of their retreat, embracing the proposed conditions. 
 Diego Cristobal sent, at the same time, to claim the benefit of the 
 amnesty published at Lima. Reseguin, fearing gome treachery, 
 dexterously required these chiefs to make their* submission in 
 person. Tupa Catari was unwilling to do this without a sate 
 conduct, but Andres came in with his principal adherents, and 
 being very cordially received by Reseguin, made a formal capitu 
 lation, and swore allegiance anew to the king, as the condition of 
 his own and his companion's pardon. 
 
INSURRECTION OF TUPAC AMARU. 213 
 
 Although Reseguin possessed a robust constitution, his health 
 had sunk beneath the hardships of the active service, and he now 
 labored under severe illness ; nevertheless, having set out for the 
 districts which still maintained a show of war, he persisted in 
 marching thither, and entered the villages on the shoulders of the 
 Indians, who, as basely humble in adversity as they were fiercely 
 proud in prosperity, greeted his entry with their acclamations. 
 While these Indians were prostrating themselves at the feet of 
 Reseguin, Tupa Catari was exciting others to continue the war. 
 Reseguin, considering the machinations of this chief the only 
 obstacle to peace, resorted to artifice to obtain possession of his 
 person. He corrupted Tupa Catari' s most intimate friend, and 
 by this means succeeded in making him prisoner, He was tried, 
 condemned, and sentenced to the same punishment which Tupac 
 Amaru had suffered. After being torn asunder by horses, his 
 head was sent to La Paz, and his limbs were distributed in 
 various places as a terror to the Indians. 
 
 The auditor of Chili, Don Francisco de Medina, was attached 
 to Reseguin, in quality of judicial adviser. He began by the 
 premature imprisonment of Andres and his chiefs, who had sur 
 rendered under a solemn pledge of free pardon. This act was 
 regarded by Diego Cristobal as a violation of the public faith, and 
 he lost no time in stirring up the Indians anew. Had he improved 
 this opportunity for attacking Reseguin, the attack must have 
 been fatal to the Spanish general, for he was extremely sick, and 
 his army, reduced to three hundred and ninety-four men by the 
 desertion of the militia, was in no condition to withstand the 
 Indians. But Diego let slip the propitious moment, and it never 
 again recurred. The Indians were grown weary of the contest, 
 and in almost all the provinces about La Paz, claimed the benefit 
 of the indulgence and delivered up their chiefs. Diego soon 
 followed their example. Persuaded that the cause of his nation 
 was hopeless, he sent a memorial to Don Jose del Valle, in the 
 beginning of the year 1782, praying for the royal pardon. 
 
 The flame of the revolution was nearly extinct, but it still sent 
 forth a few broken flashes in the remote provinces. The Indians 
 of Los Yungas, especially, and those of a valley called the Que- 
 brada of the river Abaxo, in Sicasica and Chulumani, held out 
 with great obstinacy. Arrogant with their many victories over 
 the small detachments sent against them, they maintained a fierce 
 and savage independence. At length, Flores assembled a powerful 
 force and commissioned Reseguin to finish the war. This expe 
 dition was memorable for the many bloody victories gained over 
 the Indians, who were entirely ignorant of military discipline, had 
 
214 
 
 PERU. 
 
 but few fire-arms, and were principally armed with slings. The 
 royal army from Tucuman, Buenos Ayres and Cochabamba, con 
 sisted of regular troops. The Buenos Ayreans were armed and 
 equipped like European soldiers; the Tucumans composed the 
 cavalry, and were armed with butcher-knives, and ropes twenty- 
 five or thirty yards long, which they used in catching wild cattle. 
 The arms of the Cochabambians were short clubs, loaded with 
 lead, to which a rope of two or three yards in length was fastened, 
 and which were used like slings, and were very deadly weapons. 
 The Indians were scattered all over the plains, in no regular 
 order or rank, and were nothing more than an undisciplined 
 rabble. The Tucuman horsemen first rode among the Indians, 
 and threw them down with their ropes, and the Cochabambians 
 followed and despatched them with their clubs. 
 
 The battle of Hucumarimi, being the most obstinately disputed 
 of all that were fought during the revolution, and the most suc 
 cessful for the Spaniards, acquired the name of the decisive. The 
 country here was broken into precipices and irregular acclivities, 
 among -which, on the side of a mountain, the Indians had 
 encamped. The impediments which they threw in the way of 
 an attack, were enough to appal the stoutest hearts. Scarcely 
 had the Spaniards begun the ascent, when showers of stones, 
 mingled with great masses of rock broken off by levers, and 
 rolled down the sides of the mountain, filled the assailants with 
 consternation. In spite of all this, by great exertion, climbing 
 from cliff to cliff, they succeeded in driving the Indians from their 
 seemingly impregnable post, The Indians were struck with 
 superstitious dread. They thought the Spaniards fought by en 
 chantment. No longer making any systematic resistance, they 
 were hunted like wild beasts from mountain to mountain. Every 
 thing now conspired to put an end to the insurrection. Leaders 
 were no more, except Diego Cristobal, who, although he submitted 
 under the formal guarantee of an amnesty, and continued to live 
 tranquilly in his family, was afterwards arrested, under the pretext 
 of a new conspiracy, and executed in the same cruel way with 
 his brother and Tupa Catari. The great body of the Indian 
 population quietjy returned to vassalage, and resumed the yoke 
 of slavery. 
 
 Such was the issue of an insurrection, which filled Peru with 
 bloodshed and misery for the space of two years, and of a war in 
 which, if we may believe the authority of Don Vincente Pazos, 
 himself a native of La Paz, one third of the population of Peru 
 perished by the hand of violence. Twenty years after these 
 events, this writer saw the plains of Sicasica and Calamaca, for 
 
INSURRECTION OF TUPAC AMARU. 
 
 215 
 
 an extent of fourteen leagues, covered with heaps of unburied 
 human bones, lying in the places where, the wretched Indians fell, 
 to bleach in the tropical sun. Their unfortunate attempt produced 
 no permanent or important change in their condition ; none of 
 their grievances were abolished except the repartos. They were 
 rigidly prohibited the use of arms. The tribute pressed more 
 heavily afterwards, and was more strictly levied; and the unfor 
 tunate Peruvians were treated more contemptuously, in revenge 
 of their unsuccessful and disastrous rebellion. 
 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PERU CONTINUED. Conspiracy of Ubalde. State of public feeling in Peru.- 
 Neglect of the government of Madrid. Invasion of Spain by Napoleon. /n- 
 triguesofthe French emissaries. Character of the South American viceroys. 
 Temper of the people. Revolutionary movements in 1809. Interference of the 
 neighboring provinces. Chilian affairs. Blockade of the Peruvian ports by 
 Lord Cochrane. Invasion of Peru by San Martin. Pusillanimous behavior 
 of the viceroy . Capture of a Spanish frigate at Callao. San Martin advances 
 upon Lima. Flight of the viceroy. The liberating army enters Lima. 
 Independence of Peru proclaimed. -^-Movements of the royalists. Surrender 
 of Callao. Arrival of the Colombian troops. Departure of San Martin from 
 Peru. Disasters oj the country. The congress dissolved. Lima retaken by 
 the Spaniards. Arrival of Bolivar in Peru. He is appointed dictator. Imbe 
 cility of the Peruvians. Lima revisited by the royalists. Second campaign of 
 Bolivar in Peru. Battles of Junin and Ayacucho. Final defeat of the Span 
 iards, and liberation of Peru. Factions and disturbances in the country. Es 
 tablishment of the republic of BOLIVIA. The Bolivian constitution introduced 
 into Peru.-r-Discontent of the people. Insurrection of 1827. Distracted state 
 ' of the country. Conspiracies and revolutions. Transactions of Gamarra and 
 Salaverry. General character of this portion of South American history. 
 
 THE suppression of Tupac Amaru's insurrection completed the 
 subjugation of the Peruvian Indians, who, from that period to the 
 present day, have remained quiet Ideas of national indepen 
 dence, however, appear to have taken root in the country, and it 
 was not long before they began to manifest themselves openly. 
 As early as 1805, Ubalde, an eminent jurist of Cuzco, excited the 
 * alarm, of the government by his revolutionary designs. He 
 gained a large party of adherents, but before their schemes could 
 be put in operation, they were betrayed. Ubalde and eight 
 others were put to death at Cuzco, and more than a hundred of 
 his party were exiled. The particulars of this plot are not dis 
 tinctly known, but independence was the main object. Ubalde, 
 on the scaffold, predicted that the Spanish dominion in South 
 America would so6n be overthrown,. It was impossible that he 
 could, at this early period, have foreseen the occurrence's in Spain, 
 which shortly after paved the way for the emancipation of the 
 Spanish American colonies ; and his dying declaration affords us 
 reason to believe that the project of throwing off the yoke of the 
 mother country had been cherished in Peru to a greater extent 
 than has generally been imagined. 
 
INTRIGUES OF FRENCH EMISSARIES. 217 
 
 The revolt of Peru took place at a later period than that of most 
 of the other Spanish American states. Yet in order not to inter 
 rupt the continuity of our narrative, we shall pursue the thread of 
 Peruvian history unbroken to the end. The dominion of Spain 
 was maintained in America by a very small number of Spanish 
 troops. From the year 1805, nothing material happened to lead 
 the way to a revolution for some years. Not that the people were 
 well satisfied with their condition; on the contrary they were 
 highly discontented, and every year petitions and details of their 
 grievances were sent to Spain. These the court of Madrid knew 
 perfectly well how to evade, and no redress ever was granted. 
 How long this state of things would have continued without pro 
 ducing a new Tupac or Ubalde, more fortunate than the first, we 
 can only conjecture. But the desire for a new state of things was 
 quickened in a wonderful manner by unforeseen events in Europe. 
 The seizure of the Spanish crown by Napoleon, in 1808, loosened 
 at once those ties which united the Spanish Americans to the 
 mother country, roused them from the apathy in which they ha.d 
 languished for three centuries, and produced a revolution which 
 utterly overthrew the empire of Spain in the west. 
 
 Napoleon, having placed his brother Joseph on the throne of 
 Spain, designed to transfer the American colonies in the same 
 manner. Such was his contempt for the sluggish temper and 
 want of national spirit which appeared in all the Spanish race, 
 that no serious obstacle seemed to present itself in the way of 
 this design. He despatched emissaries to all parts of Spanish 
 America. These were men of powerful talents, and well skilled 
 in the business of intrigue. Under assumed characters, and by all 
 sorts of artful practices, they used their influence to widen the 
 breach between Spain and the colonies, in the expectation that by 
 dividing the Spanish empire into fragments, it would be more easily 
 transferred piecemeal to a new master. The Spanish Americans, 
 instigated by such advisers, and finding themselves cut off from 
 all communication with Spain, as that kingdom was now solely 
 intent on its own preservation, were in great doubt how to act. 
 At first the mass of the population appeared to reject all idea of 
 throwing off their allegiance, and would not listen to any proposal 
 for transferring their country to French control. The Spanish 
 American rulers, however, showed a different spirit ; all of them, 
 with the exception of the viceroy of Mexico, were willing to 
 acknowledge Napoleon and declare their allegiance to him. But 
 they were borne down by the popular will. The colonies never 
 acknowledged the French authority. Napoleon, for several years, 
 waged a sanguinary war with the Spanish people, in vain attempts 
 19 B 2 
 
213 
 
 PERU. 
 
 to establish his dominion over them. The colonies, of necessity, 
 were led by gradual steps to assume their own government. 
 
 When the intelligence of Napoleon's invasion of Spain reached 
 Peru, in the summer of 1809, a popular movement took place, and 
 provincial juntas were established at Quito and La Paz. This 
 revolutionary design, however, was at once defeated by the vice 
 roys of Peru, Buenos Ayres, and New Granada, who sent armies 
 and dissolved the juntas. Peru remained tranquil for ten years, 
 while the neighboring provinces were engaged in the war of their 
 independence. At length the Chilians, having defeated the Span 
 ish army in the decisive battle of Maypu, in 1818, conceived the 
 design of securing their independence by expelling the Spanish 
 from Peru. A naval armament was fitted out in 1819, and com 
 menced hostilities by blockading the Peruvian ports and captur 
 ing their ships. This fleet consisted of three heavy frigates and 
 four smaller vessels. It was commanded by Lord Cochrane, an 
 English adventurer; and a great portion of the crew were English 
 and Americans. 
 
 In August, 1820, an army of about five thousand men, called the 
 "liberating army," under General San Martin, embarked at Val 
 paraiso for the invasion of Peru. They landed at Pisco, about a 
 . hundred miles south of Lima, on the 1 1 th of September. A Span 
 ish army had taken post near this place, with the design of oppos 
 ing the landing of the Chilians, but they fell back to Lima with 
 out risking a battle. The viceroy of Peru attempted to gain time 
 by negotiation, and an armistice of eight days was agreed upon, 
 during which a conference was held by commissioners appointed 
 by both parties. Nothing, however, resulted from the negotiations, 
 and the Chilian army moved forward in the direction of Lima. 
 A detachment of a thousand men, under Colonel Arenales, 
 defeated a Spanish force sent to oppose him, and many districts 
 declared in favor of the invaders. On the 3d of December, the 
 disaffection among the Spanish troops had proceeded so far that 
 a whole regiment, with its officers, went over to the liberating 
 army. 
 
 Callao, the seaport of Lima, was at that time defended by 
 strong batteries and a Spanish squadron, comprising a frigate, two 
 sloops of war, and 'fourteen gunboats. On the night of the 5th of 
 November, Cochrane, with the boats of his fleet, cut the frigate out 
 of the harbor. He was unable, however, to capture the place, 
 but continued to hold it blockaded. In the mean time, San Mar 
 tin, finding his army too weak for assaulting or besieging Lima, 
 took post near the port of Huacho, about seventy-five miles north 
 of that capital. For six months he occupied this post, recruiting 
 
REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS. 219 
 
 his forces and cutting off the supplies of the enemy. Further 
 attempts were made to accommodate affairs by negotiations ; but 
 after another unavailing truce, the Chilian army, early in July, 
 1821, advanced upon Lima. The viceroy, more alarmed for his 
 own safety than mindful for the preservation of his capital, imme 
 diately fled from the city at the head of his troops. The inhabi 
 tants were thrown into the greatest consternation; part escaped 
 to Callao ; the women and children took refuge in the convents, or 
 scattered themselves over the neighboring country. Those of the 
 inhabitants who remained, held a meeting, and resolved to make 
 terms with the invaders. A deputation was sent, inviting San 
 Martin to enter the city. He accepted the invitation, and an 
 nounced that he came, not as a conqueror, but as a liberator. By 
 these means the apprehensions of the people were dissipated, and 
 those who had deserted the city returned to their homes. 
 
 On the 12th of July, 1821, San Martin made his entry into 
 Lima, where he was received with acclamations; and on the 
 28th, the independence of Peru was formally proclaimed. San 
 Martin took the title of Protector of Peru. A provisional govern 
 ment was organized, and measures were taken to establish the 
 affairs of the country on a permanent basis. The whole course 
 of this portion of our history will show, however, that the govern 
 ments of Spanish America seem destined to know nothing of per 
 manency. Early in September, the royalist army, which had fled 
 to the interior, made its appearance again near Lima. A battle was 
 expected, but the Spaniards marched to Callao, possessed them 
 selves of the treasure lodged in the castle, and then retreated. 
 Shortly after, Callao surrendered to the patriots. Nothing more of 
 consequence took place for nearly a year ; but in July, 1822, San 
 Martin proceeded to Guayaquil, where he had an interview with 
 Bolivar, who then commanded the Colombian armies. Bolivar 
 detached a portion of his troops to reinforce the liberating army, 
 but no military operations followed for several months. On the 
 20th of September, the first Peruvian congress convened, and 
 appointed an executive junta of three persons to administer the 
 government. San Martin declined the office of commander-in- 
 chief of the Peruvian armies, and left that country for Chili. 
 
 The departure of this general wa's the commencement of a long 
 train of disasters for the new republic of Peru. In January, 1823, 
 an army, despatched on an expedition to the south, was defeated 
 and dispersed. General discontent among the people followed, 
 and everything was thrown into confusion by the illegal dissolu 
 tion of the congress in February. The royalists took advantage 
 of these troubles, and in June a strong Spanish force, under Gen- 
 
220 PERU. 
 
 eral Canterac, appeared before Lima. The patriots abandoned 
 the place and took refuge in Callao. The royalists took posses 
 sion of Lima, and levied contributions upon the inhabitants. The 
 patriots were unable to raise an army sufficient to oppose the 
 enemy, and the rising spirit of independence appeared to be 
 effectually crushed. 
 
 Such was the state of things when Bolivar, who had brought 
 the war of independence in the northern provinces nearly to a 
 close, received an invitation from the Peruvians to interfere in 
 their behalf. He acceded to the proposal, and having a strong 
 force under his command, quickly made his way to Lima. The 
 Spanish army fled before him ; he entered the city in triumph, 
 and was appointed dictator until the Spaniards should be ex 
 pelled. The Peruvians, however, were utterly incapable of acting 
 in concert, or devising means for the defence of the country. 
 Factions and dissensions distracted all their counsels. Insurrec 
 tions arose against the government of Bolivar and the congress, 
 and in February, 1824, Canterac, with a royal army, again took 
 possession of Lima, while Bolivar was absent in Colombia, rais 
 ing reinforcements. In June, Bolivar again crossed the Andes, at 
 the head of an army of three thousand five hundred men, defeated 
 a Spanish force sent to check his approach, and on the 6th of 
 August encountered the main body of the royalist cavalry on the 
 plains of Junin. A severe battle was fought at this place, in 
 which Bolivar's troops were victorious. Nearly all the Spanish 
 cavalry were destroyed, and the liberating army -pursued the 
 fugitives towards the valley of Jauja. 
 
 The united forces of Colombia and Peru, amounting to six 
 thousand men, were now placed under the command of General 
 Sucre. In December, 1824, he took post at Ayacucho, near the 
 encampment of the enemy. The royal force under Canterac, 
 amounted to nine thousand men. On the 9th of December, the 
 two armies joined battle, and after great slaughter, the royalists 
 were defeated so thoroughly, that those of them who survived the 
 battle, capitulated on the spot. A treaty was signed by Canterac 
 and Sucre, by which all the royal troops in Peru, all the military 
 posts, artillery, magazines, and territory occupied by the Spaniards 
 in the country, we,re surrendered to the victors of Ayacucho. 
 This overthrow completely prostrated the Spanish poWter in Peru. 
 On the 10th of December, the Peruvian congress was again in 
 stalled. Bolivar was declared anew the political and military 
 head of the republic, and a gift of a million of dollars tendered 
 him for his services, which he declined accepting. Lower Peru 
 being thus liberated, Sucre marched into Upper Peru, where 
 
INSTABILITY OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS. 22 J 
 
 General Olaneta still held out against the patriots, in defiance of 
 the treaty of Ayacucho. His force was soon dispersed, and 
 the revolutionary government established. The royalist general, 
 Rodil, who had thrown himself into the castle of Callao, surren 
 dered in January, 1826, after a siege of thirteen months, and not 
 a Spanish soldier remained in Peru. 
 
 The country was now entirely free from foreign rule ; but the 
 Spanish Americans have never understood the art of self-govern 
 ment, and the whole history of their independent communities is 
 little else than a narrative of factions, dissensions and constantly 
 recurring political changes, presenting a never-ending scene of 
 confusion, out of which it is seldom possible to extract anything 
 worthy of the reader's attention. A comprehensive outline of the 
 remaining history of Peru, is all that will be necessary. Boli 
 var exercised much influence at the head of the government. 
 Through his exertions, the district of Upper Peru was erected into 
 an independent state, and named BOLIVIA. A constitution was 
 formed under his auspices, and he was appointed president of 
 Bolivia for life. In 1826, Bolivar managed to procure the adop 
 tion of this constitution in Peru, where it added greatly to his 
 power, as it not only confirmed him in the government of the 
 country for life, but likewise allowed him to appoint his successor, 
 and released him from all responsibility for his actions. This 
 arbitrary government proved highly distasteful to the Peruvians, 
 and they seized the occasion, when Bolivar was absent in Colom 
 bia, to rise in insurrection. Accordingly, in January, 1827, a com 
 plete revolution was effected in Peru. The Bolivian constitution 
 was annulled, and a new government organized, combining the 
 properties of a federal and a central system, with a president cho 
 sen for four years, a national congress and separate provincial 
 governments. 
 
 The republic of Peru, however, has never yet possessed a gov 
 ernment adapted to the taste and capacities of the people. The 
 country has, ever since the commencement of the revolution, been 
 constantly distracted by parties struggling for power, and by civil 
 wars and revolutions, caused by the conflicts of these parties. 
 Scarcely has there been a temporary lull of peace for this ill-fated 
 country during the whole of this period. In 1835, four chiefs in 
 arms were striving for the supremacy. When one of them suc 
 ceeded in making himself powerful, the others united against 
 him ; but as soon as they were victorious, they fell again to hos 
 tilities with each other. During the four years' administration of 
 General Gamarra, there were no less than fourteen conspiracies 
 against his person and government, all which he had the good 
 19* 
 
222 PERU. 
 
 fortune to detect and crush. But Gamarra, who had obtained his 
 office by his intrigues and the ruin of his predecessor, had no 
 sooner closed his administration, in January, 1834, than he was 
 Seen to raise the standard of rebellion, and hasten the ruin of his 
 country, by authorizing insurrections against the government 
 with his example. Although frustrated in this treasonable pro 
 ceeding, in the course of the year following he was again at the 
 head of an armed faction, in open and sanguinary rebellion. But 
 his partisans were totally dispersed at the battle of Yanacocha, 
 by the President Orbegoso, and Gamarra was sent into banish 
 ment. 
 
 Rapacious upstarts, struggling for ascendency, continued to 
 fill the country with tumult, confusion and bloodshed. Lima 
 suffered from the 'depredations of a formidable band of freebooters, 
 led by a negro, named Escobar, who kept the city in terror. The 
 foreign property owed its protection to the English, French and 
 American marines, from the ships of war in the port. General 
 Vidal delivered Lima from the plunderers, and Escobar was shot 
 in the public square. A spurious president, General Salaverry, 
 comes next upon the scene, and on the 7th of February, 1836, the 
 battle of Socabaya witnessed his downfall. He was condemned 
 to death by a court martial, and shot with his adherents at 
 Arequipa, on the 18th of February, 1836. 
 
 General Santa Cruz, the president of Bolivia, interposed his 
 influence for the regulation of the affairs of Peru. Insurrections 
 and revolutions in the Spanish American states now excite so 
 little attention in other parts of the world, that no one has been 
 found to record the more recent convulsions and changes in Peru. 
 The reader will judge, from the picture of that country which has 
 already been offered him in these pages, whether a more detailed 
 ^history of these events would repay him for the perusal. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 BUENOS AYRES, OR THE UNITED PROVINCES OF Rio DE LA PLATA. Invaswn 
 of South America by the British. Expedition of Beresford and Popham 
 against Buenos Ayres. Capture of the city. Exultation in England. Oppo 
 sition of the Spanish Americans. Exertions of Liniers. Insurrection at 
 Buenos Ayres. Liniers attacks the city. Defeat and capture of the British 
 army. Capture of Maldonado and Monte Video, by the fleet. Expedition of 
 General Whitelocke against Buenos Ayres. Obstinate defence of the city by 
 the inhabitants. Slaughter and repulse of the British. Proposal for a capitu 
 lation. Anecdote of the Spanish sailors. The British forces evacuate the 
 country. Liniers appointed viceroy. Parties at Buenos Ayres. A French 
 envoy from Napoleon arrives in the country. Proclamation of Liniers in favor 
 of Napoleon. Proceedings of Elio at Monte Video. Liniers displaced and 
 restored. Arrival of Goyeneche from Spain. Ferdinand VII. acknowledged at 
 Buenos Ayres. Arrival of Cisneros, the new viceroy. Banishment of Liniers. 
 Spirit and feeling of the people. Ideas of independence circulated. Embar 
 rassments of Cisneros. He convenes a congress. Cisneros deposed. A pro 
 vincial junta established. Affairs in Monte Video and the interior. Civil war. 
 Liniers defeated and put to death. Independence. An army despatched to 
 revolutionize Chili. Affairs in Peru and Paraguay. BANDA ORIENTAL. 
 Elio, Captain General. War between Banda Oriental and Buenos Ayres. 
 Proceedings of Artigas and Rondeau. Siege of Monte Video. Interference 
 of the Portuguese of Brazil. Dangers of the Buenos Ayrean government. 
 Treaty with the Portuguese. Troubles and conspiracies. The constituent 
 congress. San Martin. Surrender of Monte Video. Artigas chief of Banda 
 Oriental. Capture of Santa Fe. Formal declaration of independence. 
 Conquest of Banda Oriental by the Portuguese. Constitution of the United 
 Provinces. Intrigues of the French. General character of the recent transac 
 tions in this country. 
 
 THE Spanish Americans who made the earliest demonstrations 
 of a wish to throw off the government of the mother country, were 
 those of Buenos Ayres. In 1806, war existed between Spain arid 
 Great Britain, and the neglected state of the province of La Plata 
 offered strong temptations for an invasion on the part of the Eng 
 lish. The Spanish government maintained only a few wretched 
 troops at Buenos Ayres and Monte Video, and a feeble naval force 
 at the latter place. The viceroy, Sobremonte, was a person des 
 titute of energy and capacity ; Spain was absorbed in European 
 politics ; her marine had been annihilated by the fatal defeat of 
 Trafalgar, and everything invited the cupidity of the English 
 yet the invasion was undertaken without orders from the govern- 
 
224 PROVINCES OF RIO DE LA PLATA. 
 
 ment. A fleet and army, under Commodore Popham and General 
 Beresford, which had been despatched against the Cape of Good 
 Hope, after effecting the conquest of that colony, proceeded to 
 Buenos Ayres, in 1806, and on the 8th of June, arrived in the 
 mouth of the river La Plata. A general consternation seized the 
 inhabitants of Buenos Ayres when the squadron appeared in sight 
 of that city. Not more than three hundred muskets could be 
 found for the defence of the place, and these the inhabitants had 
 not the skill to use. A show of defence was attempted by the 
 viceroy, but the only military movement was made by a single 
 troop of cavalry who undertook to harass the British army of two 
 thousand men, on their march to Buenos Ayres. The viceroy, 
 panic-struck, fled for safety to Cordova, and the British took pos 
 session of Bueno's Ayres on the 28th of June. 
 
 When the news of this conquest reached England, it excited 
 the greatest exultation both in the government and the people. 
 It was believed that Great Britain had made a permanent acqui 
 sition of a most valuable colony, and councils were immediately 
 held to devise means to turn it to immediate profit. The popu 
 lation of the country was represented as deeply disaffected towards 
 the Spanish rule, and moreover too effeminate and slothful to offer 
 any resistance to the arms of the invaders. The British govern 
 ment immediately took measures for the regulation of the colony, 
 as if their authority had been completely established and the peo 
 ple had become quiet British subjects. The most extravagant 
 expectations were indulged of commercial profits in the introduc 
 tion of British manufactures into the market of this rich and 
 thriving country. 
 
 Never were sanguine hopes more severely contradicted. Instead 
 of conquering the whole province, the British forces had, in fact, 
 only made themselves masters of the city of Buenos Ayres. The 
 neighboring villages submitted only from the fear of military 
 execution, and the invaders dared not penetrate into the interior. 
 The Spaniards, too, when the first moments of panic were over, 
 appeared to rouse as from a dream or lethargy, and exhibited .a 
 degree of energy and resolution which astonished their enemies. 
 Inflamed with indignation at the unmanly conduct of their leader, 
 and chagrined at seeing foreigners in possession of their capital, 
 they began to meditate upon the means of driving Ihem out of 
 the country. An active and resolute leader was found in Liniers,. 
 a French officer in the Spanish service. He exerted himself with 
 great industry, in the districts north of the river, in collecting and 
 arming the people. A secret correspondence was set on foot 
 between him and certain persons within the city. Arms were 
 
CAPITULATION OF THE BRITISH AT BUENOS AYRES. 225 
 
 distributed and secreted in Buenos Ayres, and a regular insurrec 
 tion organized under the guidance of Puyrredon, a magistrate, 
 and a person of great talent and address. 
 
 Liniers having collected a considerable force at Colonia, oppo 
 site the city, the British attempted to drive him from this post, 
 but without success, and, on the 1st of August, Liniers crossed the 
 river with his whole army, and marched to the attack of the city. 
 Buenos Ayres was a large open place, difficult to defend with the 
 force commanded by Beresford. He, therefore, judged it more 
 advisable to meet his enemy at a distance ; and a smart action 
 took place the next day, in which the British had the advantage ; 
 but this was only a temporary check to the Spaniards, for torrents 
 of rain, which continued to fall for three days afterward, disabled 
 the English troops, which were all infantry, from active operations. 
 The Spaniards, on the contrary, being abundantly supplied with 
 horses, found the bad roads no great impediment, and approached 
 the city in various directions. On the evening of the 10th they 
 had occupied all the avenues to the place. The townsmen then 
 took up arms, rose in insurrection, and the house-tops were 
 covered with people ready to cooperate in the attack upon the 
 British troops. Surrounded with enemies, the British commander 
 saw at once that his post was untenable, and would have escaped 
 across the stream of the Chello, but a violent storm rendered this 
 impossible. 
 
 On the morning of the 12th the combined attack began. The 
 British occupied the castle and great square, and planted their 
 cannon towards the principal streets which led to those points. 
 The Spaniards advanced with their artillery along the avenues, 
 while the roofs of the houses were covered with musketeers, who 
 could pour their fire upon all below without any hazard to them 
 selves. The attacking columns in the streets were repeatedly 
 checked in their advance, but the fire from the house-tops made 
 dreadful havoc and threatened the British with utter destruction. 
 The British commander had now no choice, but to surrender or 
 see his army slaughtered to the last man. A capitulation was 
 therefore proposed, and immediately accepted; the whole army 
 surrendered prisoners. The Spaniards engaged in this action 
 were computed at above twenty thousand, seven hundred of 
 whom were killed and wounded. The British loss was stated at 
 one hundred and sixty-five. Thus, after a turbulent and preca 
 rious possession of Buenos Ayres for fifteen days, the city proved 
 only a trap for the British army; and their ministry at home were 
 occupied in framing regulations for its government, and despatch 
 ing valuable cargoes to supply the demands of its commerce, 
 
 c2 
 
226 PROVINCES OF RIO DE LA PLATA. 
 
 several months after the Spaniards were established in quiet re 
 possession of the place. 
 
 The squadron, however, continued in the river, and being 
 shortly after reinforced, made an attempt on Monte Video. This 
 proving unsuccessful, they took possession of Maldonado, near 
 the mouth of the river, where they found a secure port for their 
 shipping. Being strengthened by additional reinforcements, the 
 attack on Monte Yideo was repeated a year afterwards, arid on 
 the 3d of February, 1807, after a close siege and great slaughter, 
 Monte Video fell into the hands of the British. The hostile 
 temper of the Spaniards prevented them, for some time, from 
 attempting to regain their lost footing at Buenos Ayres; but early 
 in the summer, they received large reinforcements of troops, and 
 on the 25th of June, an army of twelve thousand men, under 
 General Whitelocke, proceeded from Monte Video up the river, and 
 disembarked about thirty miles from Buenos Ayres. They drove 
 a body of Spanish troops before them, and on the 30th, arrived 
 before the city. There were no walls or fortifications to repel the 
 assault of the British, and the Spanish troops were few and undis 
 ciplined. The inhabitants, nevertheless, determined to make an 
 obstinate defence, and the manner in which the city is built ena 
 bled them to do this with remarkable success. Buenos Ayres is 
 divided pretty equally into squares of four or five hundred feet 
 each. The walls of the houses are built up in a solid manner, 
 with flat roofs, so that the whole city may be considered an 
 assemblage of fortresses. The inhabitants were animated with 
 intense animosity against the British. The master of each house, 
 surrounded with his children and slaves, was posted on its roof 
 and amply supplied with arms and ammunition. The doors were 
 strongly barricaded, and the main avenues of the city obstructed by 
 ditches cut across them. The whole male population, and a great 
 portion of the females of Buenos Ayres, were engaged in the defence. 
 
 The British army moved to the attack on the 5th of July. 
 The troops marched in separate columns, each having its distinct 
 point to assail. As the columns entered the city, they were 
 greeted with a furious and overwhelming fire from the roofs and 
 windows. At every step they encountered a fresh storm of shot 
 and missiles. Qrape-shot were poured upon them from every 
 corner; musketry, hand-grenades, bricks and stones rained from 
 the house-tops. Every dwelling was a fortress, and all its tenants 
 were indefatigable in its defence. For ten hours the battle raged 
 without diminishing the ardor and obstinacy of the combatants 
 on either side. Some of the detachments were totally destroyed 
 by the fire of the citizens. Others had their retreat cut off, and 
 
REPULSE OF THE BRITISH AT BUENOS AYRES, 227 
 
 were forced to surrender in the streets. Others took shelter in 
 convents and churches, and after terrible slaughter, yielded to 
 overwhelming numbers. Only two of the posts assailed by the 
 British remained in their hands at the end of the conflict, and 
 after a loss of twenty-five hundred men in killed, wounded and 
 prisoners. 
 
 Notwithstanding the disastrous issue of the attempt, the British 
 commander determined to repeat the attack on the following day; 
 but he was deterred by a communication from the Spanish com 
 mander, Liniers, who proposed to deliver up his prisoners on 
 condition that the British should immediately evacuate the 
 country. Extraordinary as this proposal may seem, General 
 Whitelocke found himself compelled to listen to it by the follow 
 ing singular circumstances. When the British fleet arrived in the 
 river, the commodore, Sir Home Popham, with equal inhumanity 
 and impolicy, turned ashore, on the desolate island of Lobos, two 
 hundred Spaniards, the crews of some vessels which had fallen 
 into his hands. These men were exposed to the danger of star 
 vation on a barren rock, that the British might not be encumbered 
 with their prisoners. They lived for some time on the flesh of 
 seals and shell-fish; and at length some of them contrived to form 
 a sort of raft with bags of seal-skins inflated with air, and by the 
 help of this, floated themselves to the main land. A vessel was 
 despatched to Lobos, which brought away the remainder. Some 
 of these men were carried to Buenos Ayres, where the relation of 
 their story inspired the inhabitants with horror and indignation 
 against the British, and these feelings were by no means dimin 
 ished at the period of the attack on the city. Liniers represented 
 to General Whitelocke that the prisoners were in danger of a 
 general massacre, as, from the exasperated state of the populace, 
 he could not answer for their safety, should the British persist in 
 their attack. These representations had so much effect with 
 Whitelocke, who appears not to have possessed an uncommon 
 degree of firmness, that, after a slight hesitation, he agreed to the 
 terms, and signed a treaty agreeing to withdraw all the British 
 forces from Buenos Ayres in ten days, and from South America in 
 two months, leaving at Monte Video the artillery and stores uncon- 
 sumed, which were found there. Thus a wanton act of cruelty 
 on the part of the invaders, led the way to their overthrow and 
 disgrace in the end. It is remarkable that the repulse ot the 
 British at Buenos Ayres, resembles, in many circumstances, the 
 defence of New Orleans. Both cities were attacked by regular 
 troops, and defended by irregulars. Both attacking armies com 
 prised about the same number of men, and the loss of the as- 
 
228 PROVINCES OF RIO DE LA PLATA. 
 
 sailants was of similar amount on both occasions. General 
 Whitelocke, at his return to England, was tried by a court- 
 martial, and cashiered. 
 
 Thus, at the end of the year, the British were completely ex 
 pelled from a territory over which they imagined they had estab 
 lished a firm dominion. Liniers became the popular idol, and 
 was appointed Viceroy of the province. He appears to have 
 behaved, at first, with prudence and moderation, and at the same 
 time with inflexible fidelity to the king of Spain. But the most 
 embarrassing troubles soon arose.. Napoleon seized the throne of 
 Spain, and attempted to possess himself of her colonies. Two 
 parties soon sprung up at Buenos Ayres. The more enlightened 
 among the native population, some of whom had long secretly 
 cherished the desire of independence, felt a wish to seize this 
 opportunity to throw off the Spanish yoke forever. But those of 
 European birth, comprising almost all in authority, were inter 
 ested, in the continuation of the ancient government, and opposed 
 all revolutionary ideas. With the mass of the inhabitants, any 
 notion of change was too bold. Liniers, in his embarrassment, 
 was obliged to temporize, and incurred the suspicion of both 
 parties. In July, 1808, a French vessel, with an envoy from 
 Napoleon, arrived at Buenos Ayres, with despatches to Liniers, 
 informing him of the transfer of the crown of Spain, and calling 
 upon the authorities in South America to give their allegiance to 
 the new government. Liniers, a Frenchman by birth, was not 
 disinclined to this step ; but convened the municipality and the 
 court of audience for consultation. This meeting were of opinion 
 that the extraordinary occurrences in Spain should be officially 
 announced to the people ; but they appear to have been undeci 
 ded on any step beyond this. Liniers, aware of the hostility 
 of the people toward the French, gave, in his proclamation, but 
 an obscure account of the recent occurrences, and exhorted the 
 inhabitants, in the name of Napoleon, to remain quiet, and use 
 their endeavors to preserve the tranquillity of the country. 
 
 But factions and dissensions soon began to throw the country 
 into confusion. Elio, the governor of Monte Video, formed a party 
 in opposition to Liniers, whom he accused of disloyalty. The 
 European Spaniards were more numerous at Monte Video than at 
 Buenos Ayres. They united with the officers of -the army and 
 navy, and created a junta, which acknowledged the dependence 
 of the country on the crown of Spain. A serious attempt was 
 made by the same class of persons in the capital, to remove 
 Liniers from the station of viceroy. They succeeded so far as to 
 place him under the necessity of resigning; but this was no 
 
POPULAR COMMOTIONS. 229 
 
 sooner known, than the native militia took up arms in his sup 
 port, restored him to authority, and banished his enemies to 
 Patagonia. Liniers now sent an expedition against Monte Video, 
 where Elio had assumed the title of Viceroy ; but while this was 
 in progress, Don Josef de Goyeneche arrived from Spain, for the 
 purpose of mediating between the two parties. He had sufficient 
 influence to cause the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres to acknow 
 ledge the supremacy of Spain, and proclaim Ferdinand VII. 
 Through his exertions the people were induced to rise in all parts 
 of the city, in January, 1809, and demand the establishment of 
 a provincial junta. Liniers, however, maintained his influence 
 with the army, and by their help was enabled to defeat this 
 movement. 
 
 Liniers did not long enjoy this triumph. In August, 1809, 
 Cisneros, a newly appointed viceroy, arrived from Spain, and 
 Liniers was deposed from his office by the junta which he had 
 overthrown a few months previous. He was exiled to Cordova ; 
 but the new viceroy found it more easy to remove his predecessor 
 than to establish himself in his place. The ebullition of loyalty 
 that had proclaimed Ferdinand, was of short duration. The 
 Spanish Americans began to feel that they had power in their 
 hands ; and their successes in defeating two British armies, en 
 couraged them to think they possessed valor also. Notwithstand 
 ing the exertions that had been made by the court of Spain to 
 prevent the introduction of books and newspapers into the coun 
 try, many had been clandestinely imported and eagerly read, and 
 some intelligence was gained of the events in progress in other 
 parts of the world. The natives had been forbidden to visit 
 Europe or send their children thither for instruction; yet some 
 had evaded this prohibition, and returned with a keen sense of 
 the wrongs which their country was suffering under the leaden 
 yoke of Spain. Reform, innovation and independence began to 
 be spoken of in confidential whispers, and speedily became the 
 topics at political meetings. Commotion followed commotion, and 
 in May, 1810, the viceroy, Cisneros, finding his embarrassments 
 and perplexities alarmingly increased by the disasters of the 
 Spaniards in Europe, was compelled to announce his inability to 
 manage the government. The municipality of the city requested 
 him to call a congress, which he proceeded to do. The congress 
 established a provisional junta for the government of the country, 
 and one of its first acts was to depose the viceroy and send him 
 to Spain. The 25th of May, when this government went into 
 action, has ever since been observed as the anniversary of Buenos 
 Ayrean independence. 
 20 
 
230 PROVINCES OF RIO DE LA PLATA. 
 
 Monte Video and the interior provinces disapproved of these 
 proceedings. Liniers raised an army of two thousand men, and 
 began a civil war, by laying waste the country around Cordova, to 
 check the approach of the troops from the capital. General Nieto 
 collected another force in Potosi. The junta of Buenos Ayres 
 gave the command of their army to Colonel Ocampo, who straight 
 way took the field. On his approach to Cordova, the troops of 
 Liniers abandoned him, and he was taken prisoner, with many of 
 his adherents. Liniers, Concha, the bishop of Cordova, with 
 several other persons of distinction, were condemned and executed. 
 Thus fell the first leader in this revolution by the hands of the 
 people whom he had assisted to tread the first steps in the career 
 of their emancipation. The leaders at Buenos Ayres feared his 
 great popularity, and saw in him a formidable obstacle to their 
 designs. 
 
 The country was now, in fact, entirely separated from Spain. 
 The die was cast, and the leaders of the revolution had no choice 
 but to advance or be crushed by a counter-revolution. They 
 boldly asserted that the sovereignty of Spain over the colonies had 
 temporarily ceased with the captivity of the king, and that each 
 colony had a right to take care of itself. The spirit of indepen 
 dence made such rapid progress, that, in the course of the year 
 1810, the whole viceroyalty, excepting the province of Paraguay 
 and the town of Monte Video, threw off the authority of the 
 crown and acknowledged that of the provincial junta. They 
 professed, at the same time, an intention to return to their alle 
 giance to Ferdinand on his restoration to the throne ; but this was 
 an event which few expected, and fewer still desired. 
 
 The junta, shortly after the commencement of their administra 
 tion, despatched a force, under Don A. Jonte, to Chili, to revolu 
 tionize that country. This expedition was crowned with full 
 success ; the royal government was overthrown, a provincial junta 
 established, and Jonte was continued in Chili, as charge d'affaires 
 from the government of Buenos Ayres. About the same time 
 Ocampo was ordered to march against the royalists, who had 
 collected in considerable strength in Upper Peru. Ocampo defeated 
 this force, and ^subjugated a great part of the district. In the 
 meantime, Velasco, the governor of Paraguay, had .raised an army 
 and menaced Buenos Ayres. Belgrano, at the head of a small 
 body of Buenos Ayrean troops, marched against him, and a battle 
 was fought on the banks of the Tacuari, where Belgrano was 
 defeated. Subsequently, however, Velasco was 'deposed, and a 
 junta was established in Paraguay, which formed an alliance with 
 Buenos Ayres. 
 
FACTIONS AND ANARCHY. 231 
 
 Eho had been appointed, by the regency of Spain, Captain 
 General of the province of Rio de la Plata, and in that capacity 
 he governed the province of Monte Video, or the Banda Oriental, 
 and was now the most dangerous and powerful enemy with 
 which the government of Buenos Ayres were at war. Artigas, a 
 native of Monte Video, and a captain in the royal service, having 
 deserted and joined the Buenos Ayreans, that government em 
 ployed him, in conjunction with General Rondeau, to conduct an 
 expedition against Banda Oriental. They obtained a signal vic 
 tory over the royalists at Las Piedras, in May, 1811, and laid 
 siege to Monte Video. Elio, finding himself unable to hold out 
 long without assistance, applied to the Portuguese of Brazil, and 
 through the influence of the Princess Charlotte, who was sister to 
 Ferdinand of Spain, obtained an army of four thousand men and 
 a subsidy of money. Before these allies, however, could render 
 any important service, a treaty was concluded between Monte 
 Video and Buenos Ayres, in November, 1811, by virtue of which 
 the siege of Monte Video was to be raised, and the Portuguese 
 troops were to be sent home. The siege was accordingly raised, 
 but the Portuguese, instead of returning to Brazil, began to commit 
 acts of hostility in the territory of Rio de la Plata. 
 
 The councils of the patriots, in the meantime, were distracted 
 by violent factions, and the whole country was filled with disor 
 der and violence. The royalists were advancing from Peru at 
 the same moment that the country was threatened by the Portu 
 guese army. Fortunately, at this critical moment, the government 
 of Buenos Ayres had the address to conclude an armistice with 
 the Portuguese, by which their troops were withdrawn and a 
 treaty of peace- followed. Nothing, however, appeared able to 
 restore tranquillity to the country, or place its government upon 
 anything like a firm foundation. A bold and bloody conspiracy 
 was shortly after detected, having for its object to put to death all 
 the members of the junta and all the partisans of the revolution. 
 Numerous executions followed. The royalist army of Peru was 
 defeated in Tucuman, and the fears of an invasion from this 
 quarter were dissipated. But dissensions multiplied in Buenos 
 Ayres, and in 1812, two separate assemblies claimed the sovereign 
 power and both 'were dissolved by military force. Hostilities 
 were resumed with Monte Video, and various military operations 
 took place, which produced no general results. 
 
 On the 31st of January, 1813, a body called the "constituent 
 congress," assembled at Buenos Ayres, and made some alterations 
 in the executive government. The campaign in Peru proved 
 disastrous , great alarm was felt at Buenos Ayres, and a supreme 
 
PROVINCES OF RIO DE LA PLATA. 
 
 director was created as executive magistrate. General San Martin, 
 afterwards conspicuous in the history of Chili, now began to 
 attract notice. He obtained some important successes over the 
 royalists, and in April, 1814, a small fleet was equipped, under 
 Commodore Brown, an English merchant of Buenos Ayres. This 
 fleet captured some of the enemy's vessels and blockaded Monte 
 Video. Shortly after the town surrendered. 
 
 Difficulties immediately arose between Artigas and the govern 
 ment of Buenos Ayres. Artigas demanded that Monte Video 
 should be given up to him as chief of Banda Oriental. The gov 
 ernment refused this, and hostilities followed. Artigas became 
 master of the country and defeated the Buenos Ayrean troops. 
 Meantime, anarchy reigned in that city, where two rival factions 
 were struggling for power. Artigas invaded their territory, and 
 captured the town of Santa Fe. Revolutions took place at 
 Buenos Ayres, and the rival factions persecuted and proscribed 
 each other. But at length, under the government of the supreme 
 director, Puyrredon, something approaching to tranquillity began 
 to prevail, and the congress, on the 9th of July, 1816, formally 
 announced the independence of the United Provinces of Rio de la 
 Plata. 
 
 In December, 1816, the Portuguese from Brazil again invaded 
 the Banda Oriental with an army of ten thousand men. They 
 captured Monte Video on the 20th of January following, and 
 succeeded in retaining possession of the country till 1825, when 
 they were expelled by a revolution. During all this period the 
 country was filled with tumults, factions and bloodshed, a detail 
 of which would be tedious to the last degree. In February, 1818, 
 three commissioners from the government of the United States 
 visited the South American provinces for the purpose of inquiring 
 into the condition and prospects of the revolutionary governments. 
 A constitution was published in May, 1819, by which a govern 
 ment was established similar to the federal government of the 
 United States. 
 
 The French government, in 1819, set on foot an intrigue to 
 convert this province into a monarchy, under a prince of the house 
 of Bourbon. A proposal to this effect was made to the Buenos 
 Ayrean government, and the Duke of Lucca ""suggested as the 
 new monarch. The French were to furnish an army and fleet to 
 carry this plan into effect, and to use their influence with the 
 Spanish court in procuring the acknowledgement of the indepen 
 dence of the country. The congress held a secret session on this 
 proposal, and, strange as it may seem, gave it their approval 
 
PARTY STRUGGLES. 
 
 f 
 
 233 
 
 The popular feeling, however, was so strongly manifested against 
 it, that no attempt was made to carry the scheme into execution. 
 It would only tire the reader's patience to give a longer history 
 of the factions, conspiracies, revolutions and civil wars, which, 
 down to the present moment, have continued to distract and deso 
 late this unfortunate country. On the 10th of July, 1823, a con 
 vention, or preliminary treaty of peace, was concluded between 
 the commissioners appointed by the king of Spain and the gov 
 ernment of the United Provinces ; this convention, however, was 
 not ratified by the Spanish government. The independence of 
 the United Provinces of La Plata was acknowledged by the 
 congress of the United States in 1822, and a treaty of commerce 
 was concluded with Great Britain in 1825. Domestic troubles 
 were renewed shortly after ; the union of the provinces was dis 
 solved, and separate governments were established. Nothing 
 permanent, however, was effected, and the country has been ever 
 since kept in a state of turbulence by the struggles of the two 
 parties called the Unitarians and the Federalists ; the one attempt 
 ing to create a central, and the other a federal government. 
 
 
 
w 1 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 PARAGUAY. Rebellion of Anlequera in 1722. He defeats the king's troops, and 
 takes possession of Assumption. His design of making himself king of Para 
 guay. Intrigues of the bishop. Arrival of Zabala. Flight of Antequera 
 Restoration of the royal authority. Capture and execution of Antequera. 
 Revolutionary doctrines of Ferrand Mompo. Second insurrection. Death of 
 Ruiloba. A defender of Paraguay created. Battle of Tabati. End of the 
 insurrection. Separation of Paraguay from Buenos Ayres. Independent gov 
 ernment. Rise of Dr. Frantia. His influence in the state. Becomes Dictator 
 of Paraguay for life. His extraordinary government. Despotism of his politi 
 cal system. Complete seclusion of Paraguay from the rest of the world. Fran- 
 cia'5 treatment of travellers. Character of his army. His private life and 
 eccentricities. His death. Present state of the country. CHILI. Commence" 
 ment of the revolution. Intrigues of the Carreras. Civil dissensions. Inva 
 sion of the country by Pareja. Expulsion of the Spaniards. Carrera displaced 
 from the command of the army. O'Higgins his successor. Second invasion of 
 the Spaniards under Gainza. Revolution. Treachery of Gainza. Troubles at 
 Santiago. Expedition of the Spaniards under Osorio. Re-establishment of the 
 royal authority in Chili. Persecutions of the Spaniards. Arrival of the libera 
 ting army, under San Martin, from Buenos Ayres. Battle of Chacabuco. San 
 Martin enters Santiago. Movements of Osorio. Battle of Talca. Defeat of the 
 Chilians. Firmness of San Martin. Resolute conduct of the Chilians. 
 Battle of Maypu. Total defeat of the Spaniards. Establishment of the inde 
 pendence of Chili. Civil dissensions. War of Benavides. Present state of the 
 country. 
 
 THE republic of Paraguay is rendered remarkable by a very 
 early attempt at revolution in that country in the early part of the 
 last -century. The chief personage engaged in this undertaking, 
 was Don Josef de Antequera, a knight of Alcantara, and a man 
 of high family, genius and learning. He was appointed governor 
 of Paraguay by the provincial council, in a manner somewhat 
 illegal, in consequence of (he disaffection of the inhabitants 
 toward his predecessor, who was obliged to flee the country. 
 The viceroy of Peru issued an order, in 1722, deposing Antequera, 
 which took no effect. The new governor disregarded all tho 
 orders of the viceroy, and avowed his determination to maintain 
 himse.f in his office by force. It soon became evident that he 
 aimed at the sovereignty of Paraguay. Negotiations were at 
 tempted by the Spanish authorities, but all pacific measures 
 proved useless, and Antequera was pronounced a rebel. The 
 king's lieutenant at Buenos Ayres, marched against him, with an 
 
 
REBELLION OF ANTEQTJERA. 235 
 
 army of several thousand men. A battle took place, and the 
 king's troops were defeated with great slaughter. Antequera en 
 tered Assumpcion, the capital of Paraguay, with triumphal pomp. 
 The royal standards taken in battle were trailed before him on 
 the ground, and he displayed his own banners in the cathedral, 
 where a Te Deum was chanted for his victory. He still, how 
 ever, nominally maintained his allegiance, but, in the meantime, 
 exerted himself in amassing a great treasure, and making other 
 preparations for a design, which he is said to have entertained, to 
 proclaim himself Don Josef I., king of Paraguay. 
 
 It is the opinion of the Spanish writers, that, had Antequera 
 taken this bold and decisive step immediately upon his victory 
 over the royal army, the tide of fortune would have turned com 
 pletely in his favor. But his over-cautious and temporizing 
 policy checked the popular feeling which had burst out in his 
 support. While he hesitated, influences were at work to under 
 mine his popularity. The bishop of Paraguay, by secret ma 
 noeuvres, detached the populace from the revolutionary cause, and 
 before the aspirant for the crown of Paraguay had summoned the 
 courage to proclaim himself king, the number of his adherents 
 had diminished to such a degree as to render this attempt too 
 hazardous. In this emergency, Don Bruno de Zabala arrived 
 from Peru, at the head of an army of six thousand Indians and 
 eight hundred Spaniards, with orders from the viceroy to send 
 Antequera prisoner to Lima. The usurper of Paraguay saved 
 himself by flight. Zabala entered Assumpcion, without opposi 
 tion, on the 24th of April, 1725, and made himself master of a 
 vast amount of treasure abandoned by the fugitives. The royal 
 government was restored, and tranquillity speedily reestablished. 
 
 Antequera fled to Cordova, where he took refuge in a convent. 
 A sentence of outlawry was passed upon him, and a price set on 
 his head. He abandoned his asylum, and fled through by-roads 
 to La Plata, where he hoped the royal audience would espouse 
 his quarrel. But the privileges of this court having been cur 
 tailed by the viceroy of Lima, this resource failed him, and he 
 was arrested and thrown into prison at Lima. After a confine 
 ment of five years, he was declared guilty of high treason, and 
 sentenced to be beheaded on the 5th of July, 1731. So great, 
 however, was the popular ferment on this occasion, ar.d so 
 deep was the interest which Antequera had excited by his able 
 writings, that the viceroy was obliged to mount his horse, and 
 put himself at the head of his cavalry, to prevent the rescue of 
 Antequera by the populace. The rescue would probably have 
 taken place but for the precaution of the viceroy, who ordered 
 
236 PARAGUAY. 
 
 him to be shot on his way to the scaffold, where his body was 
 afterwards beheaded. 
 
 New commotions took place at Assumpcion, where revolutionary 
 doctrines were promulgated by Ferrand Mompo, an associate of 
 Antequera. This man, with a degree of boldness and eloquence 
 which raised him to great popularity, openly asserted that the 
 authority of the people was greater than that of the king himself; 
 and it strikes us with no little surprise, that the modern liberal 
 doctrine of the sovereignty of the people should have been fear 
 lessly and openly preached in the capital of a colony of the most 
 bigoted and despotic court of Europe more than a century ago. 
 The consequence of this was the formation of a popular govern 
 ment in Paraguay, in 1730, established solely by the people. But 
 as might be expected, factions soon arose, and Mompo was seized 
 by a loyalist partisan and sent to Buenos Ayres ; he contrived, 
 however, to escape on the road, and fled to Brazil. 
 
 When the intelligence reached Assumpcion, of the execution of 
 Antequera and his associate Mena, who perished with him, great 
 excitement and indignation were produced among the people, who 
 regarded them as martyrs to liberty. The Jesuits were expelled 
 from their college, and an army was raised to defend the popular 
 cause. The royal governor, appointed for Paraguay, Don Manuel 
 de Ruiloba, advanced against them, at the head of an army of 
 seven thousand men. No opposition could be made to this strong 
 force, and Ruiloba entered Assumpcion in July, 1733. The royal 
 authority was reestablished, and all officers of the revolutionary 
 party were displaced. This soon produced another insurrection, 
 and Don Manuel was killed by the populace two months after 
 wards. Paraguay had again an independent government, with a 
 chief magistrate, bearing the title of Defender. In 1735, Zabala 
 collected an army, and marched against Paraguay. A battle was 
 fought at Tabati, in which the insurgent forces were utterly 
 defeated. This blow completely crushed the insurrection in 
 Paraguay. The revolutionary leaders were put to death or ban 
 ished, and the authority of the king of Spain was reestablished, 
 and continued for the greater part of a century. 
 
 We have, in the preceding chapter, given an account of the 
 revolutionary movements by which Paraguay became separated 
 from Buenos Ayres early in the present century. The destiny of. 
 Paraguay from that time has been singular. The inhabitants, 
 like those of all the other revolted Spanish colonies, began their 
 career of independence by various puerile attempts to establish 
 republican forms and appellations in their government. They 
 created consuls and legislative bodies, but in the course of three 
 
FRANCIA THE DICTATOR. 237 
 
 or four years, the whole state sunk under the absolute control of 
 one man, who may be pronounced the most remarkable personage 
 that has figured in the modern history of South America. This 
 was Gaspar Rodrigo de Francia, commonly known as Doctor 
 Francia. He was a native of Paraguay, and never was out of 
 South America. He was educated by the monks of Assumpcion 
 and subsequently at the University of Cordova, in Tucuman, 
 where he received the degree of Doctor of Theology. This man 
 became dictator of Paraguay, and for nearly thirty years reigned 
 over that country with a despotic tyranny surpassing that of any 
 European monarch. 
 
 On the breaking out of the revolution, Francia was in the prac 
 tice of the law at Assumpcion. He was elected to a popular office, 
 behaved independently, flattered no party, and professed his sole 
 political object to be the entire separation of Paraguay from Spain, 
 and its erection into an independent republic. On the establish 
 ment of the provincial junta, he was appointed secretary of that 
 body, with a deliberative voice; but all was confusion. The 
 army, as usual on such occasions, seemed inclined to take the 
 lead, and, for a time, terror and dissension alone prevailed. 
 Francia, however, at this critical moment, obtained an ascen 
 dancy which he never afterwards lost. His superior talents, 
 address and information, placed him above all others in the 
 despatch of business, and nothing of importance could be done 
 without him. Tranquillity was restored, and it was settled that 
 the government should be consular. Francia and a colleague 
 were appointed consuls for one year, each in supreme command 
 four months at a time. Francia took care to secure for his share 
 the first and last portions of the year. Two curule chairs were 
 prepared on this occasion ; one bearing the name of Caesar, and 
 the other that of Pompey. Francia eagerly took possession of the 
 former. His ambitious views no one could mistake; but the 
 grand blow yet remained to be struck. By the most consummate 
 art and management, and by the influence which he possessed 
 over the troops, he succeeded in getting himself appointed dictator, 
 in 1814; and once dictator, every instrument was within his reach 
 for the prolongation of his office. Three years afterwards he 
 was made dictator for life. 
 
 Now commenced one of the most extraordinary events m all 
 history, the reign of the autocrat of Paraguay. From the moment 
 when he found his footing firm, and his authority quietly submit 
 ted to, his whole character appeared to undergo a sudden change. 
 Without faltering or hesitation, without a pause of human weak- 
 necs, or a thrill of human feeling, he proceeded to frame the most 
 
238 PARAGUAY. 
 
 extraordinary despotism that the world has ever seen. He reduced 
 all the population of Paraguay to two classes, of which the 
 dictator constituted one, and his subjects the other. In the 
 dictator was lodged the whole power, legislative and executive : 
 the people had no power, no privileges, no rights, and only one 
 duty to obey. All was performed rapidly, boldly and decisively. 
 He knew the character of the weak and ignorant people at whose 
 head he had placed himself, and who had the temerity to presume 
 that they possessed energy and virtue sufficient to found a repub 
 lic. The middling classes were annihilated, and there was no 
 gradation between the ruler and the populace. 
 
 By what precise means he was enabled to obtain so extraordi 
 nary a power, and to preserve it, undisturbed by revolution or 
 popular disaffection, during a long period, in which every other 
 state of Spanish America has been constantly shaken with 
 intestine convulsions, can be understood perhaps only by those 
 who are familiar with the character of the South Americans. 
 But the fact is no less authentic than extraordinary, that the 
 inhabitants of Paraguay delivered themselves up, bound hand and 
 foot into the power of an unrelenting and ferocious despot, who 
 reduced them to absolute slavery, ruined their commerce and 
 agriculture, shut them up from the rest of the world, and dragged 
 to the prison or the scaffold every man in the country whose talents, 
 wealth or knowledge, opposed any obstacle in the way of his 
 tyranny. 
 
 One of his first measures was to cut off all intercourse with 
 every place beyond the boundaries of Paraguay. No human 
 being was allowed to leave the country or despatch a letter 
 abroad. In enforcing this prohibition, the dictator was assisted 
 by the peculiar geographical features of the country. In the 
 midst of an immense and thinly peopled continent, it stands alone 
 and impenetrable, surrounded by large rivers and extensive forests 
 and morasses, frequented only by ferocious savages, wild beasts 
 and venomous serpents. The vigilant guard maintained by the 
 troops of the dictator, at all accessible points of his empire, ena 
 bled him to isolate it completely from the rest of the world. The 
 only possibility of escape was by seizing the occasion when the 
 river Paraguay overflowed the surrounding plains, by which 
 means a small number of individuals have succeeded in eloping 
 from the tyrant's dominion, and acquainting the world with the 
 internal policy of this extraordinary empire. Foreign travellers, 
 who were visiting that region for scientific purposes, have been 
 imprisoned with the dictator's subjects, and escaped by good for 
 tune after long and tedious detention. When the independence 
 
REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS IN CHILI. 239 
 
 of the South American republics was acknowledged by Great 
 Britain, a notification of this event was sent to Franc ia, with a 
 request that all British subjects in his realms might be set at 
 liberty. This fortunately procured the release of all the English 
 in Paraguay. 
 
 Several conspiracies were formed against him, but none with 
 any success. The sanguinary punishments which followed their 
 detection served to strike a deeper terror into the people and ren 
 der their submission more abject. His regular army consisted of 
 five thousand men, from whom he always took care to exclude 
 all persons of education or belonging to wealthy families. Very 
 strict discipline was enforced in all that related to their conduct 
 as soldiers ; but when off duty, they were at perfect liberty, led 
 licentious lives, and were seldom reprimanded for any misconduct 
 toward the citizens. It is easy to understand why an army like 
 this should feel unbounded attachment to its master. The dicta 
 tor, however, lived in constant fear of assassination ; his guards 
 were sometimes ordered to shoot any man who should dare to 
 look at his house in passing through the street. He cooked his 
 own victuals, in apprehension of poison, and never smoked a cigar 
 without previously unrolling it, for the same reason. His conduct 
 on many occasions exhibited eccentricities similar to those of 
 Charles XII. of Sweden. He was subject to periodical fits of 
 hypochondria, which often produced acts that indicated a disor 
 dered intellect. 
 
 After ruling Paraguay in this despotic manner for twenty-eight 
 years, Francia died in 1842, aged about eighty. The government 
 of the country, according to the last accounts, was administered by 
 five consuls, but as this region has been avoided by all travellers for 
 a long time, very little is known of the recent transactions there. 
 
 In CHILI, a revolutionary movement took place as early as 1810, 
 in consequence of the intelligence of the transactions in Spain. 
 The captain general was compelled to resign, and the popular 
 voice elevated to his situation, the Count de la Conquista, who 
 immediately convened a meeting of the persons of most influence 
 in the country to take measures for instituting a new order of 
 things. A general congress was determined on, and the election 
 fixed for the llth of April, 1811. On that day a counter-revolu 
 tionary attempt was made by Figueroa, a royalist; but this was 
 suppressed by the popular party, and the conspirators were pun 
 ished by death or banishment. The congress, as soon as they 
 were organized, passed a decree permitting all persons who were 
 dissatisfied with the changes in the government, to leave the 
 country with their effects, within six months. The children of 
 
240 CHILI. 
 
 slaves, born in future, were declared free, and many other regula 
 tions made to reform the abuses of the ancient government. 
 
 The new government, however, was soon beset with difficulties. 
 Three brothers, of the name of Carrera, sons of a wealthy land 
 holder of Santiago, put themselves at the head of the disaffected, 
 and having obtained great influence with the troops, they com 
 pelled the congress, in November, 1811, to depose the junta, and 
 appoint three new members. This junta, in which one of the 
 Carreras had procured a place, attempted to render themselves 
 absolute. On the 2d of December, they dissolved the congress, 
 and reigned without control, relying for their support solely on 
 the army. These usurpers, however, fared no better than the 
 government which they overthrew ; conspiracy after conspiracy 
 troubled their administration, and at length they fell to quarreling 
 among themselves. The viceroy of Peru took occasion of these 
 disorders to make an attempt to crush the revolution ; and, early 
 in 1813, despatched General Pareja with an army to Chili. Pareja 
 took Talcahuana and Concepcion, but on the night of the 12th of 
 April, he was surprised by the Chilian troops, under Carrera, who 
 gave him a signal defeat. Pareja and his officers escaped to 
 Peru, but most of the invading troops were made prisoners. 
 
 Carrera, after the victory, conducted in so lawless a manner, 
 and his troops committed such devastations in the district of 
 Concepcion, that the inhabitants declared for the royalists. The 
 junta accordingly removed him from the command, and replaced 
 him by O'Higgins, who subsequently rose to great notoriety. 
 The invasion from Peru was renewed in the spring of 1814, by 
 the arrival of an army, under General Gainza. Several actions 
 were fought, in which the royalists were defeated. Another rev 
 olution took place, the junta was deposed, and Don F. Lastra 
 was placed at the head of the government, with the title of 
 supreme director. The viceroy of Peru offered proposals for an 
 accommodation, in consequence of which, the director proposed 
 terms of capitulation to Gainza. These terms were accepted, and 
 Gainza agreed to evacuate Chili in two months, and that the 
 viceroy should acknowledge the revolutionary government of 
 Chili. Hostages were delivered on each side, and a short suspen 
 sion of arms followed. But Gainza' s conduct was only a piece 
 of treachery, to gain time till his army could be reinforced from 
 Lima. 
 
 By the intrigues of the Carreras, the director, Lastra, was 
 deposed in August, 1814, and the junta reestablished. Great 
 indignation was excited in Santiago, the capital, by this violent 
 and corrupt proceeding. O'Higgins marched upon the city; a 
 
BATTLE OF CHACABUCO. 241 
 
 skirmishing began between his army and Carrera's troops, and a 
 bloody battle and civil war were about to commence, when intel 
 ligence arrived that the capitulation was broken ; this put an end 
 to the dissensions for the moment, and O'Higgins submitted to the 
 authority of the junta. The Spanish General, Osorio, who had 
 succeeded Gainza, approached, at the head of four thousand men. 
 The Chilians fled before him; he took possession of Santiago, 
 Valparaiso and all the principal places, and at the end of October, 
 1814, the Spanish authority was completely reestablished in Chili. 
 The inhabitants became the victims of royal vengeance, and 
 arrests, imprisonments, banishments and executions, rilled the 
 country with grief, suffering and terror. 
 
 For upwards of two years the royal sway was exercised in 
 Chili with the utmost rigor. At length the government of Buenos 
 Ayres, as we have already related, despatched an army under 
 San Martin, for the liberation of Chili. The army began its 
 march in January, 1817, and by incredible exertions and perse 
 verance, crossed the lofty chain of the Andes, and arrived in 
 Chili with very little loss. The royalist forces met them at 
 Chacabuco, on the 12th of February, and were defeated and put 
 to the rout. San Martin pursued his victorious march to Santiago, 
 where he was received by the inhabitants with acclamations, and 
 made supreme director; he declined the office and bestowed it on 
 O'Higgins, who had commanded a division of his army. The 
 Spaniards were expelled from almost all parts of Chili, but the 
 strong fortress of Talcahuana still held out, and this enabled the 
 Spaniards to send a reinforcement of five thousand men to Chili. 
 Osorio now found himself at the head of an army of eight thou 
 sand men, with which he advanced upon the capital. On the 
 19th of March, 1818, O'Higgins, with a division of the Chilian 
 army, attacked him at Taica, and gave him a severe check, but 
 Osorio retrieved his fortune, by suddenly falling upon his enemy 
 the same night, before the remainder of the Chilian army could 
 arrive. The Spaniards obtained a complete victory ; one half the 
 Chilian army was dispersed and all their baggage and artillery 
 were taken. 
 
 San Martin, however, did not despair of the fortunes of the 
 republic in consequence of this disaster. He circulated proclama 
 tions throughout the country, calling upon the inhabitants to rise 
 in their defence, and made the most untiring exertions in every 
 quarter to raise a force sufficient to oppose the enemy. The zeal 
 of the people seconded his labors, and in a short time a new army 
 was gathered, and took post on the river Maypu, towards which 
 Osorio was now advancing. On the 5th of April the Spanish 
 21 E 2 
 
242 CHILI. 
 
 army reached the Maypu, and discovered the Chilians drawn up 
 to oppose them. San Martin, perceiving that his enemy wished to 
 delay the attack, took advantage of the ardor and enthusiasm 
 with which his troops were inspired at the sight of the Spaniards, 
 and led them instantly to the attack. The battle continued from 
 noon till six in the evening, and was fought with an obstinacy 
 and courage which render it one of the most memorable as well 
 as most bloody and decisive combats recorded in the history of 
 the South American revolutions. The whole Spanish army was 
 destroyed ; the general with a few horsemen alone escaped when 
 he saw the day was lost. Everything belonging to the army fell 
 into the hands of the victors ; two thousand Spaniards were killed, 
 and above three thousand made prisoners ; the Chilians lost one 
 thousand killed and wounded. 
 
 The victory of Maypu set the seal on the independence of 
 Chili, and the patriots were soon enabled to carry the war into 
 the enemy's country, by invading and revolutionizing Peru, as we 
 have already related. But although Chili was, by these events 
 completely released from the dominion of Spain, she has enjoyed 
 little tranquillity in any portion of her subsequent career. The 
 outward forms of a republic have been preserved in her govern 
 ment, while parties have struggled for the ascendency and filled 
 the country with turbulence. For several years the southern 
 frontiers were disturbed by the depredations of an outlaw named 
 Benavides, a Spaniard, who put himself at the head of the Arau- 
 canian Indians, and desolated the country with fire and sword, 
 and the commission of bloody atrocities unsurpassed in the history 
 of savage warfare. His success, and the authority he had 
 acquired over the Indians, induced him to think himself a power 
 ful monarch, and he attempted to establish a navy. He captured 
 several American and English vessels which touched on the coast 
 of Chili for refreshments, and made himself master of a large 
 amount of property, arms and military stores. The Spaniards 
 encouraged him in his piracies and murders, and furnished him 
 with troops and artillery. But his bloody career was cut short 
 by the Chilians, who despatched an expedition against him in 
 October, 1821. Arauco, his capital, was taken, his forces defeated, 
 and Benavides'- compelled to flee. He was taken prisoner in 
 February, 1822, tried and executed. 
 
 O'Higgins was compelled to resign the office of supreme director, 
 in 1823, and was succeeded by General Ramon Freire. In Janu 
 ary, 1826, the archipelago of Chiloe, which till that time had 
 remained in the hands of the Spaniards, submitted to the govern 
 ment of Chili. In May, 1827, the form of government underwent 
 
JUAN FERNANDEZ. 
 
 243 
 
 another change, but the result did not secure the tranquillity of 
 the country, which has for many years been agitated like Buenos 
 Ayres, by the dissensions of two parties, the one endeavoring to 
 establish a central and the other a federal government. 
 
 The island of Juan Fernandez, in the Pacific Ocean, fell into 
 the hands of the Chilian government, and has been retained by 
 them to the present day. This island is known to most readers 
 as the residence of Alexander Selkirk, a Scotchman, who lived 
 alone upon it from 1705 to 1709, when he was discovered, and 
 taken off by Captain Woodes Rogers. Selkirk's adventures are 
 generally considered as having suggested to De Foe the subject 
 of his story of Robinson Crusoe ; though of this fact there is much 
 doubt. During the vicissitudes of the revolution in Chili, many 
 persons were banished to this island for their politics ; and it is 
 occupied at the present day as a place of confinement for con 
 demned criminals. 
 
 Alexander Selkirk discovered on Juan Fernandez. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 COLOMBIA. Conspiracy of Espana in Caracas. Expedition and failure of 
 Miranda. Breaking out of the revolution in Venezuela and New Grenada. 
 General character of the Spanish American revolutions. Rise of Bolivar. His 
 mission to London. He enters the army. Arrival of Miranda in Venezuela. 
 He is appointed commander-in-chief. Earthquake in Caracas. Conduct of the 
 priests. Arrest and death of Miranda. Reestablishment of the Spanish author 
 ity. Cruelties of the royalists. Successes of Bolivar. Bloody excesses of the 
 armies. Bolivar's entry into Caracas. He assumes the title of liberator and 
 dictator. Atrocities of Boves and Rosette. Retaliation of the insurgents. 
 Defeat of Bolivar at La Puei'ta and San Mateo. He captures Bogota. The 
 congress of Angostura. Bolivar crosses the Cordilleras. Victories of Tunja 
 and Bojaca. The royalists expelled from New Grenada. Bolivar appointed 
 president and captain- general. He returns to Venezuela. Armistice. Battle of 
 Carabobo. Defeat and expulsion of the Spanish army. Formation of the repub 
 lic of Colombia. Bolivar appointed president. Final expulsion of the Spaniards 
 from Colombia. Civil dissensions. Insurrection of Paez. Convention of 
 Ocana. Bolivar assumes absolute power. Attempt to assassinate him. General 
 disaffection of the people. Distracted state of the country. Resignation of Bol 
 ivar. Dismemberment of Colombia and formation of the republics of VENEZUELA, 
 NEW GRANADA and ECUADOR. Death of Bolivar. His character. Formation 
 of the republic of BOLIVIA. 
 
 THE rapacity, despotism and oppression of the Spanish gov 
 ernment gave rise to conspiracies and insurrectionary movements 
 in the districts which afterwards formed the republic of Colombia, 
 for many years previous to the general revolt occasioned by the 
 French invasion of Spain. As early as 1797, an attempt to raise 
 the standard of independence was made in Venezuela, by two 
 natives of Caracas, Don Josef de Espana, corregidor of Macuto, 
 and Don Manuel Gual, an officer in the army. The plot com 
 prised a large number of persons, the most distinguished in 'the 
 colony for their talents, virtues and wealth. Their object was to 
 possess themselves of the heads of the government, and to keep 
 them as hostages till a treaty could be made with the court of . 
 Spain for a redress of grievances and a general *Change in tho 
 government. The insurrection was fixed for the 14th of July, 
 1797, but, on the evening previous, the design was betrayed by 
 one of the conspirators, who, struck with fear, went to the Cathe 
 dral, and rang the bell. The alarm being raised, the magistrates 
 were brought together, and the plot was revealed. Most of the 
 
EXPEDITION OF MIRANDA. 246 
 
 conspirators were arrested, but the two leaders made their escape. 
 The king, when the whole affair was known, became convinced 
 that the people had been driven to rebellion by the intolerable 
 oppressions of his officers, and ordered that the prisoners should 
 be treated with clemency. Espana, on this intelligence, gave 
 himself up. But the authorities of Venezuela disregarded this 
 order, and Espana, with five of his companions, was put to death. 
 
 The discontents of the people were not quieted ; and in the year 
 1805, General Miranda received a great number of letters from 
 Venezuela, entreating him to put himself at the head of an expe 
 dition for revolutionizing the country. Miranda agreed to the 
 proposal, and proceeded to the United States, where he collected 
 a body of a few hundred adventurers. The expedition sailed 
 frt/m New York, in 1806, and reached the coast near Puerto 
 Cabello, in May. Here Miranda made an attack, but was repulsed 
 by the Spanish gun-boats. He proceeded to Trinidad, recruited 
 his forces, and returned under the convoy of a British sloop of 
 war. On the 7th of August, he landed at Coro, where he 
 remained unmolested for twelve days, though a considerable 
 Spanish force was posted only four leagues distant. Miranda, 
 however, found the people of the neighborhood lukewarm in the 
 cause of revolt; and shortly after, he was deserted by his British 
 auxiliaries, who had promised him powerful aid. He was there 
 fore obliged to abandon the expedition, with the loss of many of 
 his men, who were taken and hanged. 
 
 The Spanish dominion continued but a few years longer. The 
 great revolution burst out in 1810. The captain-general of Car 
 acas was deposed on the 19th of April, and a popular congress 
 convened to organize a new government for Venezuela. The 
 same was 'done at Bogota, the capital of New Granada, which 
 erected itself, at first, into a separate republic. The congress of 
 Venezuela published a declaration of independence on the 5th of 
 July, 1811, and this example was followed by the other provinces, 
 which were afterwards united in the republic of Colombia. 
 
 The history of this revolution, like that of most others of the 
 Spanish American states, is filled with a perplexing and most 
 wearisome detail of political changes, party maoeuvres, factions, 
 intrigues, negotiations, plots and counter-plots, and marches and 
 counter-marches of political and military leaders. Of these scenes 
 the reader has had already a sufficient specimen in the preceding 
 chapters, to give him a general picture of the South American 
 revolutionary troubles. It will not be expected of us to repeat 
 these details in the remainder of this history ; their sameness 
 exhibits the operation of the identical causes which we have 
 21* 
 
246 COLOMBIA. 
 
 before specified, while the confusion in which they are involved, 
 and their lack of general and permanent results, cause them to 
 leave but a vague and transitory impression on the mind of the 
 reader. Those things alone which are intelligible and significant, 
 form the proper topics for history, and to these we shall confine 
 our narrative. 
 
 The whole control of the revolution soon became engrossed in 
 the hands of one individual, who, for many years, became the 
 most prominent and powerful man in South America. This man 
 was Simon Bolivar, a native of Caracas, who, as early as 1810, 
 was sent to London as agent from the revolutionary government, 
 to solicit aid from the British. That government, however, deter 
 mined to remain neutral. Bolivar returned to Venezuela, where 
 he was made colonel in the independent army, and governor of 
 Puerto Cabello. General Miranda had returned to this coun 
 try, and was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces. The 
 Spaniards sent armies into the country, and many actions were 
 fought. The patriots were generally successful till 1812, when 
 they experienced a terrible calamity. On the 26th of March, an 
 earthquake destroyed, either entirely or in part, the city of Cara 
 cas, and ten or twelve others, killing twenty thousand persons. 
 
 < Earthquake at Caracas. 
 
 This dreadful catastrophe, happening on the very May and hour 
 in wnich the revolution broke out two years before, the clergy 
 seized upon the occasion to alarm the superstitions fears of the 
 people, and excite them in favor of the royal cause, by represent 
 ing it as a judgment from heaven upon the revolutionists. Priests, 
 monks and friars, were stationed in the streets, vociferating in the 
 
BOLIVAR. 247 
 
 midst of credulous multitudes trembling with fear, while the 
 royalist troops were getting possession of the whole country. 
 Miranda, in despair, capitulated, and was preparing to leave the 
 country, when he was arrested by the patriots as a traitor. He 
 was delivered up to the royalist general, Monteverde, and sent to 
 Spain, where he died in a dungeon. 
 
 Venezuela was now entirely in the hands of the royalists, and 
 deeds of revolting ferocity and plunder reduced the whole country 
 to a frightful state of misery; old men, women and children were 
 seized and massacred as rebels. One of Monteverde' s officers cut 
 off the ears of the patriots, and had them stuck in the caps of his 
 soldiers for cockades. In this state of things, Bolivar began to 
 show the firmness and energy of his character. He raised a 
 small force, and in December, 1812, entered upon a campaign 
 against the royalists. He defeated them at Teneriffe, Ocana and 
 Cucuta, and by an expedition to Bogota, increased his army to 
 two thousand men. Marching back, along the Andes, he invaded 
 Venezuela, and defeated the royalists in several other battles. 
 The war now assumed the most bloody character ; the terrible 
 cruelties of Monteverde obliged the patriots to commence repri 
 sals, and the most horrible butcheries were the consequence. The 
 cause of independence was now more prosperous. Bolivar de 
 feated Monteverde at Lostaguanes, and on the 4th of August, 
 1814, he entered the city of Caracas in triumph. The joy of the 
 people exceeded all bounds, and this was undoubtedly the most 
 brilliant day in Bolivar's whole career. The whole population 
 crowded to meet him with acclamations, and he was drawn into 
 the city in a triumphal car by twelve beautiful young ladies, of 
 the first families in Caracas, while others crowned him with 
 laurels and strewed his way with flowers. 
 
 Bolivar was now in the possession of unlimited power in this part 
 of the country, and assumed the title of Liberator and Dictator of 
 the western provinces of Venezuela. This gave great offence to 
 the democratic party, and charges were uttered against him of 
 studying his own aggrandizement; yet the enthusiasm in his 
 favor confirmed the dictatorial power in his hands. In the mean 
 time, the royalists at a distance were still deluging the country 
 with blood. Boves and Rosette, two of their generals, in a march 
 of four hundred miles from the Orinoco to the Ocumare, with an 
 army of slaves and vagabonds, murdered every individual who 
 refused to join them. General Puy, a negro assassin and a 
 robber in the royal interest, having murdered hundreds of the 
 patriot inhabitants of Varinas, Bolivar, to deter him from the 
 repetition of such atrocities, ordered eight hundred Spaniards in 
 
248 COLOMBIA. 
 
 La Guayra and Caracas, to be arrested and shot, in February, 
 1814. This was retaliated by the royalists, who massacred their 
 prisoners in Puerto Cabello. The patriots, however, did not repeat 
 these dreadful reprisals, and Bolivar, in July, 1816, formally pro 
 claimed, "no Spaniards shall be put to death except in battle; 
 the war of death shall cease." 
 
 Success continued to fluctuate between the patriots and royal 
 ists. On the 14th of June, 1814, a battle was fought at La Puerta, 
 in which Bolivar was defeated, with the loss of fifteen hundred 
 men. Another action occurred on the 17th of August, at San 
 Marco, the estate of Bolivar. Here the Liberator's army was 
 surprised by the "infernal division" of Boves, a legion of negro 
 cavalry, with black crape on their lances, who rushed with 
 hideous shouts from an ambush, and scattered Bolivar's whole 
 force by the suddenness and impetuosity of their assault; the 
 general escaped only by the fleetness of his horse. Bolivar's 
 family mansion was burnt to the ground, and he was ultimately 
 compelled, in September, to leave the royalists in possession of all 
 Yenezuela, when thousands of the patriots deserted to their ranks. 
 He repaired to New Grenada, where the government employed 
 him in their army to subjugate the revolted province of Cundi- 
 namarca. Bolivar captured the city of Bogota, which afterwards 
 became the capital of Colombia. He returned to Venezuela in 
 1816, but was again defeated. Notwithstanding, he persevered in 
 his exertions, and in December of the same year, he convened a 
 general congress. In March, 1817, he was enabled to give the 
 royalists a severe check. 
 
 Numerous transactions took place between the patriot and 
 royalist forces during this and the following year, but our limits 
 will not admit of a detailed account of them ; victory remained 
 nearly balanced between the two parties, but the cause of inde 
 pendence was gaining strength. In 1819, the congress of Vene 
 zuela assembled at Angostura, and Bolivar surrendered all his 
 authority into their hands. The congress required him to resume 
 the supreme power, and exercise it until the independence of the 
 country should be fully established. Bolivar re-organized his 
 forces, and set out on his march across the Cordilleras, to effect a 
 junction with General Santander, who commanded the republican 
 army in New Grenada, that their united arms might act with 
 greater efficiency. In July, 1819, he reached Tunja, where he 
 defeated the royalist troops and captured the city. On the 7th of 
 August, the Spanish army, under the viceroy, Samano, advanced 
 to meet him at Bojaca, where a severe battle was fought, which 
 resulted in the complete triumph of the patriots. The viceroy 
 
BATTLE OF CAROBOBO. 
 
 fled from the field of battle, and the whole province of New 
 Grenada was conquered by this victory. Bolivar entered the 
 capital in triumph, and was appointed president and captain- 
 general of the republic. 
 
 Having amply recruited his army, he returned to Venezuela, 
 where, on the 17th of December, 1819, a union between the two 
 republics was decreed by the congress through his influence. He 
 then took the field, at the head of the strongest army that had yet 
 been collected by the patriots. The Spaniards, after many de 
 feats, agreed to an armistice of six months, in November, 1820. 
 Morillo, their general, returned to Spain, leaving his army under 
 the command of La Torre. At the termination of the armistice 
 the two armies resumed active operations ; and, on the 23d of 
 June, was fought the decisive battle of Carobobo ; the Spaniards, 
 under La Torre, were entirely defeated, and their broken and 
 scattered forces saved themselves by fleeing to Puerto Cabello. 
 This victory was the finishing stroke to the war in Yenezuela ; 
 by the end of the year, the Spaniards were driven from every 
 part of Venezuela and New Granada, except Puerto Cabello and 
 Quito. 
 
 The two provinces were now united into one state, called the 
 Republic of Colombia. The installation of the first general con 
 gress took place on the 6th of May, 1821, at Rosario de Cucuta. 
 A constitution was adopted on the 30th of August. Bolivar was 
 appointed president, and Santander vice-president. Puerto Ca 
 bello surrendered in December, 1823, and all the Spanish forces 
 had been expelled from the southern part of the republic before 
 this period; so that, at the beginning of 1824, the republic of 
 Colombia was totally freed from foreign enemies. 
 
 But at the moment when affairs seemed most prosperous, the 
 republic began to be disturbed with civil discords. General Paez 
 a mulatto, and one of the most distinguished officers of the revo 
 lution, had received the command of the department of Venezuela. 
 In the execution of a law for enrolling the militia of Caracas, he 
 gave so much offence to the inhabitants by his arbitrary conduct, 
 that they obtained an impeachment against him before the senate. 
 Being notified of this in April, 1826, and summoned to appear 
 and take his trial, he refused to obey, but placed himself at the 
 head of his troops, and called around him all the disaffected per 
 sons in Venezuela, who formed a very strong party. These 
 persons objected to the central government ; some of thorn wish 
 ing for a federal system like that of the United States, and others 
 desiring a total separation from New Granada. Various disorders 
 broke out in other parts of the republic, and a great portion of the 
 
 F2 
 
250 COLOMBIA. 
 
 country refused obedience to the Colombian constitution. An 
 attempt was made to accommodate matters by a convention at 
 Ocana, for amending the constitution, in March, 1828, but the 
 violence of parties and the disturbed state of the country pre 
 vented the convention from doing anything, and they soon sep 
 arated. 
 
 Affairs now came to a crisis ; the country was threatened with 
 anarchy, and Bolivar took a bold and decisive step, by dissolving 
 the Colombian congress, on the 27th of August, 1828, and assum 
 ing absolute authority. This act was preceded by addresses from 
 various municipal bodies, calling upon Bolivar to put an end to 
 the public disorders, by assuming the supreme command. Whether 
 these addresses' were procured by his intrigues, in order to give a 
 plausible color to his usurpation, we have.no means of knowing. 
 He organized a new government to suit his own views, and soon 
 began to feel the consequences of the bold step he had taken, in 
 the conspiracies that were plotted against him. On the 15th of 
 September, 1828, an attempt was made to assassinate him. His 
 aid-de-camp was killed, but Bolivar's life was saved by the cour 
 age of his officers. Generals Padilla and Santander were charged 
 with this plot, and condemned to death by a special tribunal. 
 Padilla was executed, but the punishment of Santander was com 
 muted for banishment. Various others suffered death. The 
 country was more and more agitated by violent factions ; many 
 military leaders aspired to the supreme command, and the efforts 
 of Bolivar to prevent dissension excited insurrections. Bolivar 
 was denounced as a usurper and a tyrant. Venezuela claimed 
 her independence; and Bolivar, finding it impossible to unite the 
 factions and create a spirit of harmony under his rule, resigned 
 all his authority to the congress at Bogota, in 1830. He retired 
 to Carthagena, dispirited and broken down by the calamities of 
 his country. Bolivar's retirement from public life removed every 
 obstacle to the division of the republic of Colombia. In 1831, it 
 was formed into three independent states, VENEZUELA, NEW GRE 
 NADA and ECUADOR, which have continued to the present day. 
 
 On the 17th of December, 1831, Bolivar died at San Pedro, 
 near Carthagena, at the age of forty-eight. He was by far the 
 most celebrated of all the South American revolutionary leaders ; 
 and during many years was considered the " Washington of the 
 south." Yet, notwithstanding his brilliant successes, he outlived 
 both his power and his reputation. At the period of his death 
 he had lost all influence over his countrymen, and he died tainted 
 with the suspicion of having engaged in an intrigue for introduc 
 ing foreign aid to restore monarchy in Colombia. As a warrior, 
 
COLOMBIAN GENERALS. 251 
 
 he deserved all his fame ; but as a legislator, he has been, perhaps, 
 over-rated. Few of his political institutions were permanent; 
 though this was partly owing to the semi-barbarous and intracta 
 ble temper of the people with whom he had to deal. His merits 
 as a military leader are much enhanced by the character of the 
 troops whom he led to victory. His armies often consisted chiefly 
 of destitute adventurers, eager only for pay and plunder ; ragged 
 Creoles, Indians, naked negroes, and cavalry of half savage 
 Llaneros and mountaineers riding wild horses. The desertion 
 of whole regiments, first to one side and then to the other, 
 according to the momentary chance of success, sufficiently shows 
 their degraded moral condition. The generals with whom his 
 command was divided, were principally of the most uncivilized 
 description. Arismendi could neither write nor read ; Paez was 
 a brutal mulatto bull-hunter, just out of the deserts ; and General 
 Bermudez always took the field in a dirty blanket, with a hole in 
 the middle for his head ; yet envy, jealousy, and fierce, reckless 
 ambition were common to them all. The character and habits 
 of such a people greatly increase our opinion of the talents of the 
 individual who conducts them from an abject state of oppression 
 to independence and social improvement. The republic of Colom 
 bia is no more, yet as long as it continues to be remembered, it 
 will owe that circumstance to the name of Bolivar. 
 
 The republic of BOLIVIA was formed out of the provinces of 
 Upper Peru, which under the Spanish dominion were governed 
 as a dependency of Buenos Ayres. These provinces were wrested 
 from the Spaniards by the victory of Ayacucho, in December, 
 1828. General Sucre, who, at the head of the Colombian forces, 
 gained this victory, soon cleared the country of the royalist forces, 
 and no obstacle existed to the formation of an independent gov 
 ernment. A congress assembled at Chuquisaca, in August, 1825, 
 and lodged the supreme authority provisionally in the hands of 
 Sucre, while, as a testimonial of their gratitude to Bolivar, they 
 requested him to frame a constitution for them. Bolivar accord 
 ingly drew up a plan of government, founded on a representative 
 basis, but of a very complicated and inconvenient character. 
 The chief magistrate is a president who appoints his own suc 
 cessor, nominates to all offices, exercises the whole patronage of 
 the government, and is irresponsible for his actions. This consti 
 tution was adopted by the congress, and went into operation in 
 December, 1826. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 REPUBLIC or MEXICO. Origin of the revolution. Deposition of the viceroy. 
 Insurrection of Hidalgo. Capture of Guanaxuato and Valladolid. Hidalgo pro 
 claimed generalissimo. He advances to Mexico. His unaccountable retreat. 
 He is attacked by the royalists and defeated. Capture and death of Hidalgo. 
 Progress of the revolution. Proceedings of Morelos and Calleja. The national 
 assembly. Declaration of Mexican independence. Disasters of the revolutionists- 
 Capture and execution of Morelos. Discords among the revolutionary leaders. 
 Arrival of General Mina. His march into the country. His capture and exe 
 cution. Successes of the Spaniards. The revolution suppressed. Affairs of 
 Spain. Revival of troubles in Mexico. The viceroy Apodaca. State of parties. 
 Renewal of the insurrection. Rise of Iturbide. He marches against the inde 
 pendents. His dissimulation and intrigues. Plan of Iguala. Embarrassment 
 of the viceroy. He is deposed. Iturbide establishes his authority. Arrival of 
 O'Donoju in Mexico. Treaty of Cordova. Iturbide in supreme power. He 
 summons a cortes. State of parties. Intrigues of Iturbide. He is proclaimed 
 emperor. He dissolves the cortes. His embarrassments. Insurrection against 
 him. Defection of Santa Ana and Guadalupe Victoria. Abdication of Iturbide. 
 He is banished to Italy. His return to Mexico and death. Distracted state 
 of the country. Santa Ana becomes the head of the government. REPUBLIC 
 OF TEXAS. Dissatisfaction of the Texans with the Mexican government. 
 State convention. Commencement of hostilities. Capture of Goliad and San 
 Antonio de Bexar. The Mexicans expelled from Texas. Invasion of Texas by 
 Santa Ana. Attack of San Antonio. Obstinate defence of the garrison. 
 Declaration of Independence. Capture of Goliad by the Mexicans. Massacre 
 of Colonel Fanning's company. Alarm of the inhabitants. Battle of San 
 Jacinto and defeat of the Mexicans. Capture of Santa Ana. Establishment of 
 the independence of Texas. REPUBLIC OF CENTRAL AMERICA. Connexions of 
 Guatimala with Mexico. Civil war. Constitution established. Anarchy and 
 wretched condition of the country. Government of Carrnra. 
 
 THE movements toward a revolution in Mexico began with the 
 French invasion of Spain in 1808. The Mexicans were unani 
 mous in their dislike of the French ; and the viceroy, whatever 
 his private inclinations might have been, received such contradic 
 tory orders from the king of Spain, from Murat, who then com 
 manded at Madrid, and from the council of the Indies, that he 
 proposed calling a junta, composed of representatives from each 
 province, as the only means of preserving the country from the 
 horrors of anarchy. The European Spaniards in the capital 
 viewed this scheme with jealousy, as calculated to place the 
 Creoles on an equal footing with themselves. They entered into 
 a conspiracy against the viceroy, took him prisoner in his palace, 
 
INSURRECTION OF HIDALGO. 253 
 
 sent him to Spain, and assumed the reins of government. A new 
 viceroy was despatched to Mexico, who encountered new plots 
 and troubles ; and in 1810, an insurrection, consisting principally 
 of the natives and mestizoes, rose openly against the government. 
 
 Cathedral of Mexico. 
 
 These men were led by Hidalgo, a priest of some talents, and an 
 enthusiast in the cause of independence. From Dolores, where 
 they first assembled, they marched upon the wealthy city of 
 Guanaxuato, which they took and pillaged. The viceroy de 
 spatched his forces to suppress the rebellion, but the whole coun 
 try through which Hidalgo passed, took up arms and joined him. 
 Acting with great policy, he abolished the tribute paid by the 
 aborigines, which brought all the Indians to his standard. Valla- 
 dolid fell into his hands, and on the 24th of October, the priest 
 Hidalgo was proclaimed generalissimo of the Mexican armies. 
 On this occasion he threw aside his sacerdotal robes and appeared 
 in uniform. He advanced upon the capital, and in three days 
 entered Toluco, not more than twelve miles from Mexico. The 
 royal forces were scattered throughout the country, and Mexico 
 was in imminent danger. After some skirmishes the independent 
 army approached to the heights of Santa Fe, where the royalists, 
 with a much inferior force, were drawn up to defend the city. 
 Mexico was on the point of seeing a conquering army enter her 
 gates, when, to the astonishment of every spectator, Hidalgo sud- 
 22 
 
254 MEXICO. 
 
 ienly wheeled to the right-about, and marched away. This 
 extraordinary proceeding was never explained. 
 
 Hidalgo retreated to the neighborhood of Guadalaxara. The 
 royalists now had leisure to collect a strong force, and pursued 
 him. A sanguinary battle was fought on the 17th of January, 
 1811, which ended in the total defeat and dispersion of the inde 
 pendent army. Hidalgo made his escape, but was closely pursued 
 from post to post till at length his retreat was cut off; when, by 
 the treachery of ^ of his own men, he was betrayed and made 
 prisoner with all hi& staff, on the 21st of March. Fifty of his 
 officers were executed on the spot. Hidalgo was tried and shot, 
 at Chihuahua, on the 20th of June, 1811. 
 
 The death of -Hidalgo did not stop the progress of the revolu 
 tion in other quarters. In the meantime, the whole country had 
 risen in insurrection, and many leaders began to act separately. 
 The most remarkable among them was Morelos, another priest, 
 who, with great activity, talents and success, maintained the 
 rebellion in the southern provinces, and organized a junta or cen 
 tral government, which, in September, 1811, assembled at Zaca- 
 turo, in Mechoacan. This town was soon after captured by 
 Calleja, a royalist general, and the junta dispersed. Morelos 
 penetrated into the highlands of Tenochtitlan, where he fought 
 many battles with Calleja during a period of three months. He 
 took Acapulco, Oaxaca, and many other towns, and convened a 
 congress at Apatzinjan, in the province of Valladolid. This con 
 gress took the name of the National Assembly, and declared the 
 independence of Mexico on the 13th of November, 1813. A con 
 stitution was framed, and proposals for a suspension of hostilities 
 were made to the royalists, but without effect. 
 
 Calleja, who was now appointed viceroy, with the title of Conde 
 de Calderon, prosecuted the war againt the insurgents with vigor 
 and the most barbarous cruelty. Morelos involved himself in 
 difficulties by surrendering his authority to the congress at this 
 critical period. All his military plans were defeated by the inter 
 ference and delays of that body. In consequence of this, he ho 
 longer met with any success in his daring enterprises, and in 
 November, 1815, he was taken prisoner, carried to Mexico and 
 shot. Many of {he insurgent chiefs maintained the conflict for 
 some time, but they did not act in concert with t>ne another. 
 Teran, one of these leaders, dissolved the congress by force, which 
 contributed still more to promote dissension among them. 
 
 The war was feebly carried on until the arrival of a new parti 
 san from Europe. This was General Mina, nephew of the guer 
 rilla chief, so celebrated in the war in Spain. He sailed from 
 
RISE OF ITURBIDE. 255 
 
 England with a small force, in May, 1816, and after visiting the 
 United States, where he received some reinforcements, landed at 
 Galvezton, in November. From this place, after organizing his 
 forces, he proceeded to Soto la Marina, in April, 1817, and took up 
 his march for Mexico. He penetrated six hundred miles into the 
 interior, defeating the enemy at various points. At one time his 
 troops were reduced to less than three hundred men; at other 
 times they were increased to fourteen hundred. He displayed 
 great courage and talent, but on the 27th of September, he was 
 surprised and taken prisoner at Venadito, and a few weeks after, 
 tried and shot. This was a heavy disaster to the Mexicans ; but 
 the forms of the revolutionary government continued to be kept up, 
 though the congress were driven from place to place by the royal 
 armies. The war languished in every quarter, and all the strong 
 places were at length taken by the Spaniards. In 1820, the revo 
 lution was considered at an end, and the country grew tranquil. 
 
 The establishment of a constitution in Spain, in 1820, suddenly 
 changed the course of affairs in Mexico. The European Span 
 iards, and the Creoles, who had before made common cause in 
 the royal interest, now divided into two parties, royalists and 
 constitutionalists. The viceroy, Apodaca, was a royalist, and 
 wished to suppress all attempts to establish a constitution in Mex 
 ico. The cause of the insurgents received new strength from the 
 Spanish and Mexican constitutionalists, and the insurrection again 
 looked threatening. Apodaca raised a small army and despatched 
 it to crush the remnant of the insurgent forces. He gave the 
 command to Don Augustin Iturbide, a Creole, but a royalist, and 
 an officer who had distinguished himself in the war against the 
 independents. It is supposed that at this moment Iturbide began 
 to entertain those designs of self-aggrandizement which afterwards 
 led him to the throne of Mexico. His very first steps exhibited 
 art and dissimulation. The priests and Europeans furnished him 
 with some money, and on his march, he seized on a convoy of 
 specie belonging to the Manilla merchants. He formed a junction 
 with Guerrero, one of the patriot chiefs, and had the address to 
 persuade Apodaca that it was only an act of pardon, by which the 
 adherents of the revolution would be brought over to the royal 
 cause. Emissaries, in the meantime, were despatched to every 
 part of the country, and they executed their mission so ably that 
 the inhabitants were everywhere ready to declare in favor of 
 independence. 
 
 On the 24th of February, 1821, at the little town of Iguala, on 
 the road from Mexico to Acapulco, Iturbide issued a proclamation, 
 which has since been known by the name of the ''Plan of Iguala." 
 
256 MEXICO. 
 
 Its professed object was to conciliate all parties ; to establish the 
 independence of Mexico, and still to preserve its relationship to 
 Spain. To accomplish this, the crown of Mexico was to be 
 offered to the king of Spain, and in case of his refusal, to one of 
 his brothers, on condition of his residing in the country. Though 
 Iturbide had manifestly exceeded the powers which he had 
 received from his superior, yet the viceroy, thunderstruck at this 
 unexpected event, and seeing that the proposal met the wishes of 
 a great majority of the people, took no decisive steps against him. 
 The royalists, who were numerous in the capital, alarmed at this 
 indecision and delay of Apodaca, instantly deposed him, and 
 placed Don Francisco Novello, an artillery officer, at the head of 
 affairs. But the disorders inseparable from such violent changes, 
 gave Iturbide time to augment his forces, strengthen his party, 
 and gain all the northern and western provinces. Before the 
 month of July, the whole country acknowledged his authority, 
 with the exception of the capital, in which Novello had shut him 
 self up with all the European troops. 
 
 In this state of things, General O'Donoju arrived at Vera Cruz, 
 from Spain, with the office of constitutional viceroy. Iturbide 
 hastened to the coast, held an interview with the new functionary, 
 and persuaded him to accept the plan of Iguala, as an armistice 
 and final settlement, with the proviso that it should be approved 
 by Spain. This agreement was called the treaty of Cordova, 
 from the town where it was made. It provided that commission 
 ers should be sent to Spain with the offer of the crown, and that 
 in the interim a governing junta and a regency should be ap 
 pointed; and that a cortes should be immediately convened to 
 form a constitution. The royalists were deeply chagrined at this 
 proceeding, and the garrison of Mexico refused to obey O'Donoju, 
 when he ordered them to evacuate the city. Iturbide obtained 
 possession of Mexico by capitulation, and established a junta and 
 regency, but in such a form that all the power remained in his 
 hands. A cortes was summoned, which met on the 24th of Feb 
 ruary, 1822, and soon found themselves divided into three parties , 
 the Bourbonists, or friends of the plan of Iguala; the republicans; 
 and the partisans of Iturbide, who wished to elevate him to the 
 supreme power.'. Amidst all this dissension, Iturbide had little 
 difficulty in playing off one party against another irr such a man 
 ner that no effectual opposition could be thrown in the way of 
 his ambitious schemes. An accident helped him onward. The 
 royalist garrison of Mexico, which had capitulated and were now 
 encamped at Toluca, entered into a conspiracy to effect a counter 
 revolution. Iturbide detected the conspiracy, and seized this 
 
ABDICATION OF ITURBIDE. 257 
 
 occasion to withdraw from the capital all the troops disaffected to 
 his cause. Meantime, his emissaries were at work, intriguing iu 
 the army, and on the evening of the 18th of May, they assembled 
 the soldiers, harangued them, and distributed money among them. 
 The soldiers marched out of their quarters, drew up in front of 
 Iturbide's house, where they were joined by a mob of the lowest 
 class of people. At ten o'clock in the evening this multitude 
 began their shouts of " Long live Iturbide, Augustin the First, 
 Emperor of Mexico ! " These cries, with salvos of fire-arms, con 
 tinued till morning, and the members of the cortes unfriendly to 
 Iturbide's ambitious views, were advised, from a pretended regard 
 for their safety, not to attend the meeting that day, for fear of the 
 soldiery. Forty members absented themselves in consequence, 
 and the cortes having assembled, amidst the shouts of the soldiery 
 and the mob, Iturbide was proclaimed emperor. Most of the 
 provinces submitted to this usurpation without delay or complaint. 
 
 Thus, in a short career of little more than two years, an obscure 
 individual was enabled to seat himself on a throne. But his 
 downfall was as rapid as his rise. Dissensions soon broke out 
 between him and the cortes, to which he put an end by dissolving 
 that body on the 30th of October, 1822, precisely as Cromwell 
 dismissed the Long Parliament, and Bonaparte the Chamber of 
 Deputies. Iturbide, however, possessed very little of the genius 
 of these great leaders. He was unable to reconcile the officers of 
 the army, or the men of influence in the country, to these daring 
 measures. He formed a new legislative assembly, composed of 
 persons favorable to his views, but they had not the skill to make 
 his cause popular. Several of the chief officers of the army 
 declared against- him, and prepared for resistance. Iturbide 
 began to be terrified at the storm which he saw gathering against 
 him on all sides. General Santa Ana, who had assisted in elevat 
 ing him to the throne, took up arms against him. Guadalupe 
 Victoria joined his forces to those of Santa Ana ; the provinces fell 
 off from the emperor, and at length Iturbide, utterly despairing of 
 his fortunes, convoked the old cortes, on the 8th of March, 1823, 
 and on the 19th of that month, abdicated his crown. 
 
 Thus, after a troubled and disastrous reign of ten months, his 
 Imperial Majesty of Mexico and Anahuac reluctantly threw 
 down his sceptre. He was permitted to leave the country and 
 reside in Italy, with a pension of twenty-five thousand dollars. 
 His exile, however, did not restore tranquillity to the country. 
 The struggles of opposing factions kept everything in confusion, 
 and Iturbide, before the end of a year, miscalculating his influence 
 over his countrymen, had the presumption to imagine that he 
 22* G% 
 
258 TEXAS. 
 
 could reenact the drama of Napoleon's return from Elba, and 
 regain his throne by merely showing himself in Mexico. Accord 
 ingly, embarking with his family and two or three attendants, he 
 landed in Mexico on the 12th of July, 1824. On attempting to 
 proceed into the interior in disguise, he was discovered and 
 arrested. The government had previously outlawed him, and he 
 was shot by order of the local authorities at Padilla, in Tamau- 
 lipas, on the 19th of July. 
 
 Since the death of Iturbide, hardly anything has taken place in 
 Mexico, which it is possible to make either interesting or intelli 
 gible to the reader. The country has been perpetually distracted 
 by factions, conspiracies and revolutions. General Santa Ana 
 placed himself at the head of the government in 1832, and with 
 some vicissitudes of fortune, has continued to be the leading man 
 down to the present day. The constitution of Mexico was formed 
 in 1824, on the model of that of the United States. The state of 
 Yucatan revolted a year or two since, and is now waging a war 
 for independence, against the central government. 
 
 The REPUBLIC OF TEXAS has been formed out of that portion of 
 Mexico adjoining Louisiana. This province, having been peopled 
 by emigrants from the United States, did not readily submit to the 
 arbitrary proceedings by which Santa Ana elevated himself to the 
 supreme authority. Under the Mexican federal government, 
 Texas and the adjoining province of Coahuila, formed a single 
 state. The first symptom of disaffection was shown in an 
 endeavor to procure a separation from Coahuila. An agent was 
 despatched to Mexico for this purpose, in 1833, who was arrested 
 and imprisoned on a charge of treason. This only increased the 
 discontent of the people of Texas, and a revolutionary spirit soon 
 manifested itself in popular meetings all over the country. Com 
 mittees of safety were appointed, and a general convention of the 
 states was convened in 1834. Both sides now prepared for war, 
 and great numbers of volunteers flocked to Texas from the United 
 States. Hostilities began in September, 1835, and on the 2d of 
 October an action took place at Gonzales, in which the Mexipans 
 were defeated and put to the rout. On the 9th, the fort and town 
 of Goliad were captured by the Texan forces. General Austin 
 was appointed commander-in-chief. 
 
 The Texan army, amounting to one thousand me*!, next besieged 
 the town of San Antonio de Bexar, which was defended by. an 
 equally strong Mexican force. After a close siege of a month, 
 intelligence was received that a large body of Mexican troops was 
 approaching for the relief of the garrison. This determined the 
 besiegers to storm the place immediately. On the 6th of Decem- 
 
MASSACRE OF TEXAN PRISONERS. 259 
 
 bei*j they advanced to the assault, and after a severe action, made 
 prisoners of the whole garrison. Hardly had they taken posses 
 sion of the town, when the Mexican reinforcement arrived, and 
 another action was fought, which resulted in the capture of the 
 whole detachment. These successes completed the triumph of 
 the Texan cause ; not a Mexican soldier remained upon the terri 
 tory. 
 
 But this triumph was only temporary. In the meantime, Santa 
 Ana was making vigorous preparations for crushing the insurrec 
 tion. On the 23d of February, 1836, he appeared before the town 
 of San Antonio, at the head of a body of one thousand men, the 
 advanced guard of the Mexican army. The town was immediately 
 taken, but the fort held out, although garrisoned by only one 
 hundred and fifty men. A constant bombardment was kept up 
 by the besiegers, yet, on the 1st of March, a detachment of thirty- 
 two men from Gonzales, succeeded in forcing their way through 
 the Mexican lines and throwing themselves into the fort. The 
 Mexicans were soon reinforced to the number of four thousand 
 five hundred men, and at midnight of the 6th of March made 
 a desperate assault upon the place. The garrison fought des 
 perately till daylight, when only seven of them were found alive. 
 These were all put to the sword. The Mexicans, it is said, lost a 
 thousand men in this affair. 
 
 The Texans, however, were not dispirited by this disaster. On 
 the 2d of March, a general convention, held at the town of Wash 
 ington, declared Texas a sovereign and independent state. The 
 Mexican army, immediately after the capture of San Antonio, 
 advanced upon Goliad, which was garrisoned by a body of three 
 hundred and fifty men under Colonel Fanning. That officer, in 
 obedience to orders from his commander, blew up the fort and 
 retreated, but after marching a few miles he was surrounded in a 
 prairie, by a body of two thousand Mexicans. Fanning's party 
 defended themselves with great courage, and the Mexican com 
 mander proposed a capitulation. Fanning agreed to the proposal, 
 and surrendered on a stipulation that his men should be shipped 
 to New Orleans within eight days. The Mexicans marched their 
 prisoners off to Goliad, and, on the 26th of March, shot them all 
 in cold blood, with the exception of four, who made their escape. 
 
 General alarm and dismay now pervaded the country, and a 
 great many inhabitants sought shelter in the American territory. 
 The Indians were rising in the north, and the invading army 
 continued to massacre all that opposed them. It was found neces 
 sary to order a strong force of United States troops to the Texan 
 frontier to keep the savages in check. The Texan army, which 
 
260 GUATEMALA. 
 
 was now commanded by General Houston, retreated before Santa 
 Ana, till they reached the river San Jacinto, where they made a 
 stand. The Mexicans came up, and, on the 21st of April, a most 
 sanguinary and decisive battle was fought at this place. The 
 Mexicans were double in strength to their opponents, yet the 
 attack of the Texans was made with such courage and fury, that 
 in fifteen minutes the Mexicans were completely routed ; six hun 
 dred of them were killed on the spot, and as many more taken 
 prisoners. Of the Texans, twenty-six were killed and wounded. 
 Santa Ana fled from the field, and was pursued fifteen miles by 
 the Texan mounted riflemen, when his horse foundered and he 
 took shelter in the woods. Here, after a long search, he was 
 found hidden in the top of a tree, and made prisoner. 
 
 Santa Ana was compelled to sign a treaty, by which the Mexi 
 can troops were withdrawn from Texas, and agreed not to serve 
 against that country during the war of independence. Santa 
 Ana, after some detention occasioned by the exasperated feelings 
 of the people against him, was set at liberty, and proceeded to 
 Washington. President Jackson furnished him with a passage to 
 Vera Cruz, in a ship of war of the United States. The indepen 
 dence of Texas seems to have been permanently established by the 
 victory of San Jacinto. The United States formally recognised it 
 on the 3d of March, 1837, and Great Britain on the 16th of 
 November, 1840. These examples have been imitated by most 
 of the other maritime powers of Europe. Hostilities have contin 
 ued between Texas and Mexico to the present day, but no serious 
 attempts at invasion have been made by the Mexicans. The 
 government of Texas is modelled on that of the United States. 
 
 GUATEMALA, or the REPUBLIC OF CENTRAL AMERICA, proclaimed 
 its independence on the 15th of September, 1821. When Iturbide 
 became emperor of Mexico, three of the provinces of Guatemala, 
 Honduras, Costa Rica and Chiapa, declared for a union with that 
 empire. A civil war was the immediate consequence, but some 
 little quiet being restored in 1823, the congress took measures for 
 the regulation of affairs ; and, on the 22d of November, the Consti 
 tuent Assembly promulgated a constitution, establishing the gov 
 ernment on a federal system. The republic of Central America 
 has been the most unfortunate of all the Spanish American states. 
 Its history, from the first moment, down to the holar at which this 
 page is written, has been literally nothing but the history of an 
 anarchy. The constitution has been a dead letter from the begin 
 ning ; the union of the provinces has been discord and civil war ; 
 the government has been military force ; and authority and law 
 have existed only in the will and caprice of partisan leader?. 
 
CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 261 
 
 Civilization has retrograded, and the country labors under such a 
 combination of evils continually augmenting, that it is difficult to 
 imagine any conjuncture of circumstances which can, within any 
 short period, restore order and regular government in this misera 
 ble territory. The chief personage who figures in the anarchy of 
 Guatemala, at present, is Carrera, a military leader of the lowest 
 extraction. This personage, illiterate, narrow-minded, vindictive, 
 ferocious, arbitrary, and devoured by ambition, controls all the 
 proceedings of the nominal government, by being at the head of 
 the army. He is the idol of the priests, the banditti and the 
 soldiery; and is a strange compound of the Jacobin and the 
 Inquisitor. His sway is absolute at the capital. The other 
 provinces take care of themselves as well as they can. 
 
 g upon Guatemala,' 
 
BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 CANADA. Discovery of Canada by Cartier. Second expedition. Discovery <if Me 
 St. Lawrence. RobervaVs expedition. Pont grave and Champlain. Quebec 
 founded. Discoveries of Champlain. Establishment of the company of New 
 France. Indian wars. Jesuits in Canada. Slow progress of the colony. 
 Ecclesiastical government of Canada. Hostilities. of the Iroquois. Earthquakes. 
 
 Quebec. 
 
 CANADA was discovered by Jacques Cartier, of St. Malo, in 
 France. He was entrusted, at the recommendation of Chabot, 
 admiral of France, with a commission of discovery, as the French 
 had begun to catch the general spirit of maritime enterprise. 
 Cartier sailed from St. Malo with two ships, on the 20th of April, 
 1534 Though 'these were called ships in the narrations of that day, 
 they were neither above twenty tons burthen, which shows that 
 naval architecture had made but small progress among the French. 
 On the 10th of May, they saw the shores of Newfoundland, 
 near Cape Bonavista, and steering to the south, along the coast, 
 landed at a harbor, which Cartier named St. Catherine's. Thence, 
 proceeding westward and northward, he entered the Gulf of St 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE ST. LAWRENCE. 263 
 
 Lawrence, and passed in sight of Bird's Island, which he called 
 Isles Aux Oiseaux, from the multitudes of sea-fowls that covered 
 them. After some days spent in sailing along the western coast 
 of Newfoundland, he crossed the gulf and entered a wide and 
 deep inlet, which he named Baie de Chaleur, on account of the 
 intense summer heat which the voyagers experienced while 
 exploring its shores. This bay appears to have been already 
 known to the Spaniards, and in very old charts it is termed Bay 
 des Espagnols. After exploring the greater part of the gulf, he 
 returned towards France, on the 15th of August, and arrived at 
 St. Malo in twenty-one days. 
 
 During the following year, in consequence of the favorable 
 report he gave of his voyage, he was invested with the command 
 of three ships, of superior size, and well equipped with all sorts of 
 necessaries. On board the largest of these, "La Grande Hermi- 
 one," he embarked on the 19th of May, and on the 26th of July 
 he was joined by the other vessels, which had been separated 
 from him during a storm, at an appointed place of rendezvous 
 within the Gulf of St. Lawrence, They then proceeded together 
 on their course up the great river St. Lawrence, so named, accord 
 ing to some, from Cartier having either returned to the gulf on 
 the 10th of August, the festival of St. Laurente, or his having 
 called a cape on the coast of Cape Breton, at the entrance of the 
 gulf, by the name of the Cape St. Laurente, which was afterwards 
 given to the gulf and river of Canada. There appears, however, 
 some uncertainty in the account transmitted us on this subject. 
 He named the island of Anticosti, Assumption, an appellation 
 which it did not long retain. On the 1st of August, he was driven 
 into a harbor on the north coast, which still retains the name of 
 St. Nicholas, which he gave it. He then proceeded up the river 
 St. Lawrence, until he entered the Saghunny, from which he 
 continued his course, passing the islands, which he named Isle aux 
 Coudres and Isle de Bacchus, now Orleans. He then proceeded 
 in the Hermione until his ship grounded on the shoals of Lake St. 
 Peter, from whence in two boats he explored the river to the 
 island where Montreal now stands, and which was at that time 
 inhabited by a tribe of the Huron nation, who lived in a village 
 called Hochelaga. The river was then designated the Great 
 Hochelaga, and afterwards, before it acquired that of St. Law 
 rence, the River of Canada. Cartier was received by the natives 
 with great kindness and hospitality. 
 
 He returned from the village of Hochelaga on the 5th of October, 
 and on the llth he arrived at a river which still bears his name, 
 but which he named the St. Croix. Here he wintered, and dur- 
 
264 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 ing the inclemency of that season, Carrier and his crew were 
 subjected to a violent attack of scurvy, which the natives taught 
 them to cure by means of a decoction prepared of the bark of the 
 species of fir which yields the Canada balsam of our pharmaco 
 peia. He returned next summer to France ; but, notwithstanding 
 the favorable and unexaggerated account of the countries he 
 explored, four years elapsed before any farther attempt was made 
 to prosecute his discoveries. 
 
 In January, 1540, Francois de la Roque, Seigneur de Roberval, 
 received a patent from Francis I., declaring him Seigneur de 
 Norembegue, (the name by which nearly all North America was 
 then designated,) with all the power and authority possessed by 
 the king in this quarter. Early in the summer of 1540, Roberval, 
 with a squadron of five vessels, sailed for America, Jacques Car- 
 tier having the supreme naval command. This voyage was suc 
 cessful, and a fort was erected on some part of those coasts, but 
 whether in Cape Breton or in Canada appears quite uncertain. 
 It was, however, injudiciously selected; the spot was much 
 exposed both to the cold and to the incursions of the natives, 
 Cartier was left at this station as commandant; but he was so 
 harassed by the Indians, who were offended at strangers taking 
 , unceremonious possession of a hold in their country, and having 
 despaired of the return of M. Roberval, that he embarked with all 
 his people in order to return to France. 
 
 On the banks of Newfoundland he met M. de Roberval, with 
 some vessels carrying men, arms and provisions, and, returning 
 with him, reassumed the command of the garrison. M. de Rober 
 val then sailed up the St. Lawrence, and landed at Tadousac, at 
 the mouth of the Saghunny. He made also some attempts, of 
 which we have no very authentic accounts, to explore Labrador ; 
 but for some time after this period, Newfoundland was not known 
 to be an island. We have no information, on which we can rely, 
 as to what occured for some years afterwards, when we find Cartier 
 embarking again for America, under the viceroy, Roberval, and 
 with the brother of the latter, a personage whose martial reputa 
 tion was so brilliant, that the chivalrous king, Francis I., always 
 designated him the " Gen d'arme d' Annibal." Fate decreed that 
 this voyage should'be sealed by calamity. After lea\dng France 
 the slightest information respecting this spirited expedition has. 
 never been traced ; and for more than sixty years, American colo 
 nization and the glory of discovery seem to have been forgotten 
 or disregarded by the French government. The disastrous attempt 
 of the Marquis de la Roche, in 1598, has been described elsewhere ; 
 and also, in the history of Nova Scotia, the departure of M. Font- 
 
CANADA. 265 
 
 grave, the associate of M. de Monts, from Acadia, to trade at 
 Tadousac. M. de Charwin had previously made two voyages, 
 in 1600 and 1601, to Tadousac, and returned to France with val 
 uable cargoes of furs. He died soon after. 
 
 M. Pontgrave, who was at first an intelligent merchant in a 
 house a t St. Malo, and afterwards an expert navigator, .who made 
 several voyages to Acadia and Canada, succeeded, along with 
 M. Chatte, governor of Dieppe, who had procured a charter with 
 all the privileges of that formerly granted to M. la Roche, in form 
 ing a company of merchants at Rouen, for prosecuting discoveries 
 under the king's commission, and establishing settlements on the 
 River of Canada. The celebrated navigator, Samuel Champlain, 
 being associated with them, accompanied Pontgrave, in 1603, to 
 Tadousac, from whence he sailed up the river as far as Hochelaga, 
 which he found nearly deserted, and to the Falls of St. Louis, now 
 called the Rapids of Lachine. He then returned to Acadia, and 
 afterwards, on an exploring expedition in the Gulf of St. Law 
 rence, was nearly lost on Cape Breton, at Cape Mabon, a name 
 corrupted from what he termed it, " Mai-ban." He wintered at 
 Justau Corps, now named Port Hood. 
 
 The spirit that actuated the company of which Champlain was 
 an associate, was exclusively governed by the gains attendant on 
 the peltry trade, to which all other considerations were made sub 
 servient. Champlain, however, inherited from nature a mind, the 
 scope of which extended far beyond the mere collection of peltry ; 
 and to his enterprising spirit and superior judgment, does Canada 
 owe the founding of Quebec on a spot, the choice of which, for 
 the capital of a great transatlantic empire, does him immortal 
 honor. On the 13th of July, 1608, Champlain fixed on a most 
 commanding promontory, on the north side of the River St. Law 
 rence, for the site of his settlement, the name of which is said to 
 have originated from its very peculiar and striking appearance, 
 when it first burst into view on sailing up the St. Lawrence. 
 This caused a mariner, who was stationed on the foretop of the 
 Hermione, to shout loudly to those on deck, the words " Quel- 
 bec." # Here he left a few settlers ; and on returning next year 
 with Pontgrave to Canada, he found his young colony in quiet 
 possession of their establishment, and clearing and cultivating the 
 soil with tolerable success. 
 
 At this period the Algonquins, who inhabited the adjacent coun 
 try, and the Montagues or Mountaineers, who occupied the hilly 
 
 *Noie. A more probable origin of the name of Quebec may be found in the 
 Algonquin word Quilibec, which means a bold and lofty promontory 
 
 23 H 2 
 
266 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 grounds, and the banks of the Saghunny, together with the 
 Hurons of the upper country, were in alliance, as the common 
 enemy of the powerful Iroquois nation. Champlain, by joining 
 these tribes in their wars against the Iroquois, committed a fatal 
 error, which exposed the French settlements in Canada to all the 
 calamities of savage warfare for nearly a hundred years ; and the 
 introduction of fire-arms, first among the Algonquins and after 
 wards among the other Indian nations, was turned to the most 
 terrible account, for more than a century, against the European 
 settlements. 
 
 Champlain explored the Ottawa, and many other parts of the 
 country, before he returned to France, where he succeeded in 
 forming, under the patronage of the Prince of Conde, who assumed 
 the title of viceroy of New France, a new association at Rouen. 
 He returned to Canada in 1612, taking with him four Recollet 
 friars for the purpose of converting the savages. The war with 
 the Iroquois seems principally to have occupied the next eight 
 years; and, in 1620, Champlain brought his family to Canada. 
 The Prince of Conde surrendered his viceroyalty this year to the 
 Marshal de Montmorency, who continued Champlain as his lieu 
 tenant. Two years after, the Duke de Ventadour, having entered 
 into holy orders, took charge, as viceroy, of the affairs of New 
 France, solely with the view of converting the savages ; and for 
 this purpose he sent some Jesuits to Canada, to the great mortifi 
 cation of the Recollets. 
 
 A number of Calvinists, associated with their leader, the Sieur 
 de Caen, were at this period actively engaged in the fur trade; 
 and the jealousies and bickerings maintained between them and 
 the Catholics, arising in reality from the spirit of trade, but attrib 
 uted, as usual, to religious scruples, greatly retarded the prosperity 
 of the French settlements. Cardinal Richelieu endeavored to put 
 an end to these causes of dissension by establishing the Company 
 of New France. This company, consisting of one hundred associ 
 ates, engaged to send three hundred tradesmen to New France, 
 and to supply all those whom they settled in the country with 
 lodging, food, clothing and implements, for three years, after 
 which period they would allow each man sufficient land to sup 
 port him, with the' grain necessary for seed. The qpmpany also 
 engaged to have six thousand French inhabitants settled in the 
 countries included in their charter, before the year 1643, and to 
 establish three priests in each settlement, whom they were bound 
 to provide with every article necessary for their personal comfort, 
 as well as the expenses attending their ministerial labors, for fif 
 teen years; after which, cleared lands were to be granted by the 
 
CANADA. 267 
 
 \ 
 
 company to the clergy for maintaining the Catholic church in 
 New France. The prerogatives which the king reserved to him 
 self, were, the supremacy in matters of faith ; homage, as sover 
 eign of New France, with the acknowledgement of a 'crown of 
 gold, weighing eight marks, on each succession to the throne of 
 France ; the nomination of all commanders and officers of forts ; 
 and the appointment of the officers of justice, whenever it became 
 necessary to establish courts of law. 
 
 The royal charter then granted to the company of New France 
 and their successors forever, in consideration of their engagements 
 to the crown, the fort and settlement of Quebec, all the territory 
 of New France, including Florida, with all the countries along the 
 course of the great River of Canada, and all the other rivers 
 which discharge themselves therein, or which throughout those 
 vast regions empty themselves into the sea, both on the eastern 
 and western coasts of the continent with all the harbors, islands, 
 mines and rights of fishery. The company were further empow 
 ered to confer titles of distinction, which, however, required, in 
 the creation of marquisates, earldoms, baronies and counties, the 
 confirmation of the sovereign, on the recommendation of the 
 Cardinal de Richelieu, superintendant-in-chief of the navigation 
 and commerce of New France. The exclusive right of traffic in 
 peltries and all other commerce, for fifteen years, with the excep 
 tion of the right to fish for cod and whales, was also granted to the 
 company. 
 
 This celebrated charter was signed in April, 1627, and created 
 the greatest and most flattering expectations. The administra 
 tion under a viceroy being omitted, the company continued M. 
 Champlain as governor of Canada; but untoward circumstances, 
 particularly the capture by the English, under Sir David Kirk, 
 of the first ships sent from France with stores, reduced the colony 
 to great distress. He even appeared with his squadron before 
 Quebec, and might easily, had he known the famished condition 
 of the garrison, have compelled it to surrender. The prosperity 
 of New France was not only retarded, but even the powerful 
 mind of Champlain, so fertile in expedients on occasions ol diffi 
 culty, was subjected to the most vexatious mortifications by 
 various unfortunate circumstances. The hostilities of the savages 
 were not the least of the evils that perplexed him ; and the 
 Iroquois soon perceived the advantages which the continued jeal 
 ousies and quarrels between the Catholics and Protestants enabled 
 them to obtain over men whom they considered the usurping 
 occupiers of their country. 
 
 In 1629, a period when Champlain was reduced to the utmost 
 
268 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 extremity, by the want of every article of food, clothing, imple 
 ments and ammunition, and exposed to the incessant attacks of 
 the Iroquois, Sir David Kirk, commanding an English squadron, 
 appeared again before Quebec. The deplorable situation of the 
 colony, and the very honorable terms of capitulation proposed by 
 him, induced Champlain to surrender the fortress of Quebec, with 
 all Canada, to the crown of England. Kirk's generosity to the 
 Colonists induced most of them to remain; but, in 1632, three 
 years afterwards, Canada, with Acadia, was restored, by the 
 treaty of St. Germains, to France. The following year, Cham- 
 plain, who .was most justly appointed governor, sailed with a 
 squadron, carrying all necessary supplies, to Canada, where he 
 found, on his arrival, most of his former colonists. The affairs of 
 New France now assumed a more prosperous aspect ; and means 
 were adapted for maintaining all possible harmony among the 
 inhabitants, and preventing, as far as practicable, those religious 
 disturbances which had previously convulsed the colony. The 
 company was taught, by former experience, that their indiscrimi 
 nate acceptance of all who presented themselves as adventurers 
 ready to embark for New France, constituted the leading cause 
 of disorderly conduct and unsteady habits among the colonists ; 
 and it was therefore determined that in future none but men and 
 women of unexceptionable character should be sent to New 
 France. 
 
 In 1635, the Marquis de Gamoche, who had, some years before, 
 joined the society of the Jesuits, commanded the establishment of 
 that order at Quebec ; and we must acknowledge that this insti 
 tution was, for the time, very useful in maintaining order, and 
 preserving or inculcating morality, among the colonists. The 
 death of Champlain, who was drowned this year in the lake 
 which bears his name, was a grievous misfortune to Canada. In 
 establishing and maintaining the colony, he surmounted difficul 
 ties that few men would have had courage to encounter, and 
 under which thousands of men, with minds even above the com 
 mon standard, would have succumbed. The soundness of his 
 judgment, which led him to conclude that a region possessing 
 such advantages as Canada, must, in the common course of events, 
 become a great empire, stimulated and supported him in prose 
 cuting, with undaunted perseverance, the vast undertaking in 
 which he engaged. During the greater part of his active life, the 
 sole object of his heart was to become the founder of a colony, 
 which, he felt confident, would eventually attain to a summit of 
 extraordinary power and grandeur. His anticipations have, 
 since that period, been realized beyond those of most men who 
 
CANADA. 269 
 
 have spent their lives, like him, in great undertakings. After his 
 death, however, although the governor, M. de Montmagny, entered 
 into the views of his predecessor, yet, as he lacked the experience, 
 the scientific and professional abilities, and probably the confi 
 dence of the inhabitants, which his predecessor had enjoyed, the 
 improvements of the society slackened, and the fur trade alone 
 seems to have been followed with any spirit. 
 
 The ardent spirit of enthusiasm which went forth during that 
 age, to accomplish the conversion of the aborigines of America, 
 led to the establishment of religious institutions in Canada ; and 
 although these establishments did little for the immediate improve 
 ment of the colony, yet, as points of possession, occupied by per 
 sons whose avocations were professedly holy and useful, they 
 formed the foundation on which arose the superstructure of those 
 morals and habits that still, and will long, characterize the Gallo- 
 Canadians. The conduct of the nuns was, however, highly rep 
 robated in the following century. 
 
 The company of New France, who fulfilled none of the stipu 
 lations of their charter, and who also found means to prevent the 
 complaints of the inhabitants being heard, by the ministers of the 
 crown, did nothing towards settling or cultivating the country; 
 and the forts which they erected at Richelieu and other places, 
 were merely posts of defence, or store-houses for carrying on the 
 fur trade. The habits of those employed in the service of the 
 company, were also described as generally licentious, with char 
 acters stamped with infamy. From among those men arose the 
 race of vagabonds, known since that period by the name of 
 Coureurs du Bois. Under such management, Canada languished 
 for several years, while the Iroquois, with more experience in 
 war, continued to harass the colony with unabated ferocity. The 
 settlement at Montreal, which was very much exposed to the 
 ravages of the Iroquois, suffered severely, and its extinction was 
 only prevented by the arrival of M. D'Aillebout, in 1647. from 
 France, with a reinforcement of one hundred men. 
 
 In 1658, the Marquis d'Argenson arrived in Canada with the 
 commission of governor- general ; and in the following summer 
 Laval, Abbe de Montigny, and titular Bishop of Petrie, landed at 
 Quebec, with a brief from the pope constituting him apostolic 
 vicar. Curacies were at the same time established in Canada. 
 The condition of the colony, at this period, appears to have 
 been truly wretched. Its defence and support were completely 
 neglected by the company of New France, the associates of which, 
 reduced to forty in number, at last gave up even the fur trade, for 
 the seigneurial acknowledgement of one thousand beaver skins. 
 23* 
 
270 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 The Iroquois, who had spread terrible destruction among their old 
 enemies, the Hurons and Algonquins, seemed also determined at 
 this time to exterminate the French, and several hundreds of their 
 warriors kept Quebec in a state little short of actual blockade, 
 while another band massacred a great number of the settlers at 
 Montreal. The governor, who complained of ill health, requested 
 his recall, and, in 1661, he was relieved by the Baron D'Avargour, 
 an officer of great integrity and resolution, but considered too 
 inflexible for the situation he held. His decisive measures appear, 
 however, to have saved Canada ; the defenceless state of which, 
 and the natural beauty and importance of the country, he stated 
 in such forcible language to the king, who was previously ignorant 
 of its value or condition, that he immediately ordered four hun 
 dred troops, with all necessary supplies, to Canada, accompanied 
 by a special commission. Their arrival gave life and confidence 
 to the colonists, who were then, for the first time, enabled to 
 cultivate the soil with any security. 
 
 A tremendous earthquake, which seems to have agitated the 
 whole of Canada and a vast extent of the adjacent countries in 
 1663, is described by the French writers of that time, as accom 
 panied by the most alarming phenomena, rendered more than 
 usually terrific by the continuation of the shocks for nearly six 
 montlis. About the same time, on the 5th of February, a loud 
 rumbling noise, seemingly occasioned by the detonation of the 
 atmosphere, was heard throughout the whole of these regions. 
 The terrified inhabitants, having never heard of an earthquake 
 in the country, at first conceived their houses to be on fire, and 
 immediately flew out of doors, when their astonishment was 
 increased by the violent agitation of the earth and everything on 
 its surface. The walls shook, the bells of the churches rang, and 
 the doors flew open and closed again of themselves. The forest 
 trees* were seen all in violent motion, some thrown up by the roots, 
 then with their tops bending nearly to the ground, first to one 
 side, then to the other, or laid prostrate on the surface, from which 
 again they were thrown up into the air. The ice, which covered 
 the lakes and rivers, in many places some feet thick, was broken 
 open, and frequently thrown, with rocks and mud from the bottom, 
 up into the air. Clouds of dust obscured the sky. The waters 
 were impregnated with sulphur, exhibiting yellow, or reddish 
 colors. From Tadousac to Quebec, about one hundred and thirty 
 miles, the St. Lawrence appeared white and thickly impregnated 
 with sulphureous matter. 
 
 The convulsion of elements produced the most awful and 
 incessant sounds, roaring at one time like the sea, then reverber- 
 
CANADA. 271 
 
 aling like the rolling of thunder, and again as if mountains were 
 bursting, and the rocks which composed them cracking and 
 rolling over each other. The darkness was rendered still more 
 awful by the frequent flashes of lightning, or by the lamenta 
 tions of the women, the cries of the children, and the howling 
 of dogs and other animals. Walrusses and porpoises were said 
 to have been seen as far up the St. Lawrence as Three Rivers, 
 where they never appeared before, as if equally terrified with the 
 inhabitants of the land ; the former howling in the piteous man 
 ner peculiar to them. The first shock continued without inter 
 mission, for about half an hour ; this was followed by a second, 
 equally violent. Thirty shocks were numbered during the night, 
 and the whole country continued to be violently agitated at inter 
 vals until the end of July. 
 
 The company of New France, who had all along mismanaged 
 the affairs of Canada, and who even lost the vast profits of its 
 trade by neglecting, from ill-timed avarice, to provide for the exi 
 gencies of the colony, at length surrendered their charter to the 
 king, the powers and immunities of which were transferred, in 
 1664, to the company of the West Indies. 
 
 Discovery of the great IcJtcs, 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Tranquillity of the colony. Mortality among the savages. Voyages of Johet and 
 Marquette. Discovery of the Ohio, the Mississippi and the Great Lakes 
 Voyages of La Salla, Tonti and Hennipen. English expedition against Quebec- 
 Ravages of the Iroquois. Administration of De Vandreuil. An English 
 army poisoned by the savages. General state of Canada. Indian massacres. 
 Wolfe's .expedition. Capture of Quebec. Submission of the whole province to 
 the British. 
 
 Death of Wolfe. 
 
 FROM the year 1668, we find the affairs of Canada so far pros 
 perous, that little apprehension was entertained as to the colony 
 being established on a permanent foundation, although the ferocity 
 of the savages left no grounds for expecting a cessation of hostili 
 ties for any definite period. The fur trade, however, was in a 
 great measure intercepted by a fatal calamity, previously unknown 
 to the inhabitants of the western world. The small pox, more 
 terrible to the savages than all the fire-arms of Europe, made its 
 appearance this year among the tribes north of the St. Lawrence ; 
 and its ravages carried off more than half their number. This 
 contagion and the use of ardent spirits have probably since that 
 time destroyed a greater portion of the aborigines of North Amer- 
 
CANADA. 273 
 
 ica, than war and all the diseases to which they were previously 
 subjected. 
 
 Fort Frontenac was built in 1672, where Kingston now stands, 
 for the purpose of awing the Indians, by Louis de Baude, Count 
 de Frontenac, for whom, however, the right of ground was ob 
 tained with great adroitness by his predecessor, M. de Courcelles, 
 a man of great personal worth and practical abilities, but neither 
 gifted with the splendid talents, nor blemished with the preju 
 dices or defects of M. de Frontenac. During the administration of 
 M. de Frontenac and his predecessor, M. de Courcelles, the French 
 explored the greater part of Canada, and the savages were taught 
 to regard the colonists with some degree of awe. M. Perrot, an 
 indefatigable traveller, visited all the nations in the vicinity of the 
 great lakes, who shortly afterwards sent deputies to meet the sub- 
 delegates of the Intendant of New France, at the Falls of St. 
 Mary, where they finally agreed that he should possess and 
 occupy the place in the name of his sovereign, and a cross was 
 then erected, on which were placed the arms of France. A tribe 
 of the Hurons, who were converted and guided by Father Mar- 
 quette, were soon after established at Michilimakinak ; and the 
 Iroquois, who were converted and separated from the rest of their 
 nation, were settled about the same time on the south side of the 
 St. Lawrence, at the Falls of St. Louis, near Montreal. 
 
 In 1672, M. Talon, who, during the period when he held the 
 office of Intendant General, in which he was succeeded by M. de 
 Chezneau, had extended the authority of France into the most 
 distant part of Canada, concluded, from the reports of the Indians, 
 that there existed, west of the great lakes, a vast river, which 
 some of the savages called Mississippi, and others Meshashepi; 
 and the course of which flowed towards the south. He, there 
 fore, determined not to leave America until he should ascertain 
 the truth of this important information. For this purpose he 
 employed Father Marquette, who had previously travelled over 
 the greater part of Canada, and who was besides peculiarly 
 qualified to gain the confidence and esteem of the savages. M. 
 Joliet, a merchant of Quebec, and a man of well known abilities 
 and experience, was associated with Father Marquette, in order to 
 examine more fully the commercial resources of the countries they 
 should discover. They proceeded to Lake Michigan, ascended 
 the river, which falls into an arm of the lake called Green Bay, 
 nearly up to its source; from whence they crossed the coun 
 try to the River Esconsin, or Wisconsin, which they descended 
 until it unites with the Mississippi. The magnitude and depth of 
 the Mississippi, even at this point, so many thousand miles from 
 
 i2 
 
274 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 its mouth, exceeded the most exaggerated accounts they had 
 received from the Indians. They floated down the stream, which 
 was deep, smooth and seldom rapid, in a bark canoe, until they 
 arrived at some villages of the Illinois, a few miles below the 
 confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri. The Illinois, who 
 had heard of, but never before seen the French, seemed anxious 
 to form an alliance with them, and they treated Marquette and 
 Joliet with great hospitality. Leaving the Illinois, they descended 
 the river to Arkansas, or about thirty degrees north, when the 
 exhausted state of their stock, and the belief that the river dis 
 embogued in the Gulf of Mexico, induced them to return. They 
 ascended the Mississippi to the point where it receives the Illinois, 
 up which they proceeded, and then crossed the country to Michi 
 gan, where they separated, Marquette remaining among the 
 Miami s, while Joliet proceeded to Quebec. 
 
 Although the Mississippi was thus discovered by way of Can 
 ada, yet the advantages which the discovery held out were neg 
 lected for some time, in consequence of the death of Father 
 Marquette and the return of M. Joliet to France. In 1678, the 
 Sieur de la Salle, accompanied by the Chevalier Tonti, an Italian, 
 arrived from France. He had previously spent some years in 
 Canada, where he maintained a favorable understanding with M. 
 de Frontenac. The king having granted him the seigniory of 
 Cataracony, he proceeded thither and rebuilt the fort with stone. 
 He then constructed a vessel and sailed to Niagara, accompanied 
 by Tonti and Father Hennepin, a Flemish Recollet. Here they 
 remained during the winter, attending to the fur trade ; and on 
 the following summer, they built a vessel for navigating Lake 
 Erie. They sailed up that lake, and proceeded afterwards by 
 different routes to Michilimakinak. Hennepin then proceeded to 
 the Illinois, and La Salle returned to Cataraqui. Hennepin was 
 afterwards despatched to the Mississippi, which he ascended to 
 the Falls of St. Anthony. Three years were spent by La Salle, 
 Tonti and Father Hennepin, in exploring these extensive regions 
 and endeavoring to secure the alliance of the savages and the 
 gains of the fur trade. Their sufferings on many occasions were 
 exceedingly severe, and the difficult situations in which they 
 frequently found themselves among the Indian tribes, required, 
 extraordinary address and resolution. On the 2*d of February, 
 1682, La Salle, having reached the Mississippi, determined' on 
 sailing down to the ocean. On the 4th of March, be reached 
 Arkansas, of which he took formal possession; and on the 9th 
 of April, he arrived at the Gulf of Mexico, by one of the mouths 
 by which the Mississippi passes through its delta to the sea. He 
 
CANADA. 275 
 
 returned by the same route to Canada; but, suffering severely 
 from fatigue and sickness, he first sent Tonti before him, with the 
 news of his discovery. 
 
 The vast regions explored by these bold, adventuious men, 
 watered by such immense rivers as the Mississippi and its magnif 
 icent tributaries, although for some years closely connected with 
 the affairs of New France, do not claim further notice in this 
 portion of our history. Their great importance, as a part of the 
 vast empire which now forms the American Republic, we shall 
 notice when treating of the United States. 
 
 The peace of Canada stilt continued to be disturbed by various 
 causes, which readily excited the ferocious spirit of the Iroquois, 
 and which involved the Hurons, Algonquins and Abenaquis, in 
 the wars occasioned by their suspicions, or by the jealousies of 
 the French and English colonists. 
 
 During the war which ensued between England and France, an 
 expedition, fitted out under the command of Sir W. Phipps, sailed 
 from Boston for the conquest of Quebec, and appeared in October, 
 1690, as far up the river as Tadousac, before its destination for 
 Quebec was known. The defence of the town required all the 
 vigilance of M. de Frontenac, and he lost no time in placing it in a 
 fit condition to stand a siege. The squadron, consisting of thirty- 
 four vessels of different descriptions, with seven thousand men 
 on board, advanced as far as Beaufort, when Phipps sent a flag 
 of truce to summon the town to surrender, which summons was 
 gallantly rejected by M. de Frontenac. On the 18th, the English 
 troops disembarked near the river St. Charles, but not without 
 great loss by the sharp fire from the French musketry. Four of 
 the largest ships, which anchored opposite the town, commenced a 
 bombardment ; but the fire from the batteries was directed with 
 such effect, as to compel these vessels to remove up the river, 
 beyond the range of the fortifications. A sharp skirmish took 
 place between the troops next day, in which neither side appears 
 to have obtained much advantage ; and, on the 20th, an action 
 was fought, in which the English at first had the advantage, and 
 pursued the French to the palisades of a large house, but here 
 the French made a gallant stand, and compelled the English to 
 retreat towards Beaufort, from which place they reembarked two 
 days after, when Sir W. Phipps raised the siege, and sailed with 
 his squadron down the river on the 23d. Seven or eight of his 
 vessels were lost in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 
 
 Before Phipps left Boston, it was arranged that a strong body 
 of troops should march against Montreal, in order to create a 
 division in the French forces. This was prevented by the defec- 
 
276 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 tion of the Iroquois; and M. de Frontenac was consequently 
 enabled to concentrate all his strength to defend Quebec. This 
 circumstance, the failure of ammunition, and the approaching 
 winter, rendered it expedient for Phipps to abandon the enter 
 prise. 
 
 In the following year the Iroquois renewed their depredations. 
 About one thousand warriors appeared at the mouth of the 
 Ottawa, landed on the Island of Montreal, at Point au Trembles, 
 pillaged and burned thirty houses and barns, and carried off sev 
 eral prisoners, whom they put to the most cruel tortures. Depre 
 dations and cruelties were also extended to many of the other 
 French settlements ; and various skirmishes took place between 
 the French troops and the Iroquois, in which great numbers on 
 both sides, and several French officers- of rank and distinction, 
 were sacrificed. The French, at last, treated their prisoners with 
 nearly as much cruelty as was practised by the savages ; and M. 
 de Frontenac, at length, by the unremitting vigor of his measures, 
 secured the defence of the colony so far that, in 1692, the inhabi 
 tants were enabled to cultivate their lands. The commerce in 
 furs, although frequently interrupted, was also renewed and car 
 ried on with considerable advantage. 
 
 In 1695, the fort at Frontenac was rebuilt, and additional se 
 curity extended to the outposts at Michilimakinak and St. Joseph. 
 In the following year M. de Frontenac made an expedition to the 
 country of the Iroquois, and without proceeding to such extremity 
 as his force empowered him, he burnt some of their villages, and 
 liberated a number of French prisoners. Peace was concluded 
 by England and France in 1698, and the English and French 
 governors entered mutually into arrangements for maintaining 
 harmony with the Indians. Although either the English or French, 
 could now have crushed forever the power of the Iroquois, yet 
 the anxieties manifested by each government to conciliate the 
 regard of those savages, were carried to an extent which must 
 have greatly flattered those people. This gave them an opinion 
 of themselves that nothing but the jealousies of the English and 
 French could warrant, and which the savages well knew how to 
 turn to their own advantage. 
 
 Soon after the conclusion of a treaty of friendship with the Iro 
 quois, Louis Count de Frontenac died, in the seventy-eighth year 
 of his life, twenty of which he had spent in Canada, where his 
 vigorous administration and his great personal abilities preserved 
 the colony, with little assistance from France, and always secured 
 to him the confidence of the king, the respect of his officers, even 
 :>f those who were hostile to many of his measures, and the 
 
CANADA. 277 
 
 esteem of the Indians. He was succeeded by the Chevalier de 
 Callieres, who had been for some years governor of Montreal, 
 which office was supplied in the person of the Chevalier de Vau- 
 dreuil. Some difficulties arose soon after in maintaining a good 
 understanding with the savages, which were principally occa 
 sioned by the English governor ; but the address of the French 
 missionaries gave M. de Callieres an ascendant, which he held 
 with great tact and able management, until his death, in 1703. 
 His loss was great to Canada ; and although his powers of mind 
 wanted the splendid points that cast such brilliant lustre on the 
 government of M. de Frontenac, yet, from his great excellence of 
 character, he was beloved and respected by all ; and having never 
 violated his word to the Indians, he always retained their implicit 
 confidence. 
 
 The Marquis de Vaudreuil was then appointed to the chief 
 command, on account of his great services in Canada, and 
 agreeably also to the unanimous petition of the inhabitants to 
 the king. The Indian tribes, among whom jealousies were fo 
 mented by the English, and by numerous murders among them 
 selves, occasioned much embarrassment in the affairs of Canada, 
 during the administration of M. de Vaudreuil. He, however, 
 managed to prevent the colonists from being molested, and the 
 trade and cultivation of the country continued to improve and 
 prosper. 
 
 England and France being again at war, an expedition was 
 sent, in 1709, from New York, which was joined by a great body 
 of Iroquois and Mahingans. M. de Ramsey, with one thousand 
 regular troops, together with a body of militia and savages, were 
 sent to intercept them ; but the want of confidence in this com 
 mander, or some jealous feelings entertained by the other officers, 
 rendered the expedition fruitless, and it returned to Montreal with 
 a few prisoners only. M. de Vaudreuil, however, lost no time in 
 putting Quebec in a proper state of defence, and took every pre 
 caution, by strengthening the outposts, to prevent the English 
 entering Canada. 
 
 The English were at this time fully confident of success ; but 
 the policy of an Iroquois chief not only blasted the hopes they had 
 reasonably entertained, but subjected the army to the most severe 
 distress. While the Iroquois warriors were exulting in the pros 
 pect of entirely destroying the French, this crafty leader, to whom 
 they had always listened with respect and deference, said to his 
 people, " Ah ! but I have been considering what will become of 
 us, if we destroy the French, who keep the English in check. 
 The latter will then assuredly crush us in, order to possess our 
 24 
 
278 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 country. Let us not, therefore, foolishly bring certain ruin upon 
 ourselves, merely to indulge our passions or to please the English. 
 Let us rather leave the French and English in a position which 
 will make either of them set a high value on our friendship." 
 This was their former and favorite system ; but as they considered 
 it shameful to desert the English openly, they concluded on effect 
 ing their purpose by enveloping their treachery under the most 
 profound secrecy and diabolical cruelty. "The lawless savages," 
 says Raynal, "the religious Hebrews, the wise and warlike 
 Greeks and Romans, in a word, all people, whether civilized or 
 not, have always made what is called the rights of nations to 
 consist in craft or violence." 
 
 The English army halted on the banks of a small river, where 
 they encamped and waited for the artillery and ammunition, 
 which were following at a slower rate than the. march of the 
 main body of the troops. The Iroquois, who, in the meantime, 
 spent their leisure hours in hunting, flayed all the animals they 
 killed, and sunk their skins in the river, a little above the English 
 camp. The English, who had no suspicion of the fatal treachery, 
 continued to drink of the poisoned water, and such numbers were 
 carried off in consequence, that it soon became necessary to sus 
 pend all military operations. They were, therefore, compelled to 
 return to New York, where they learned that the destination of 
 the fleet, which was to proceed with troops to besiege Quebec, 
 was changed, and that they were ordered to Lisbon, to protect 
 Portugal from the Spaniards. 
 
 Soon after the peace of Utrecht, the English built a fort on the 
 banks of Lake Ontario, which secured them a great share of the 
 fur trade. The French, also, rebuilt the fort at Niagara, and 
 strengthened their garrison at Detroit, which commanded the 
 great line of intercourse in their dealings with the Indians of the 
 west, as well as the track of communication with Louisiana, the 
 Illinois and the Mississippi, which was frequently interrupted by 
 the warlike Antigamis, and their allies the Sioux and Chickasaws. 
 M. de Vaudreuil, at length, brought these savages to pacific 1 over 
 tures; and as a means of increasing the population of the French 
 settlements and strengthening the garrison, he proposed that one 
 hundred and' -fifty of the convicts which were condemned in 
 France to the galleys, should be annually senfXo Canada. At 
 this period, (1714,) there were no more than four thousand five 
 hundred men, from fourteen to sixty years of age, able to bear 
 arms, in all Canada, while the English colonies could raise about 
 sixty thousand. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 General state oj Canada. Indian massacres. Wolfe 1 s expedition. Capture of 
 Quebec by the British. Submission of the whole province to the British. 
 Government adopted for Canada. The British constitution introduced into 
 Canada. Mai-administration. Disaffection of the Canadians. Demand for 
 reforms. Insurrection of 1837. The American " sympathizers." Affair of 
 the steamboat Caroline. Lord Durham appointed governor. Battle of Qdell- 
 town. Declaration of independence. Battle of Prescott. Incursion of thd 
 sympathizers at Sandwich. The insurrection suppressed. Affair o 
 
 Farm in Canada. 
 
 CANADA enjoyed a long period of tranquillity under the adminis 
 trations of DeVaudreuil, and Beauharnois, Galissoniere, Jonquiere, 
 Longueil and Du Quesne, his successors. In 1755, the Sieur de 
 Yaudreuil Cavagnal assumed the government. The origin of the 
 war, which broke out at this period between England and France, 
 will be related in the history of the United States. Canada was 
 soon menaced with hostilities. The defeat of Braddock took place 
 in 1755, and the following year the Marquis de Montcalm, who had 
 arrived in Canada from France, with a strong force, destroyed the 
 English fort of Oswego, the outworks of Fort George, and a 
 flotilla, designed to attack Crown Point. Fort George was cap 
 tured by the French and Indians the year after, and two thou 
 sand people were massacred by the savages, under the command 
 of Montcalm. This outrage, instead of striking a terror into the 
 British and Americans, aroused them to resistance, and led the 
 way to a series of vigorous military operations, which, in a short 
 space of time, resulted in the total overthrow of the French 
 
280 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 power ill North America. A grand scheme was projected for the 
 conquest of Canada, by attacking Quebec, Fort Niagara, Ticon- 
 deroga and Crown Point. The army despatched against Quebec 
 was placed under the command of General Wolfe; the fleet 
 designed for the same service was commanded by Admiral 
 Saunders. General Amherst marched against Ticonderoga and 
 Crown Point, and Sir William Johnson, who succeeded General 
 Prideaux, against Niagara. 
 
 In the month of June, 1759, the English fleet reached the 
 island of Orleans, where Wolfe landed with an army of eight 
 thousand. The French disposable forces, exclusive of the garri 
 son of Quebec, consisted of about ten thousand men, with a 
 reserve of two' thousand. Wolfe first attempted the entrench 
 ments of Montmorenci, landing his troops 'under cover of the fire 
 from the ships of war ; but he was gallantly repulsed by the 
 French. After some delay, it was determined to effect a landing 
 so as to carry the Heights of Abraham, above Quebec. This 
 daring resolution was effected on the 12th of September, with 
 surprising secrecy and intrepidity. The ships of war sailed nine 
 miles up the river, above Quebec, to Cape Rouge. This feint 
 deceived M. Bourgainville, who, with his division of the French 
 army, proceeded still farther up along the banks of the river, to 
 prevent the British debarking. During the night the English 
 ships dropped down silently with the current to Wolfe's Cove, and 
 at four o'clock in the morning the troops began to land. At 
 eight, the British army ascended the precipitous heights, with 
 two field -pieces in front ; the forty-eighth regiment and the light 
 infantry forming a reserve, and the royal Americans covering the 
 landing. 
 
 The Marquis de Montcalm, who was then at Beauport, marched 
 across the St. Charles on the 13th, and imprudently formed in 
 front of the British army, with only one field-piece, and before he 
 could concentrate all his disposable forces. He then advanced 
 most gallantly ; but the scattered, quick firing of the troops, which 
 commenced when within about two hundred and fifty yards of 
 the English line, was far from being so effective as that of the 
 British. The latter moved forward regularly, firing steadily, 
 until within twenty or thirty yards of the enemy, when they gave 
 a general volley, and the French were soon after routed. Bour 
 gainville had just then appeared in sight, but the fate of Canada 
 was decreed, the critical moment was gone, and he retired to 
 Point au Trembles, where he encamped, and from thence he 
 retreated to Three Rivers and Montreal. There was also a body 
 of French troops near Beauport, which were not engaged. Had 
 
CANADA. 
 
 281 
 
 all the forces been concentrated under Montcalm, it is doubtful if 
 the heroism of the British troops could have secured the victory. 
 The most extraordinary bravery was displayed both by the Eng 
 lish and the French. Both armies lost their commanders. 
 Wolfe expired with victory accompanying the close of his splen 
 did career. At the age of thirty-five, when but few men begin 
 even to appear on the theatre of great deeds, inheriting no family 
 pretensions, and unassisted by faction or intrigue, he held a com 
 mand of the highest responsibility, and with a truly unblemished 
 character, fulfilled the most sanguine expectations of his country. 
 
 The Marquis de Montcalm, an officer of equal bravery, died of 
 his wounds a few days after. Quebec capitulated on the 18th, to 
 General Murray, who succeeded to the command. He, however, 
 committed a most egregious error sometime afterwards, by leaving 
 Quebec to attack M. Levi, who was encamped with the French 
 army at Sillery, and who completely defeated General Murray, 
 and compelled him to retire within the walls of Quebec, with the 
 loss of his artillery and nearly one third of his army. 
 
 The fort at Niagara was in the meantime reduced by Sir Wil 
 liam Johnston, and the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point by 
 General Amherst. They were consequently enabled to concen 
 trate their forces and form a junction with General Murray. 
 Previously to this, on learning that the English fleet was in the 
 St. Lawrence, and that the armament sent from France to relieve 
 Quebec was captured in the Bay de Chaleur, by a squadron from 
 Louisburg under Captain Byron, the French forces retreated 
 to Montreal, where the governor-general, M. de Vaudreuil, deter 
 mined to make a desperate stand. Being, however, invested by 
 the united forces of the three British generals, he found further 
 resistance useless, and capitulated on the 8th of September, 1760. 
 when Montreal and all the French fortresses in Canada were 
 surrendered to Great Britain. The peace of 1762 secured the 
 permanent possession of Canada to that nation. 
 
 An attempt was made at first to give an English form of gov 
 ernment to Canada, but this policy was changed at the period of 
 the American revolution, and care was then taken to separate 
 Canada as much as possible from the other British colonies, by a 
 close observance of French usages. In 1791, however, through 
 the exertions of Mr. Pitt, a constitution was established, similar in 
 general spirit to that of Great Britain, with legislative bodies con 
 sisting partly of hereditary and partly of representative members. 
 There appears to have been considerable mal-admimstration from 
 the beginning, and the Canadians were uttering constant com 
 plaints. Nothing particularly worthy of attention occurred for a 
 24* .2 
 
282 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 long period, except the events connected with the war of the rev 
 olution and that of 1812, which are reserved for the history of the 
 United States. 
 
 Great uneasiness began to manifest itself among the Canadians 
 in 1834. Complaints against the authority of the council which 
 was appointed by the crown, and the oppressive action of the law 
 of tenures, showed the deep dissatisfaction of the people with the 
 government. These grievances increased from year to year ; the 
 legislature became involved in altercations with the governor ; the 
 English cry of " Reform" was raised in Canada, and, in 1837, the 
 Canadian House of Assembly boldly protested against the arbi 
 trary conduct of the British government, and declared that they 
 should suspend - their deliberations till the proposed reforms were 
 effected. The French population, particularly, were enthusiastic 
 in their opposition to the British government, and one of their 
 class, Papineau, .distinguished himself above all others of the 
 reform party in the legislature. Towards the end of 1837, the 
 disaffection had risen to an alarming height. The troops were 
 put in preparation for a popular outbreak, and reinforcements 
 ordered from Halifax. A great popular meeting of the French 
 patriots was held at St. Charles, in the county of Richelieu, and 
 many attended with arms. They set up a pole, surmounted by a 
 cap of liberty; Papineau and other popular orators addressed 
 them ; patriotic hymns were sung, and the whole assembly took 
 an oath to devote themselves to their country. This was the 
 signal for open insurrection. Acts of violence soon followed, and 
 many arrests were made. A troop of cavalry, escorting a number 
 of prisoners, was attacked and put to the rout by the insurgents. 
 The disturbances extended from the city of Montreal to the 
 Niagara frontier. The revolutionary forces were much augmented 
 by bands of adventurers, or "sympathizers/' from the United 
 States. This caused much ill blood between the two nations, and 
 led to an affair which threatened to involve the United States and 
 Great Britain in war. A body of the revolutionists had encamped 
 on Navy Island, in the River Niagara, just above the falls. 'A 
 steamboat called the Caroline, belonging to an American, had 
 been employed in making trips between the American shore and 
 this island. On 'the night of the 29th of December, 1837, while 
 the Caroline was lying at Schlosser, within the limits of the state 
 of New York, she was boarded by an armed party of British, set 
 on fire, and sent over the cataract. One of her crew was killed. 
 This occurrence became the subject of a long correspondence 
 between the American and British governments, which we shal) 
 advert to more particularly in its place. 
 
CANADA. 
 
 283 
 
 The British had a strong military force in Canada y and the 
 attempts at insurrection, in 1837, were quickly suppressed. Papi- 
 neau and other leaders fled the country ; others were ai rested. In 
 1838, Loid Durham was appointed governor-general of Canada, 
 but before he could reach his government, the insurrectionary 
 movements had recommenced. On the 30th of May, a body of 
 persons, principally from the American border, captured and burnt 
 the British steamboat Sir Robert Peel, in the St. Lawrence. Acts 
 of hostility against the government now began to multiply, not 
 withstanding the most strenuous exertions made by the troops to 
 suppress them. An insurrection at Montreal was projected, but 
 the plot was discovered in season ; the leaders were arrested, and 
 guards placed all over the city. The country, however, was now 
 rising. On the 6th of November, four thousand of the insurgents 
 collected at Napierville, but withdrew on the approach of a strong 
 British force. A body of sympathizers, on their march to join 
 them, were attacked and defeated by the British, with the loss of 
 several killed, three hundred stand of arms, and a field-piece 
 taken. On the 9th, a battle was fought at Odelltown, where a 
 body of nine hundred insurgents attacked the royalists, who were 
 posted in a church ; the former were repulsed, with the loss of one 
 hundred killed and wounded. 
 
 Early in November, a meeting of fourteen thousand persons, 
 principally of the French population, was held near Montreal. 
 A declaration of independence was issued, and various reforms 
 proclaimed ; among others, the abolition of feudal tenures and the 
 confiscation of the crown lands. On the 12th, a force of five hun 
 dred sympathizers crossed the St. Lawrence from the American 
 shores, and landed at Prescott, in Upper Canada. The British 
 had three armed steamboats and a strong force of regulars, 
 marines and militia, at that place. The invaders took possession 
 of a stone building and a windmill. The British attacked them, 
 but were repulsed with great slaughter, and drew off to a place of 
 safety. Four days afterwards, the British received a strong rein 
 forcement of troops, with heavy artillery. The attack was now 
 repeated, and after repeated assaults, which continued till near 
 night, the sympathizers were defeated, and two hundred and 
 forty of them taken prisoners. In the meantime, the sympath izers 
 extended their incursions as far as the Detroit frontier. On the 
 4th of December, a body of four hundred landed at Sandwich and 
 burnt a steamboat and the military barracks. The president of 
 the United States issued his proclamation, calling upon the mili 
 tary and civil authorities and all good citizens to use their utmost 
 endeavors to suppress these lawless irruptions j but from the great 
 
284 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 extent of the Canadian frontier, and the small force maintained al 
 the military posts, such proceedings could not be wholly prevented. 
 
 All the attempts of the insurgents, however, proved unavailing: 
 the rebellion was crushed by the vigilance and activity of the 
 Canadian government, and the prisoners were put upon their trial. 
 Many were executed, but the greater part were transported to 
 Van Diemen's Land, where they remain to the present day. Lord 
 Durham resigned his office, and soon after, the British parliament 
 united the two provinces of Canada into one. The new govern 
 ment went into operation in February, 1841. 
 
 During this year the amicable relations between the United 
 States and Great Britain were seriously threatened, by an occur 
 rence which grew out of the affair of the steamboat Caroline. In 
 January, 1841, a British resident in Canada, named M'Leod, 
 while on a visit to the state of New York, was arrested and im 
 prisoned at Lockport, on a charge of having been concerned in 
 that affair. The British cabinet now, for the first time, avowed 
 the act of the destruction of the Caroline, and their minister at 
 Washington called upon the American government for the imme 
 diate liberation of M'Leod, on the ground that he was not respon 
 sible for his conduct when acting under orders from his superior. 
 The American secretary of state replied that M'Leod' s offence was 
 one committed against the laws of the state of New York, and 
 that the federal authority could not interfere. Much more cor 
 respondence ensued, and the subject caused great excitement both 
 in the United States and England. M'Leod was indicted for 
 murder at Utica in New York, and the announcement of this 
 proceeding caused great indignation and threats of war in Eng 
 land. The borders of Canada were again menaced with distur 
 bances, and during the progress of the trial, a party of royal 
 dragoons crossed the Vermont line, made prisoner of an American 
 citizen, and carried him off into Canada. The governor, however, 
 instantly disavowed this act, and set the prisoner at liberty. The 
 trial of M'Leod took place at Utica, and after the examination of 
 a great number of witnesses, it was fully proved that he had no 
 share in the destruction of the Caroline. On this ground, he was 
 acquitted, and allowed to return to Canada unmolested. Since 
 this period nothing' has happened to disturb the tranquillity of the 
 province. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 NOVA ScoriA discovered by Cabot. Expedition of De Monts. Settlement on the 
 St. Johns. Port Royal. Labors of Potnncourt. Settlement of the French at 
 Mount Desert. The English attack the Acadian settlements, and expel the 
 French. Attempt of Sir William Alexander to colonize tie country with 
 English. The Baronets of Nova Scotia. The country restored to France. 
 La Tour's colony. Heroism and tragical fate of Madame La Tour. Nova 
 Scotia subjected by the arms of Cromwell. Expedition of Phipps against Port 
 Royal. The country again ceded to the French. Expedition of Colonel Church 
 against Nova Scotia. Final acquisition of the country by Great Britain. 
 
 Discovery of Nova Scotia. 
 
 THE discovery of Nova Scotia by Cabot, in 1497, and the pos 
 session taken of Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and 
 afterwards of the continent by his brother, Sir John, form the 
 foundation of right by which England claimed Nova Scotia and 
 the adjacent countries. The spirit of colonizing it, however, 
 seems to have languished on the part of the English. It was 
 otherwise with France. De Monts, a French Protestant, and a 
 gentleman of enterprising, resolute spirit, obtained a commission, 
 in 1.603, from Henry IV., of France, constituting him governor of 
 all the countries of America, from forty to forty-six degrees north, 
 under the name of New France, which included Nova Scotia, then 
 and long after called Acadia. Several French adventurers having 
 previously visited Acadia and Canada, the vast profits they real- 
 
286 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 ized by bartering European commodities for furs, created at that 
 time an extraordinary spirit of enterprise among the French 
 merchants ; and, as De Monts had, by his charter, secured a 
 monopoly of the fur trade, a great number of the wealthy men 
 readily associated themselves with him. They soon equipped 
 and fitted out four ships, loaded with all necessary stores and 
 suitable goods; and in March, 1604, they sailed from Havre. 
 De Monts having the chief command, accompanied by Samuel 
 Champlain, the celebrated navigator of the St. Lawrence, as 
 pilot, and Potrincourt and Champdore, with numerous volunteer 
 adventurers. De Monts arrived, on the 15th of May, at the har 
 bor in Nova Scotia, which now bears the name of Liverpool, 
 where he found -a French adventurer, named Rossignol, trading 
 without commission for furs with the Indians. He confiscated 
 this man's property, naming the harbor Port Rossignol, as if to 
 console him, for the loss of his wealth, by this mark of honor. 
 From this place De Monrs coasted westward to Port Morton, 
 where he landed and formed an encampment. 
 
 De Monts soon after despatched a ship to Tadousac, a spacious 
 harbor on the north side of the St. Lawrence, at the mouth of the 
 river Saghunny. The other two vessels were ordered to cruise 
 , along the shores of Cape Breton and the island of St. John, and 
 oif the coast of Acadia, within the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in 
 order to prevent unauthorized adventurers from trading with the 
 natives. De Monts, in the ship immediately under his command, 
 then proceeded westerly and sailed into St. Mary's Bay, where 
 he discovered iron ore. He traversed the coasts of the Bay of 
 Fundy, which he called La Baie Franchise ; and, by the narrow 
 strait now called Digby Gut, on the east side, entered a beautiful 
 and extensive basin, with which, and the surrounding prairies and 
 -luxuriant woods, Potrincourt was so much charmed as to select 
 it for his place of settlement. He, accordingly, received a grant 
 of it from De Monts, named it Port Royal, and soon after returned 
 to France, for the purpose of carrying out his family and the 
 means of establishing himself in Acadia. 
 
 De Monts, meantime, discovered, on the festival of St. John, a 
 large river, which he named after that saint. He afterward sailed 
 southward till he 'came to the river now called St. Croix. On a 
 small island at the entrance of this river, they commenced form 
 ing a settlement, by clearing some acres of land, building a maga 
 zine, a place of worship, several houses, and erecting a fort and 
 battery. This place had, however, scarcely any advantage to 
 recommend it, except its being easily defended. It was most im- 
 providently chosen, as it afforded neither fresh water nor proper 
 
NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 287 
 
 fuel for winter, nor was it the haunt of game. Out of the 
 whole number of seventy-six, which formed De Monts' colony, 
 thirty-seven were carried of* by scurvy, produced by living on 
 salt meat and having no water but what was procured by melting 
 snow. 
 
 When the winter broke up, De Monts, after examining the coast 
 as far as Cape Cod, in search of a more fit place for settlement, 
 resolved on abandoning St. Croix, and removing altogether, along 
 with Pontgrave, who had then arrived with supplies from Europe, 
 to Port Royal. In this place they soon established themselves, 
 and, with the usual success of the French in negotiating with the 
 savages, secured the friendship of the Indians. De Monts sailed 
 for France in autumn, leaving Pontgrave, Champdore and Cham- 
 plain, in command of the colony. 
 
 In May following, De Monts and Potrincourt sailed from France, 
 and after a tedious passage, reached Canseau, from whence he de 
 spatched a party of Indians to communicate his arrival to the 
 settlers at Port Royal. Pontgrave had previously attempted to 
 explore the coast south of Cape Cod, agreeably to the instructions 
 of De Monts, but was driven back and shipwrecked near the 
 entrance of Port Royal. In consequence of this disaster, he built 
 two small vessels, and putting all he could on board of them, 
 and leaving two volunteers in charge of the remaining stores, he 
 then proceeded to Canseau, before the arrival of the messengers 
 from De Monts, but returned on meeting with a boat's crew 
 which De Monts had left at that place. 
 
 It was considered that, notwithstanding the energy of De Monts, 
 the settlements of Port Royal would have been unsuccessful, were 
 it not for measures pointed out by Lescarbot, a gentleman bred to 
 the law, but who, from personal attachment, accompanied Potrin 
 court. He showed the urgent necessity of importing and breed 
 ing domestic cattle, and of cultivating the soil, in order to become 
 independent of the Indians for food, or of receiving supplies of 
 provisions from Europe. The settlers would then, he contended, 
 be more secure in trading with the natives, by living more com 
 pactly, and not subjected to chance for the means *f procuring food. 
 
 De Monts left Acadia for France, in August, A o06. Still anxious 
 to establish a colony further south, he despatched Potrincourt, in 
 another vessel, to explore the country to the southward of Cape 
 Cod; but this, like his former voyage, was quite unsuccessful, 
 and he returned to Port Royal in November, where he was 
 received with great joy, friendship and respect, by Pontgrave, 
 Lescarbot and Champlain. The winter being remarkably mild 
 and the spring early, these respectable adventurers appear, from 
 
283 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 Lescarbot's account, to have passed their time most agreeably and 
 socially. At their principal mess-table, Pontgrave, Champlain, 
 Lescarbot, and twelve others, dined^ taking upon them the offices 
 of president and caterer, in daily rotation. They diverted them- 
 selves in making short hunting excursions, and in employing their 
 people in building two small shallops, and in erecting a mill. 
 After waiting, however, a long time for the arrival of De Monts 
 with supplies from France, a vessel at last appeared from Can- 
 seau, bringing only a few provisions and stores, and the mortify 
 ing information that the charter of De Monts was revoked, in 
 consequence of the remonstrances made against it by the French 
 merchants, and that he was therefore under the necessity of re 
 linquishing all connexion with Acadia. 
 
 The highminded Potrincourt, distressed, but not disheartened, 
 at this intelligence, received at a time when the colony was so far 
 established, that nothing but a substantial right to the soil and 
 some further assistance in the way of supplies, were necessary 
 to ensure its prosperity and permanency, resolved to return to 
 France, for the purpose, if possible, of obtaining both. He did 
 not leave Acadia, however, until he was enabled to carry with 
 him samples of wheat and other agricultural produce, some native 
 animals and several specimens of minerals, which, on his arrival 
 in France, he presented to the king. He succeeded in obtaining a 
 grant of Port Royal, encumbered, however, with a stipulation to 
 provide for two Jesuits, who were to accompany him for the con 
 version of the savages. This condition was exceedingly disa 
 greeable to such a spirit as that of Potrincourt; and soon after his 
 arrival at Port Royal, he did not scruple to let them know his 
 determination to exclude them from all interference with his 
 affairs. He justly told them "that their duty was limited to 
 teaching men the way to heaven, and that it remained for him 
 to govern and direct those under him on earth." Potrincourt, 
 who, unwisely, though honestly, despised them, made their 
 situation far from agreeable; and their repeated complaints 
 against him and his son, Biencourt, were apparently terminated 
 by the arrival of a vessel, despatched in 1613, by their patroness, 
 a pious lady, of the name of De Gaucherville. This ship, having 
 on board two priests and some emigrants, carried away the two 
 Jesuits from Port Royal ; and, sailing out of the Bay of Fundy, 
 they fixed on the island of Mount Desert, lying a few miles north 
 of Penobscot Bay, as a proper situation for a settlement. Here 
 they commenced by erecting a cross, setting up the arms of their 
 lady patroness, and naming the place St. Saviour's. 
 
 While proceeding rapidly with their buildings and improve- 
 
NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 ments. they were surprised by an English ship-of-war from Vir 
 ginia, commanded by Captain Argall, who pillaged the place and 
 compelled them to surrender as prisoners of war, for having en 
 croached upon and settled within the English limits. One of the 
 Jesuits was shot through the head, while urging the sett! ?rs to 
 defend themselves; two ships that lay at anchor were seized, in 
 one of which most of the prisoners were sent to France; the others 
 were carried to Virginia. This affair led to the fitting out of an 
 armament from Virginia, commanded by Argall, for the purpose 
 of dislodging the French settled in Acadia. Argall, piloted by 
 the Jesuit, Beart, who thirsted for revenge against his persecutor, 
 Potrincourt, proceeded to Port Royal, now commanded by Bien- 
 court, the son of Potrincourt, and destroyed the fort, but spared 
 the mills and cornfields. Biencourt attempted to treat with him, 
 offering Argall an equal share in the trade, if he could obtain the 
 protection of England, and the person of the hated Jesuit ; but the 
 conference ended by some of the French associating themselves 
 with the savages, others leaving the place for Quebec, to join 
 Champlain, and by those who surrendered being sent to England. 
 
 This outrageous proceeding of Argall, during a time of pro 
 found peace between England and France, cannot be defended on 
 the slightest ground of justice ; and it may be safely assigned 
 principally to the thirst for plunder, and partly to religious bigotry. 
 By this unwarrantable waste, robbery and violation of private 
 property, to which force alone gave authority, the first settlement 
 made in Acadia was destroyed in 1613 or 1615, after prospering 
 for eight or ten years, and without experiencing a share of that 
 ferocious opposition from the savages, which proved so dreadfully 
 fatal to the early attempts of the English at colonization. 
 
 Although the French settlements in Acadia were destroyed, the 
 country was neglected by England until 1621, when Sir William 
 Alexander obtained a grant of the whole territory called Acadia, 
 from James I., and the name of the country was changed to that 
 of Nova Scotia. Sir William was an accomplished gentleman, of 
 high literary attainments, the author of several tragedies, and 
 well known at the court of James I., who afterwards appointed 
 nim a secretary of state, and created him a baron, with the title 
 of Viscount Stirling. During the summer which followed the 
 date of his patent, Sir William Alexander despatched a vessel, 
 with a small colony, for Nova Scotia, which, owing to delay and 
 a long passage, was forced to winter at Newfoundland. This 
 ship proceeded on her voyage in the spring, visited a few harbors 
 in Nova Scotia, and then returned to England, without any 
 attempt being made to establish a settlement. A most Utopian 
 
* 
 290 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 account of the country and climate was published from the de- 
 criptions of those who performed this voyage. 
 
 From the time Port Royal was destroyed, to 1623, great num 
 bers of French and several Dutch adventurers resorted to the 
 province, and occupied different parts of the country, where they 
 carried on a profitable fur trade, as well as a fishing at Canseau 
 and in some other harbors. The war with France, however, 
 which commenced in the early part of the reign of Charles L, 
 completely crushed the French plantations in Acadia; and thai: 
 monarch not only confirmed the grant to Sir William Alexander, 
 but completed what James had intended, namely, the establish 
 ment of the order of baronets of Nova Scotia. The institution of 
 this order was -ratified by parliament, and the number limited to 
 one hundred and fifty. Certain stipulations contained in the 
 grants of land attached to these titles, were at first required to be 
 fulfilled before they were confirmed by the king. At present the 
 title of baronet of Nova Scotia is conferred without regard to 
 number, according to the sovereign's pleasure, and with all the 
 privileges and rank of baronets of Scotland. 
 
 In 1627, Sir William Alexander, assisted by a French Calvin- 
 ist, by the name of Kirckt, who fled to England from Dieppe, in 
 France, on the score of religious persecution, fitted out a few ves 
 sels, well armed, for Nova Scotia. This squadron, commanded 
 by Kircht, who was also made a baronet, under the title of Sir 
 David Kirk, proceeded on the voyage, and fell in with a fleet of 
 French transports, laden with stores and one hundred and thirty- 
 five pieces of ordnance, intended for Quebec and Port Royal. 
 These vessels they captured, and in the following year reduced 
 Port Royal. No settlement, however, was made at this period ; 
 and two years after, Sir William Alexander, discouraged at the 
 failure of his attempts to colonize Nova Scotia, transferred the 
 whole, except Port Royal, to Claude de la Tour, a French Protes 
 tant, who was on board the transports captured by Sir David 
 Kirk. La Tour possessed wealth, spirit and an enterprising mind ; 
 and while residing, after his capture, in England, he married a 
 lady of the queen's household, and was knighted. He proceeded 
 to Nova Scotia, where he had a son, Etienne de la Tour, still al 
 Cape Sable, an& commanding a fort on the part of France. Nc 
 entreaty which his father could use, would induce'him to submit 
 to the power of England, and in consequence Sir Claude was 
 unsuccessful in forming a settlement. 
 
 The treaty of St. Germain, in 1632, gave Nova Scotia, with Cape 
 Breton and Canada, again to France ; and a long train of unfor 
 tunate and vexatious circumstances attended the American colo- 
 
NOVA. SCOTIA. 291 
 
 nies in consequence. Canada, Acadia, Cape Breton and St. John's 
 Island, were then placed under the government of a company of 
 merchants. These were embodied by royal charter, and styled, 
 " The Company of New France," under whose vassalage Acadia 
 was now governed by M. Razillais. The lands of the colony 
 were divided principally between the governor, whose share fell 
 to his successors, Daubre Charnise Mon. Denys and Etienne de la 
 Tour. The jealousies of Charnise and La Tour, arising prin 
 cipally from rivalship in the fur trade, partook for many years of 
 a similar spirit to that which directed the predatory warfare of 
 feudal chieftains; and Mon. Denys, who occupied the country 
 from Cape Canseau to Gaspe, and who built a fort and resided at 
 Chedebucto, where he carried on a profitable fur trade, was 
 finally ruined by the intrigues of his countrymen, and driven 
 from this country. 
 
 La Tour's principal establishment was on the river St. John. 
 His wife appears, from the records of that period, to have been a 
 most extraordinary woman, possessing fortitude and courage sel 
 dom surpassed even by the heroines of romance. Madame de la 
 Tour, having had occasion to visit England, on the affairs of her 
 husband, engaged, on her return, with the master of a vessel, to 
 land her at the river St. John. This person, instead of doing so, 
 proceeded to Cape Breton and the countries within the Gulf of 
 St. Lawrence, where he continued during the summer, trading 
 with the savages, and afterwards sailed for Boston. Madame de 
 la Tour was detained during this period on board the ship of this 
 European savage, suffering all the miseries of a protracted voyage 
 and the most painful uneasiness of mind. On landing at Boston, 
 she commenced an action against the villanous captain, and 
 recovered about two thousand pounds damages. She then pro 
 ceeded to the fort at the river St. John, where, during the absence 
 of her husband, she was besieged by Charnise, whom she beat 
 off with extraordinary heroism, by disabling his ship, and killing 
 and wounding several of his men. Some time after, the brutal 
 Charnise, taking again the advantage of La Tour's absence, 
 attacked his fort, and Madame de la Tour, with astonishing 
 bravery, undertook its defence ; but, at length, in order to save 
 the lives of her few remaining men, she accepted the terms of 
 capitulation proposed by Charnis6. 
 
 On entering the fort, this brutal tyrant, enraged at having been 
 once so gallantly repulsed, and a second time so gallantly resisted 
 by a female, hanged all the prisoners except one, whom he com 
 pelled to execute the rest. He then led Madame de la Tour, with 
 a halter round her neck, to a tree, where she was exposed for 
 
292 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 some time, and then hanged ; although some accounts state that 
 she died from the effects of the indignant treatment she had re 
 ceived, and grief for the fate of her brave and faithful people. 
 Charnise then destroyed the fort, and carried the ordnance and 
 all La Tour's effects to Penobscot, to which place he had removed 
 from La Have. 
 
 La Tour's own character, however, was none of the fairest, and 
 the records of Massachusetts Bay charge him with disgraceful 
 conduct. He afterwards went to Canada and Hudson's Bay, 
 where he was concerned in the fur trade, but returned on the 
 death of Charnise, whose widow he married ; and by the death of 
 a pious lady of St. Omer's, a sister of Charnise. he became pos 
 sessed of all his property in Nova Scotia. La Tour remained in 
 peaceable possession till 1654, when an armament, despatched by 
 Oliver Cromwell, conquered the province. Disgusted with his 
 own countrymen, who were about to dislodge him by intrigue 
 and force, when Acadia submitted to the arms of England, La 
 Tour transferred his allegiance, and two years after, he obtained 
 a grant of his lands from Cromwell. He afterwards sold his 
 lands and property in Nova Scotia, to Sir Thomas Temple, who, 
 after spending large sums in forming establishments and securing 
 a profitable share in the fur trade, was most unjustly deprived of 
 the whole by the treaty of Breda, which ceded the province again 
 to France. 
 
 An armament, sent in 1690, from Massachusetts, under the 
 command of Sir William Phipps, retook Port Royal, levelled its 
 fortifications, and burnt the establishments at Chedebucto. The 
 object of this expedition appears to have been more to annoy the 
 French than to possess the country. It was, however, considered 
 as a conquered province, and added, by a new charter, to the gov 
 ernment of Massachusetts. Some aggressions on the part of 
 France, who still occupied the usual places of resort for the fur 
 trade, and the demolition by Yillibon, the French governor, and 
 the Baron Castine, reinforced by two ships of war, of the English 
 fort of Pemaquid, were resented by an expedition from Boston, 
 under the command of Colonel Church. He sailed up the Bay 
 of Furidy, drove most of the Acadians to the woods, and on the 
 refusal of thoserwho surrendered to join the English in pursuit of 
 the Indians, he burnt their church and all their houses, destroyed 
 their cattle, and demolished the dikes which guarded their rich 
 marshes from the sea. 
 
 In 1696, the treaty of Ryswick gave Nova Scotia again to 
 France, and that government soon after entered with spirit and 
 resolution into measures for colonizing the province, and securing 
 
NOVA SCOTIA. 293 
 
 its fur trade, and especially its fisheries. The latter, in which for 
 some time the English had participated largely, became the fertile 
 cause of dispute between the New England colonists and the 
 French in Nova Scotia. The French government also encour 
 aged the pirates, who infested the coasts, to commit depredations 
 on the shores of Massachusetts and on the English fishing ves 
 sels, by offering them an asylum, and the means of disposing of 
 their plunder at La Have. The people of New England retalia 
 ted in 1704, by despatching Colonel Church a second time, with 
 about six hundred troops, to pillage the French settlements in 
 Nova Scotia. He proceeded to Passamaquoddy, where he burnt 
 all the houses, and seized the property of the inhabitants. He 
 then crossed the bay to Port Royal, and sent boats, with a detach 
 ment, to Minas, where they plundered and destroyed three flour 
 ishing villages. On their return to Port Royal, Church discovered 
 that the fortresses built since he destroyed the place eight years 
 before, were too strong to be taken by the force under his com 
 mand. He, therefore, sailed to Chignecto, where he laid waste 
 all the settlements, and carried all the plunder to Massachusetts. 
 The New England states, still unwilling to relinquish the con 
 quest of Nova Scotia, raised a thousand troops, who were 
 despatched, in 1707, with two ships of war, to take Port Royal ; 
 but they were repulsed by M. Subercuse, who succeeded Brouil- 
 lard. The same force was soon after sent again from New 
 England to .Port Royal, but they returned a second time equally 
 unsuccessful. 
 
 The conquest of Port Royal, was, however, determined upon 
 by the English; and, in 1710, an armament, commanded by 
 General Nicholson, an able and brave officer, consisting of four 
 men-of-war, nineteen transports, and four provincial regiments, 
 appeared before Port Royal. With the exception of those on 
 board one vessel that was wrecked, the troops landed without 
 difficulty. Batteries were immediately erected by the English, 
 and, after a heavy cannonading on both sides, the garrison capitu 
 lated. The conditions were most honorable both to General 
 Nicholson and the gallant Subercuse. Notwithstanding this, 
 France still seemed anxiously disposed to regain possession of 
 Nova Scotia; but the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, secured the 
 province to England. 
 
 The name of Port Royal was now changed, in honor of Queen 
 Anne, to Annapolis ; the fortifications were repaired and strength 
 ened, and General Nicholson appointed as first resident British 
 governor. He arrived at Annapolis in 1714, but could not suc 
 ceed in obtaining the allegiance of the French settlers, who, by 
 25* 
 

 294 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 the capitulation of Port Royal, were allowed two years to retire 
 with their effects from the province. In 1719, Colonel Phipps 
 arrived, and succeeded Governor Nicholson ; and, by the royal 
 instructions, established a council to assist him in managing the 
 civil affairs of the colony. The province, at this period, was re 
 sorted to only by trading adventurers, and there were no resident 
 inhabitants but the Acadian French. These colonists, although 
 abandoned by their hereditary sovereign, refused to transfer their 
 allegiance to the British crown. Clinging, with extraordinary 
 affection and lingering hopes, to France, it was long, and then 
 with wonderful reluctance, before many of these unfortunate and 
 ill-used people were induced to swear fealty to the king of Eng 
 land. From this period to the peace of 1763, that succeeded the 
 conquest of Louisburg and Canada, Nova 'Scotia was incessantly 
 harassed by the savages. 
 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Slow progress of the settlement. Indian hostilities. The Acadian French. 
 Conquest of Cape Breton and St. John's. Expedition of D'Anville against 
 Nova Scotia. Disasters of the French. Cape Breton given up. Foundation 
 of Halifax. Indian wars. Expedition to Chignecto. Continuation of hostili 
 ties by the Indians and Acadian French. Capture of Beau Sejour. Devasta 
 tion of Chignecto and expulsion of the French inhabitants. Expedition of 
 Admiral Holborne. Re-conquest of Cape Breton. Nova Scotia and its depen 
 dencies finally secured to Great Britain. HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORY. The 
 Boston settlers. Prince Rupert's expedition. Incorporation of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company. Discoveries of Hearne, Mackenzie, Ross, Parry, Franklin and 
 Back. RUSSIAN AMERICA. Discoveries of Behring and TchiriJcow. Settle 
 ments of the Russians. 
 
 THE settlement of Acadia was long disregarded by the British, 
 although the governors issued proclamations, which stated their 
 readiness to grant lands on favorable terms to emigrants. But 
 the New England and Southern States were at this time in a con 
 dition to afford abundant room for new settlers, and the emigrants, 
 especially farmers, preferred removing to those places where others 
 had previously gone, and of whom, or of their success, they had 
 v f ome knowledge. Very few, therefore, except trading adventur 
 ers, resorted for a long time to Nova Scotia. A considerable 
 fishery was, previously to 1720, established at Canseau harbor ; 
 but during the autumn of that year, a desperate attack was made 
 on this place by the Indians, several persons were killed, all the 
 property plundered, and the merchants ruined. It became, at 
 length, necessary to resort to resolute and effective measures 
 against the Indians. On the west coast of the Bay of Fundy, the 
 Abenaqui tribe were entirely governed by a Jesuit priest, named 
 Pere Ralle, and by a son of the Baron Castine, who was half 
 Indian. The latter, whom they considered their cacique or 
 leader, was arrested, but soon afterwards released. He and Pere 
 Ralle resided at Kennebec ; and an expedition against the Indians 
 and Acadians settled in this place, was despatched from Massa 
 chusetts, which defeated both with great slaughter, and among 
 the killed was Pere Ralle. The chapel, crucifix, and all that was 
 considered idolatrous, were then destroyed, the goods plundered, 
 and the buildings subjected to conflagration. The fate of Pere 
 Ralle was much deplored by the Indians, and it was maintained 
 
296 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 that the provincials, after he was killed, treated his body with the 
 most brutal barbarity. 
 
 Soon after the beginning of the war with France, in 1744, Can- 
 seau was destroyed by an expedition sent from Louisburg. The 
 Indians, also, recommenced their hostilities ; and, under the direc 
 tion of a French priest, and with some troops, under the command 
 of an officer from Cape Breton, besieged Annapolis. They were, 
 however, compelled to raise the siege. Annapolis was again 
 attacked by about one thousand Indians and several Acadians, 
 commanded by French officers. These were also repulsed, and 
 Louisburg and the island of St. John were taken the following 
 year, by the New England troops, under General Pepperel, as 
 already related in the history of the United States. 
 
 The conquest of Cape Breton and St.- John's was of serious 
 consequence to France, while it secured Nova Scotia, in a great 
 measure, against the depredations of the savages, and gave the 
 British ships-of-war the advantage of all the harbors on the 
 coasts of America, with the consequent effectual means of annoy 
 ing the commerce of France. The harbor of Louisburg and the 
 possession of Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, were, however, objects 
 of too much importance to the French nation, to be abandoned to 
 England, without an extraordinary effort to recover these colo 
 nies. One of the most powerful fleets that had ever left France 
 for North America, was therefore equipped for sea, provided with 
 immense stores of artillery, ammunition and provisions, and 
 having on board about four thousand regular troops. The su 
 preme command was given to the Duke D'Anville. They sailed, 
 early in the summer of 1 746, from Rochelle, unobserved by the 
 English, and escaped the pursuit made by Admiral Lestock. The 
 disasters which this expedition experienced, are scarcely par 
 alleled by the fate of the invincible Armada of Spain. After a 
 passage of nearly three months, D'Anville, with three ships, 
 reached Chebucto, where one of his ships had arrived before him. 
 He died a few days after. Several other vessels arrived, after 
 experiencing great hardships; and the second command, under 
 the vice admiral, was assumed by M. de la Jonquire, governor of 
 Canada. 
 
 But the wretched condition of the troops that had arrived from 
 France, and the great number of ships with store's and troops, 
 which were either lost or not accounted for, called for a council 
 of war, in which the bombardment of Louisburg, according to 
 the original plan, was relinquished, and an attack upon Annap 
 olis determined on, much against the advice of Vice Admiral 
 Destournelle, who now had the chief command. Upwards of 
 
NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 297 
 
 twelve hundred men were lost during the voyage from France, 
 and the majority of the survivors were reduced to a condition of 
 helpless debility by scurvy and fever. It was found necessary to 
 allow them time to recover, and encampments were accordingly 
 formed for their accommodation. The infection was then caught 
 by the Indians, several hundreds of whom became its victims: 
 great numbers of sailors and troops were carried off by disease, 
 after landing. Destournelle, reduced to that state of bodily weak 
 ness and depression of mind, which usually causes delirium, ter 
 minated his life by running a sword through his body. The 
 fleet, reduced from seventy to forty ships, with the remaining 
 troops, left Chebucto on the 13th October. The measure of ca 
 lamity, however, was not yet completed. A tremendous storm 
 dispersed the fleet off Cape Sable, drove them from the coast back 
 to France, where most of them arrived in a shattered, disabled, 
 and miserable condition. 
 
 This formidable fleet, which raised such glorious hopes in 
 France, and caused proportionate terror in the British colonies, 
 would, no doubt, had it been attended with even common for 
 tune, have repossessed France of all the colonies she claimed in 
 America. The power of England was now, however, in the 
 ascendant ; and, in the beginning of May, another fleet of thirty- 
 nine ships, most expensively equipped, and destined for America, 
 under the command of the gallant Jonquiere, was defeated by 
 Admiral Anson. M. Rams iy still remained in Nova Scotia, 
 holding the province in a state of alarm ; but the intelligence of 
 Jonquiere' s defeat destroyed all the sanguine hopes he had enter 
 tained of success, and he soon after retired to Canada. Cape 
 Breton was restored to France by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle. 
 
 The British now undertook, in earnest, the settlement of Nova 
 Scotia. Chebucto, on the east coast of the province, was fixed 
 upon for a capital, on account of its safe and capacious harbor. 
 The Hon. Edward Cornwallis, governor of the province, arrived 
 in 1749, with about four thousand adventurers, at Chebucto har 
 bor ; and having selected the sloping side of a peninsula on the 
 west side of the harbor, for the site of a town, laid it out accord 
 ing to a regular plan, and named it Halifax, in honor of the Earl 
 of Halifax, then president of the Board of Trade and Plan tations. 
 
 The Indians, meantime, plundered Canseau, attacked Dart 
 mouth opposite Halifax, scalped some of the inhabitants, mur 
 dered nearly half the crews of two ships in Halifax harbor, and 
 carried off several prisoners, whom they sold at Louisburg. They 
 were incessantly committing murders along the coasts, and it was 
 impossible to guard the colonists effectually against enemies, who 
 
298 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 sprung with the agility and fury of tigers from the thickets, or 
 who came along silently in their birch canoes during night. 
 
 The governor of Louisburg pretended, as formerly, that he had 
 no control over them, and that the premiums for English prisoners 
 were given from motives of humanity, to prevent the horrible 
 tortures which the savages would inflict upon them, or their ex 
 cruciating death by the murderous scalping-knife. 
 
 Major Lawrence, who was despatched with a small detach 
 ment to Chignecto, found that the inhabitants, on learning that he 
 was approaching, had burnt their houses and joined La Corne ; 
 and, after an unsatisfactory interview with this officer, he re 
 turned to Halifax. A force of one thousand men was sent, in 
 consequence, to Chignecto, under Major Lawrence. He effected 
 a landing with some difficulty and sharp skirmishing, and the loss 
 of several men. The French and Indians saved themselves by 
 escaping across the river and joining La Corne. He then built a 
 fort, which served to overawe the French, and to check the incur 
 sions of the Indians. 
 
 Major Lawrence succeeded to the administration of the govern 
 ment in 1754, and soon after an expedition from New England, 
 under the command of Colonel Monkton, proceeded to Chignecto, 
 where it was joined by four ships-of-war and a detachment of 
 regular troops. After bombarding and taking a block-house and 
 battery, Fort Beau Sejour, which mounted twenty-six pieces of 
 artillery, was stormed, and the garrison made prisoners and sent 
 to Louisburg. The fort on Bay Vert was then invested and 
 taken. In both great stores of ammunition and provisions were 
 found. To secure the peace of the province, and to deprive the 
 Acadians from assisting the French or encouraging the Indians, it 
 was determined by Governor Lawrence to remove them from 
 Nova Scotia, unless they subscribed to the oath of allegiance. 
 The Acadians were, therefore, without any intimation as to the 
 object of calling them together, commanded to appear before 
 Colonel Fessenden, at Grand Pre; and in consequence of this 
 summons, about four hundred men assembled. They were then 
 shut up in the church, which was now turned into a garrison, 
 where they were told that they were immediately to be removed 
 from the province,' -and distributed among the other colonies, and 
 that their lands and cattle were forfeited to the cr6wn. This 
 order was rigidly executed. Many of these people fled to the 
 woods and joined the Indians ; others found their way to Canada 
 and the island of St. John. The villages were laid waste, and 
 their houses burnt to ashes. The whole of the settlements at 
 Ohignecto and Minas were destroyed. 
 
 
299 
 
 When Mr. Pitt was appointed premier, that sagacious states 
 man soon discovered that if Great Britain did not humble France, 
 by conquering Cape Breton and Canada, the power of England 
 would be abridged by the loss of her trade and the ruin of the 
 American colonies. He, therefore, without delay, adopted mea 
 sures for effecting this object. A most powerful fleet was equip 
 ped, which sailed immediately for Halifax. This fleet, consisting 
 of one hundred and fifty-two ships, commanded by Admiral 
 Boscawen, and having on board an army of eleven thousand 
 troops, under General Amherst, arrived at Halifax in April, 1758, 
 and were joined by the provincial troops. On the 28th of May, 
 this powerful armament, consisting of one hundred and fifty-seven 
 ships and sixteen thousand troops, sailed from Halifax. The con 
 quest of Louisburg, which is related in another part of this his 
 tory, with the surrender of St. John's Island, established the 
 prosperity of Nova Scotia; and this was further secured by the 
 capture of Quebec by Wolfe, and the final conquest of Canada. 
 By the treaty of Paris, in 1763, France relinquished all claim to 
 Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Cape Breton and St. John's Island, 
 and from that time these countries have formed a part of the 
 British empire in America. 
 
 The island of St. John's, now called Prince Edward's, was sepa 
 rated from the jurisdiction of Nova Scotia, in 1767. New Bruns 
 wick and Cape Breton were formed into separate governments, in 
 1784. Cape Breton was subsequently re-annexed to Nova Scotia. 
 
 The settlements of the British on HUDSON'S BAY, were begun 
 nearly two centuries ago. A French voyager, Grosseliez, on 
 landing at Nelson's River, about the year 1660, found there a 
 number of New England settlers from Boston ; but of this colony 
 little more is known. In 1668, a settlement was made at Fort 
 Charles, under the patronage of Prince Rupert, and the next year 
 the Hudson's Bay Company was incorporated. This company 
 exists to the present day, and holds the same sort of monopoly in 
 that region that was formerly exercised in Asia by the British 
 East India Company. The rest of the world are in a great 
 measure excluded from the territories of the Hudson's Bay Com 
 pany. From time to time, settlements have been established at 
 various other places within the jurisdiction of the company ; but 
 the history of their government consists of nothing but the narra 
 tives of hunting excursions and bargains with the natives, and 
 the adventures of travellers who have endeavored to penetrate 
 into the interior, or coast along the shores of these barren and in 
 hospitable regions. Hearne, an enterprising travellei, discovered 
 the Coppermine River in 1770, and following the stream down to 
 
300 BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 its mouth, discovered the Arctic Ocean. Mackenzie penetrated to 
 Slave Lake, in 1789. 
 
 The progress of northern discovery languished during the wars 
 of Europe; but, in 1818, the British government despatched sev 
 eral expeditions hy sea and land, which have determined nearly 
 the whole outline of the northern coast, from Hudson's Bay to 
 Behring's Straits. Captain Ross, in 1818, and Captain Parry, in 
 1819, sailed on their first voyages to the north. The North 
 Georgian Islands, about the seventy-fifth degree of latitude, ap 
 pear to have been the limits of their approach toward the pole. 
 Both these commanders made repeated voyages, and wintered in 
 a high northern latitude. The scientific observations made by 
 them are highly interesting; but the northwest passage to Asia 
 has not yet been effected. The travels of Lieutenant Franklin 
 and Captain Back have also added much to our knowledge of 
 the geography of these regions, although no discovery of any 
 commercial value appears to have been the result. They have 
 ascertained that the Arctic Ocean bounds the continent of Amer 
 ica on the north, and that the country along its shores, and 
 wherever they penetrated into the interior, is a frozen desert, or 
 scantily peopled by roaming Indian tribes, in the lowest state of 
 savage life. 
 
 RUSSIAN AMERICA owes its sovereignty under the Muscovite 
 power, to the discoveries of Behring and Tchirikow, who, in 
 1728, first saw the straits which separate America and Asia. 
 The Russian voyagers subsequently extended their discoveries 
 southwardly along the American coast towards Nootka Sound, 
 and at a late period, made a few establishments for hunting and 
 trade with the Indians on the coast. The limits of the Russian 
 territory in America are bounded on the south by the parallel of 
 fifty^four degrees forty minutes north latitude; but the sover 
 eignty is little more than a name. A single settlement at Sitka, 
 on the continent, and two others at Kodiak and Illuluk, on the 
 island of Oonalashka, engaged in the fur trade with the Indians, 
 comprise all the actual Russian possessions in America. 
 
 GREENLAND is sometimes considered as belonging rather to 
 America than to Europe. More than ten centuries ago, it was 
 visited by the 6anes and Norwegians, who established them 
 selves in the country, the Danes on the west coast, and the Nor 
 wegians on the east. About the year 1400, the Norwegian 
 colony, then comprising one hundred and ninety villages, was shut 
 up by the ice, and nothing was heard of it afterwards. The 
 western colony still exists, and comprises about twenty settle 
 ments, subject to the crown of Denmark. 
 
 
UNITED STATES 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 Discovery of Florida by Ponce de Leon. The Fountain of Youth. Expedition 
 of Pamphilo de Narvaez. Hurricane. Narvaez undertakes the conquest of the 
 country. Capture of Apalachen. Difficulties encountered by the Spaniards. 
 They construct boats to return to their feet. Voyage along the shore. Their 
 adventures and sufferings. Humanity of the natives. Terrible fate of the ex 
 ploring party. Proceedings of Alvaro de Nunez. He sets out on a journey to 
 Mexico and the South Sea. Adventures on the route. He crosses the Missis- 
 i, Sufferings of Alvaro and his companions. They arrive at Mexico. 
 
 The Fountain of Youth. 
 
 PONCE DE LEON, one of the companions of Columbus on his 
 second voyage, was the discoverer of Florida. He was appointed 
 governor of Porto Rico, but after exercising this authority a short 
 time, he was displaced ; yet he had a mind too active and ardent 
 to remain at rest. A new object attracted his attention and absorbed 
 his whole soul. He was assured by a number of Indians, that in 
 some part of the Bahama islands there was a fountain called 
 Bimini, of such wonderful virtue, that the man who bathed in its 
 
302 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 waters, whatever his age, was restored at once to the full bloom 
 and vigor of youth. This marvellous tale inflamed the eager 
 curiosity of the Spanish chieftain. He spent many months in 
 sailing along these coasts, landing at every point, and plunging 
 into every pool of water, always hoping to rise in a state of bliss 
 ful renovation. The consequence of such long and incessant 
 agitation, under a burning sky, was that, instead of the brilliant 
 rejuvenescence which he so vainly hoped to obtain, he brought 
 upon himself all the infirmities of a premature old age. Instead 
 of a second youth, he arrived at a second childhood, and never 
 displayed the same vigor, either of body or mind, as before he 
 entered upon his delusive search. 
 
 It is seldom, however, that extraordinary efforts of human ac 
 tivity fail of leading to some important consequences. While 
 Ponce was beating about restlessly from shore to shore, in search 
 of the mysterious fountain, he came in view of a more extensive 
 range of land than any he had yet seen. It was covered with 
 magnificent forests, intermingled with flowering shrubs, which 
 presented an enchanting aspect. This, discovery was made on 
 Easter Sunday, 1512; from which circumstance, or the flowery 
 appearance of the country, the name of Florida was bestowed 
 upon it. In navigating along the shore, the ships were violently 
 agitated by the currents from the Gulf Stream, which rushes 
 with concentrated force through the Bahama channels, and from 
 which, the southern cape received the name of Corrientes. The 
 Spaniards still continued to give the name of island to all newly- 
 discovered land. In vain did the natives assure them that Flor 
 ida formed part of a vast continent, of which they even named 
 various nations and provinces. Some years elapsed before the 
 Spaniards could learn to view Florida as a part of the Ameri 
 can continent. When at last they did so, they hesitated not to 
 claim as Florida, and as belonging to Spain, the whole of North 
 America. 
 
 Ponce de Leon, having at length renounced his unfortunate 
 search after the Fountain of Youth, determined to make the most 
 of his real discovery. He repaired to Spain, and obtained from 
 the king authority to lead an expedition into Florida, with the 
 title of Adelantydo, which included the powers of governor and 
 commander-in-chief. Finding Porto Rico disturbed by an insur 
 rection of the Caribs, he was obliged to take the field against 
 them ; but being unequal to his former exertions, he made an un 
 fortunate campaign, and lost much of his former reputation. At 
 length, he contrived to equip an expedition for Florida ; but his 
 constitution, exhausted by visionary hopes and fruitless efforts, 
 
EXPEDITION OF NARVAEZ TO FLORIDA. 303 
 
 being now unfit for the fatigues of such a voyage, he was obliged 
 to put into Cuba, where he died. 
 
 The Spaniards from Cuba soon found their way to Florida; 
 and made expeditions, which at length resulted in the iniquitous 
 practice of carrying off the Indians as slaves. A considerable 
 time elapsed before attempts were made for the actual conquest 
 and occupation of Florida. The next memorable expedition 
 was that of Pamphilo de Narvaez, in 1528. His fleet touched 
 first at the island of Dominica, where it remained for some 
 days, to supply itself with provisions and horses. Here, no less 
 than a hundred and forty members of the expedition declined 
 proceeding farther, a course which their chiefs seem to have had 
 no power to prevent. The fleet proceeded to St. Jago de Cuba, 
 where they continued for some time, refitting and taking in sup 
 plies. One of the ships being sent to a port at some distance for 
 provisions, Alvaro, the master, went on shore with a few of his 
 men, when they were assailed by a hurricane so tremendous, 
 that the like had scarcely ever been witnessed even in these 
 climates. The walls and houses were continually falling round 
 them. They hurried out of the town, seven or eight linked to 
 gether, by which means alone they could avoid being carried 
 before the wind, and sought refuge in the woods; but here 
 the trees falling, torn up by the roots on every side, caused 
 almost equal alarm. At night they seemed to hear loud cries, 
 with the sound of flutes, drums and trumpets. In the moniing 
 the hurricane subsided ; but there appeared such a scene of deso 
 lation as they had never before witnessed. The trees lay strewed 
 on the ground, and every leaf and plant appeared to be destroyed. 
 On turning to the sea, they beheld a spectacle still more doleful ; 
 for, instead of their vessel, only a few planks were floating on 
 the face of the deep. They searched long for the remnants 
 which might have been cast ashore ; but found only a little boat, 
 carried to the top of a tree, some clothes torn in pieces, and two 
 bodies of men so mangled that they could not be recognised. No 
 time was lost in rejoining the main body of the expedition, 
 which, having found a harbor, had suffered less. The armament 
 was now reduced to four hundred men and eighty horses; and 
 Narvaez, in compliance with the general opinion, determined not 
 to attempt landing in Florida till the depth of winter had past. 
 
 On the 20th of February, 1528, the fleet again set sail, and having 
 suffered considerably from tempests in coasting along the coasts of 
 Cuba, ran across from Havana to the shore of Florida. On the 
 J2th April, they found themselves at the mouth of an open bay, 
 where they saw a village. They landed, and hoisted the king's 
 
304 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 standard. When the natives appeared, they made long discourses, 
 with many signals and gestures, of which the Spaniards could 
 interpret nothing, except that they contained urgent entreaties for 
 them to depart, and vehement threats in case of non compliance ; 
 but finding, probably, that they were not strong enough to execute 
 these menaces, they retreated into the interior. In this village 
 was a house so large that it could contain three hundred persons. 
 
 An excursion was then made into the interior, and another 
 village was visited, in which the Spaniards discovered a number 
 of coffins. These they burnt with the bodies in them, a pro 
 ceeding very little calculated to conciliate the natives. The 
 avidity of the Spaniards was, however, very strongly excited by 
 the view of some very fine clothes, and especially of some golden 
 ornaments worn by the Indians. In reply, to their eager inquiries 
 respecting them, a country situated at some distance in the interior 
 was mentioned, by the name of Apalachen. 
 
 It was now time for the governor to consider what course he 
 was to pursue in exploring and conquering Florida. Miruelo, a 
 pilot whom they brought from Cuba, had undertaken to guide 
 them into a secure and commodious harbor, instead of which he 
 had brought them into a mere open road, and now declared him 
 self quite out of his reckoning, and at a loss whither to steer. 
 Narvaez, whose mind was full of the reported wealth of Apala 
 chen, proposed to push at once into the interior, leaving the ves 
 sels to find their way along the coast at leisure. 
 
 On the 12th of May, 1528, the Spaniards, three hundred strong, 
 of whom forty were cavalry, set out on their march into the inte 
 rior. They travelled fifteen days without seeing any habitation. 
 No long time was required to consume their provisions, after which 
 they became dependent on some wild palm trees. Amid the 
 exhaustion to which this hungry toil reduced them, they were 
 obliged to spend a day in crossing a broad and rapid river, on the 
 opposite side of which they found a village. Here, in answer to 
 their eager inquiries respecting Apalachen, the Indians informed 
 them that the Apalachens were their own enemies, and that they 
 were ready to aid in whatever might be undertaken against that 
 people. After having held some friendly communication and ob 
 tained guides, th'e Spaniards proceeded ; but soon reached another 
 river, still more rapid, and which could be crossed* only by con 
 structing a large canoe. Juan Velasco, a bold horseman, having at 
 tempted to swim the stream, was drowned, together with his horse. 
 This disaster cast a gloom over their minds ; however, the horse 
 being found by the Indians, was made to afford the only hearty 
 meal they had enjoyed for many days. They had still a long 
 
THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 305 
 
 march to perform, over tracts sometimes mountainous, sometimes 
 marshy, encumbered with large trees blown down by the tem 
 pests, and often blocking up the road. At length, on the twenty- 
 sixth of June, they arrived in sight of a village which was an 
 nounced as Apalachen. Joy took possession of their hearts and 
 they returned fervent thanks to heaven that they had come to the 
 end of this long and dreary journey. 
 
 Narvaez desired Alvaro, with fifty infantry and nine cavalry, 
 to enter and take possession of the town. This he easily effected, 
 as all the men were absent, probably on a hunting excursion, and 
 only women and children left in the place. The warriors, how 
 ever, soon appeared and greeted the unwelcome intruders with a 
 shower of arrows, one of which killed a Spanish horse. When* 
 fairly attacked, however, they were unable to bear the shock of 
 the Spanish troops, and retreated into the woods. They appeared 
 two days after, in a pacific attitude, and besought the invaders, rf 
 they could not recover their houses, that they might, at least, have 
 their wives and children. This was granted, the Spaniards only 
 retaining one of their caciques as a hostage. It was soon found, 
 however, that their enmity was in no degree abated. Next day 
 they made an attack so furious that they succeeded in setting fire 
 to some of the houses, and though again quickly repulsed, they 
 fled with such celerity into the woods and marshes, that only one 
 could be killed. Next day an equally brisk attack was made 
 with a similar result. 
 
 The Spaniards had not long remained at Apalachen when they 
 became satisfied that the brilliant wealth which had lured them 
 to this perilous expedition was a perfect chimera. The country 
 was mountainous and rugged, and covered with extensive marshes, 
 which, both from their depth and the large trees strewed across 
 them, were exceedingly difficult to pass. On strict enquiry, it 
 appeared that the farther they proceeded in this direction, the 
 more barren and rugged they would find it. They now began to 
 feel themselves in an evil plight. Though the Indians could not 
 face them in the field, they hemmed them closely in, and every 
 man or horse that straggled from the main body was overwhelmed 
 with a shower of arrows. At length, it was discovered, that to 
 the south was the country of Aute, now called the bay of St. 
 Mark, which abounded in maize. So valuable did this acquisi 
 tion appear, that the Spaniards, renouncing all their dreams of 
 gold and conquest, set out in search of the coast of Aute. 
 
 They were obliged to cross lagoons and marshes deeper than 
 any they had hitherto encountered. On the second day, while 
 they were struggling through the water breast deep, the air was 
 26* M 2 
 
306 THE UNITED SfATES; 
 
 suddenly darkened by clouds of arrows, shot by invisible hands* 
 These were from the Indians who had lodged themselves along 
 the banks of the lake, or behind the trees which floated on its sur 
 face. With bows eleven or twelve spans long, and as thick as a 
 man's arm, they discharged arrows to the distance of two hundred 
 yards, with almost unerring precision, and such force that they 
 penetrated the thickest armor, and grievously wounded both man 
 and horse. Sometimes a single wound caused immediate death. 
 The Indians, when seen, being tall, naked, and moving with pro 
 digious swiftness, had almost the appearance of supernatural 
 beings. No movement of resistance or attack could be made till 
 the Spaniards were extricated from the lagoon; and even then 
 ' the ground was so encumbered, that the cavalry could not act, 
 and it was only by dismounting and pursuing the enemy on foot, 
 that it became possible to drive them to a little distance. They 
 soon re- appeared, and allowed the Spaniards no rest till after 
 their stock of arrows was exhausted. The expedition then pro 
 ceeded without farther molestation, and in nine days arrived 
 at Aute. The natives had abandoned the place, but a good store 
 of maize was found, and after another day's march, they came to 
 the banks of a river which appeared to open at some distance 
 below, into a broad arm of the sea. This was probably the bay 
 of Pensacola. 
 
 The situation of the Spaniards was now such as called for the 
 most serious reflection. All their brilliant hopes had vanished. 
 Nearly a third of their number had perished. More than a third 
 of those that remained labored under disease. There was thus 
 every reason to fear that, either in attempting to retrace their steps 
 or to march along the coast in search of their fleet, the whole 
 would perish. A general meeting was called, and every one was 
 asked what he had to propose. After long deliberation there 
 appeared only one resource. This was to construct small boats, 
 and sail along the coast, till they should find their fleet. It was 
 difficult to conceive of a scheme more desperate. They had nei 
 ther knowledge of ship-building, nor any implements of the art 
 nor any materials out of which sails, ropes and rigging could be 
 constructed. Impelled by necessity, however, they went to work. 
 One of them, put of wooden pipes and the skins of wild beasts, 
 contrived to make a pair of bellows, by the operation of which' 
 their stirrups, spurs and cross-bows were converted into nails, 
 saws and hatchets. Their shirts, cut open and sewed together, 
 made sails; the juice of a species of pine was a substitute for tar. 
 Cypress moss served as oakum; the fibres of the pine with loose 
 hair, formed a species of rope. A horse was killed every three 
 
ADVENTURES IN FLORIDA 307 
 
 days, and its flesh distributed, partly to the working hands, and 
 partly as a dainty to the sick. In short, with such ardor did the 
 work proceed, that having begun on the 4th of August, they had 
 completed, on the 22d of September, five boats. In each of these 
 were embarked from forty to fifty persons; but they were so 
 crowded that they could not move or turn in the boat, of which 
 not more than a fourth part was above the water. In this plight, 
 however, it behoved them to sail. 
 
 After proceeding six days, they approached an island and 
 descried five canoes, belonging to Indians, who immediately 
 abandoned them. The canoes being taken and attached to their 
 boats, enabled the Spaniards to place themselves in a somewhat 
 better condition. They sailed on thirty days, without finding any 
 secure haven, or opportunity of refreshment. The scarcity of 
 food was now felt ; and that of water was so extreme, that many 
 were driven to drink sea- water, which, when taken in any quan 
 tity, proved fatal. Their sufferings were aggravated by a severe 
 storm, which continued for six days ; at the end of which they 
 seemed on the point of perishing, when, on turning a cape, they 
 discovered a fine and secure bay, with a large Indian town. Here 
 they were received most cordially and hospitably by the natives. 
 Before each door stood vessels of water, from which they quenched 
 their thirst, and they enjoyed a hearty meal of roasted fish. Pres 
 ents were exchanged, and such a cordial intercourse established, 
 that Narvaez agreed to spend the night under the roof of the 
 cacique. This calm was of short duration. At midnight the 
 village was attacked by a hostile tribe of Indians ; the cacique 
 fled with all his people, and the Spaniards were left to maintain, 
 alone, a desperate conflict. The governor himself and all his 
 people were wounded, before the enemy could be repulsed ; and 
 they had no choice left but to re-embark. They touched afterwards 
 at another populous bay ; but being involved in a quarrel with 
 the natives respecting two of their people who had been lured 
 away, they were obliged again to put out to sea. 
 
 Their situation became now every moment more critical. Their 
 remnant of provisions was drawing fast to a close, and the shat 
 tered barks could scarcely be got forwards. That of the governor, 
 being the best manned, now began to pull ahead at a rate with 
 which the others were unable to keep pace. Alvaro called out to 
 ask orders how he was to proceed ; to which Narvaez replied that 
 the time was past for giving or receiving orders, and that it rested 
 with every man to save his life as he best could ; he then pushed 
 on, and was soon out of sight. Alvaro with another of the barks 
 continued the voyage for four days ; but having only half a handful 
 
308 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of maize daily for each man, and encountering severe weather, 
 they were reduced to the most extreme distress. On the evening 
 of the fourth day, the crew gave out, and fell down half dead 
 over each other. Alvaro being alone capable of any exertion, the 
 master called to him, that he must take the helm, as he himself 
 would certainly die that night. Alvaro took the post, but after a 
 few hours' rest, the master resumed it. Towards morning they 
 heard the sound of breakers, and found the vessel in six fathoms 
 water, which led to the hope of being near land. Daylight con 
 firmed this hope, and, after a severe shock in crossing the breakers, 
 the boat was got near to the land, and the exhausted crew crept 
 ashore upon their hands and feet. Here they kindled a fire, 
 cooked the maize which they had still left, and began to feel their 
 strength and spirits revive. Alvaro desired Lope de Oviedo, the 
 most vigorous of the company, to mount a tree and see what land 
 it was. Oviedo reported that it was an island, and so well culti 
 vated, that it appeared almost a Christian land. He was then 
 desired to advance a little into the country, though with caution. 
 He soon found a village with only women and children in it ; but 
 three archers speedily appeared, with others behind, who, following 
 Oviedo, quickly reached the shore and formed a circle of about a 
 hundred around the Spaniards. They were well armed and tall, 
 and, to the alarmed eyes of the Spaniards, appeared almost 
 gigantic. Alvaro, who had not six men who could rise from the 
 ground, saw clearly that he had nothing to hope from resistance, 
 and that his only course was to endeavor to propitiate the stran 
 gers. This he sought to do by courtesy, and by offering them 
 toys. He met a most kind and gracious return ; the Indians gave 
 him arrows, their surest pledge of confidence ; they regretted much 
 having no provisions with them, but promised by next morning to 
 return with a copious supply. 
 
 The Indians fulfilled their engagement, and, both this day and 
 the following, brought fresh stores of fish, roots and other pro 
 ductions of the soil. Alvaro, having formed a stock of these 
 sufficient to last for some time, determined to set sail and pursue 
 his voyage. For this purpose it was a matter of great labor, in 
 their weak state, to haul the boat out of the sand in which it was 
 fixed, and put it afloat ; in doing this it was even necessary to 
 strip themselves naked, throwing their clothes iftto the boat. A 
 fresh calamity overtook them, more dreadful than any former one. 
 A violent wave overset the boat, which sunk with all the clothes. 
 and carried down three of the Spaniards : the rest with difficulty 
 reached the .shore. They threw themselves, in despair, naked on 
 the sand. Their former condition, deemed so wretched, appeared 
 
ADVENTURES OF ALVARO IN FLORIDA. 309 
 
 almost happiness, when compared with that extremity of misery at 
 which they had now arrived. As they looked at their emaciated 
 bodies, in which every bone could be counted, each felt sympathy 
 for his companions, mingled with a more intense feeling of his 
 own misery. While they lay in this state the Indians came up 
 with a fresh supply of provisions ; but at the view of their changed 
 and dreadful condition, set up loud cries of lamentation, which 
 were heard at a great distance, and were continued for half an 
 hour without intermission. 
 
 As soon as their plaint had somewhat abated, Alvaro asked his 
 companions, without fear of being understood by the Indians, 
 what was to be done in this extremity, and whether they ought 
 not to ask shelter from strangers who showed so tender a concern 
 for their sufferings. There happened, however, to be several of 
 the party who had accompanied Cortez in his expedition to Mexi 
 co, and had seen from a distance the dreadful pomp with which 
 their countrymen had been sacrificed in the temple of the Mexican 
 god of war. These adjured Alvaro, by all that was sacred, to 
 abide every extremity rather than deliver them into the hands of 
 men from whom they might expect a fate of similar horror. 
 Alvaro looked round him. His companions were lying stretched 
 on the sand, on the point of perishing. His position was quite 
 desperate, but for the Indians ; and their tender lamentations, 
 with the kindness and pity which beamed from their eyes, made 
 it surely at least possible that their intentions might not be of the 
 horrible nature now suggested. Disregarding, therefore, the ter 
 rors and remonstrances of his comrades, he related his disaster to 
 the Indians, and entreated the shelter of their hospitable roof. 
 The Indians gave the most cordial consent, only proposing that 
 they should remain a short time round the fire which had here 
 been kindled, till they should hasten and prepare for their recep 
 tion. In a few hours they returned, and then led, or rather car 
 ried the Spaniards to their village, scarcely allowing their feet to 
 touch the ground. They had kindled large fires at short distan 
 ces, where the naked and shivering bodies of the Spaniards had 
 from time to time the heat restored to them. On reaching the 
 village, it was found that a house had been specially constructed 
 for them, and had been brought by large fires into a comfortable 
 temperature. All this care and kindness abated in no degree 
 the fear of the Spaniards. The Indians bade them a cordial good 
 night, and, retiring to their own habitations, began, according to 
 the custom of their country, to sing and dance through the even 
 ing ; but these cheerful sounds, instead of tranquillizing the Span 
 iards, heightened their alarm, being deemed only the festal pomp 
 
310 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 which was to celebrate their immolation. They lay sleepless, 
 seeming to feel at every moment the sacrifical knife stuck in 
 their breasts. It was not till morning dawned that a ray of hope 
 began to possess their minds. The Indians then entered with a 
 plentiful breakfast ; and the same kindness being continued from 
 day to day, the alarms of the Spaniards were at length composed. 
 They learned, soon after, that there were other Spaniards at no 
 great distance, who proved to be the crew of another bark that had 
 been shipwrecked, though not in so disastrous a manner. These 
 had preserved their clothes, though only those which they wore. 
 
 Fate did not cease to persecute this unfortunate crew. There 
 followed such a series of cold and stormy weather, that the Indi 
 ans could neither find the roots on which they commonly sub 
 sisted, nor carry on their fishery. A severe scarcity ensued, 
 which fell with peculiar weight on the strangers, who could expect 
 nothing from the Indians, and had neither the same skill nor 
 means to provide for themselves. Five of the Spaniards, who 
 were in a detached station on the coast, were reduced to such an 
 extremity, that they resorted to the horrible remedy of devouring 
 each other ! This they continued till there remained but one, who 
 survived only because " there was nobody to eat him" The Indi 
 ans were shocked beyond measure on learning this, and ever after 
 viewed the whole body of Europeans with an altered eye. The 
 condition of the Spaniards grew worse and worse, so that, in the 
 course of the season, famine and disease had reduced their num 
 ber from eighty to fifteen. The Indians were at the same time 
 attacked with a pestilential malady, which carried off half of 
 them. Under the deep distress which this occasioned, a supersti 
 tious idea seized them, that all the calamities of this dreadful 
 winter had originated in a magic and malignant influence, exer 
 cised by the strangers. They took it therefore into deliberation, 
 whether they should put them to death ; but an old Indian very 
 reasonably argued, that if the Spaniards had possessed this super 
 natural power, they would surely have used it in protecting them 
 selves ; whereas the fact was, they had suffered still more severely 
 than the Indians. So just a view of the subject carried conviction 
 to the minds of the savages. 
 
 The Spaniards had, however, entirely lost their former favor ; 
 they were reduced to the station of slaves, and w^re obliged tc 
 perform the most laborious offices, particularly that of digging the 
 earth, and searching at the bottom of the marshes for the roots on 
 which they subsisted. To this, indeed, was added the office of 
 physicians, which they were called upon to exercise. In vain did 
 they plead their profound ignorance of the healing artj no credit 
 
ADVENTURES OF ALVARO. 311 
 
 was given to this denial ; and, after persuasion had been used in 
 vain, notice was given to them, that all allowance of food was to 
 cease till they should enter on their medical functions. Thus 
 starved into doctors, they at length began their practice, which 
 was exceedingly simple, being modelled on that of the Indians. 
 They merely blew upon the patients, and uttered Spanish words, 
 which were considered as magical, when, to their utter astonish 
 ment, all the patients declared that from that moment they felt 
 the greatest relief. 
 
 As the success of their practice, however, did not bring any 
 improvement in their situation, Alvaro contrived to make his 
 escape to the continent, where he set on foot a petty traffic which 
 succeeded wonderfully. It consisted in carrying into the interior, 
 shells, marine plants, and other productions of the sea, for which 
 he brought in exchange, hides, red ochre for the savage toilet, 
 flints for arrow heads, and cane for arrows. The perpetual hos 
 tility of the natives among themselves caused them to stand much 
 in need of a foreign and neutral hand to carry on these transactions. 
 Alvaro, in his capacity of merchant, was therefore well treated by 
 the savages. 
 
 He spent several years in this manner, and at length re 
 gained sufficient confidence in his undertaking to plan a scheme 
 for penetrating to Mexico and the South Sea. Two of his officers, 
 Andre Dorante and Alonzo de Castiglio, accompanied him on this 
 desperate adventure. They journeyed westward into the country, 
 and found the inhabitants barbarous and poor, without any of the 
 gold which they so greedily coveted. At one place the Indians 
 made prisoners of the Spaniards and kept them for slaves, oppress 
 ing them with hard labor and nearly starving them. After some 
 time, they made their escape and pursued their journey to the west. 
 In their progress through the country they gave themselves out for 
 the " Children of the Sun ;" which title, with their skill in medi 
 cine, gained them a favorable reception, and they travelled from 
 tribe to tribe, guided, venerated and protected. 
 
 They passed first a large river coming from the north, which 
 was probably the Mississippi ; then, travelling thirty leagues over 
 a populous plain, they came to a rugged, arid and dreary tract, 
 fifty leagues in extent, being the desert which now separates the 
 United States from the Texan and Mexican territory. In this 
 route they suffered severely from thirst and hunger; but it was 
 still worse when, having crossed another broad river, the Rio del 
 Norte, they came to a range of desert, steep and barren moun 
 tains the continuation of the Cordilleras, passing into the chain 
 of the Rocky Mountains. Here the Indian guides, overcome 
 
312 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 by fatigue and hunger, lay down, and declared it impossible to 
 proceed. Alvaro, impelled to resentment, used high words and 
 threats, to which they at last yielded. Soon after, a severe 
 malady attacked and carried off eight of the Indians, when the 
 poor creatures, imagining that the anger of Alvaro had induced 
 him to employ magical powers to produce this effect, implored on 
 their knees that he would forgive them, and cease to slay them in 
 this terrible manner. At length they met a party of Indians who 
 had a little maize, the sight of which was like that of land to a storm- 
 tossed mariner. They followed them to their village ; but learned 
 that the maize was not cultivated in this high and arid tract, 
 though, in proceeding westward, they would soon arrive at a fer 
 tile country on the seacoast. Alvaro began now to inquire about 
 the Christians, when he was informed that in the southwest was 
 a wicked people of that name, who plundered and murdered all 
 that fell in their way, and never were known to do a good action. 
 He was carefully warned to avoid all communication with them. 
 Alvaro found ample proofs of the correctness of this report, 
 as he proceeded over a large plain, Which the ravages of the 
 Spaniards had reduced almost to a complete desert. Continuing 
 to insist upon proceeding to meet the Christians, his guides re 
 luctantly accompanied him ; but nothing could equal their aston 
 ishment when told that Alvaro was himself a Christian. This 
 they declared to be utterly impossible, since everything was con 
 trary in the two parties. The one came from the east, the other 
 from the west; the one were naked and on foot, the other were 
 clothed and on horseback ; the one healed those who were sick, 
 the other killed those who were well ; the one showed no signs 
 of avarice, while the other seemed to have no object in life, but 
 to steal whatever they could reach. Alvaro and his party fully 
 justified this bad character given of their countrymen. On his 
 arrival at the Spanish settlements, Alvaro had much difficulty to 
 prevent the Spaniards from making prisoners of the poor Indians 
 who had served as his guides. This, and the opinion which he 
 frankly expressed of their own conduct, inflamed them with 
 such resentment, that his countrymen made him a prisoner, and 
 sent him over a range of mountains so desolate and rugged that 
 two of the party -perished on the road. On his arrival, however, 
 at Compostella, the capital of New Galicia, he was very cour 
 teously received, and much displeasure was expressed by the gov 
 ernor at the conduct of the frontier Spaniards. At Mexico his 
 reception was still more cordial, and he found his long journey 
 and sufferings at an end. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Expedition of Fernando de Soto. Enmity of the Floridians. Cruelties of the 
 Spaniards. Arrival at Vitachuco.Plot to exterminate the Spaniards detec 
 ted. Battle of Vitachuco and defeat of the Indians. The Spaniards make slaves 
 of the natives. A second plot of the Indians. The Spaniards massacre their 
 slaves. They reach Apalachen. Adventure of Capafi. Prospects of gold. 
 The Spaniards march westward. Courtesy of a Floridian princess. Singular 
 behavior of a native. 
 
 Indian princess in a barge. 
 
 FERNANDO DE SOTO was the next adventurer in Florida. He 
 had been a companion of Pizarro in the conquest of Peru, and 
 was seized with a desire to rival Cortez in glory, and Pizarro in 
 wealth. He made a proposal to Charles V. to conquer Florida at 
 his own cost; the offer was accepted, and Soto was appointed 
 governor of Cuba, with absolute power over that unlimited extent 
 of country which then bore the name of Florida. The expedi 
 tion seemed a brilliant and promising one. The Spaniards looked 
 for another conquest as rich as that of Peru. Noblemen and 
 wealthy proprietors were eager to embark in the enterprise; 
 27 N 2 
 
314 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 houses and lands were sold to purchase military equipments, 
 chains for captives, and other instruments for the subjugation ot 
 a people, who were believed to possess immense stores of gold. 
 Six hundred men, selected from a multitude of applicants, enlisted 
 under the banner of Soto, and sailed in May, 1539, from Cuba. 
 They landed, a fortnight after, at the bay of Espiritu Santo, in 
 Florida. 
 
 The Spaniards were well equipped for the undertaking. They 
 had nearly three hundred cavalry, abundance of stores, blood 
 hounds, and a drove of swine, which would rapidly increase in 
 that favorable climate, and afford them an unfailing supply of 
 provision. They first marched against the town of Hirriga, gov 
 erned, like all the Floridian states, by a cacique named after the 
 capital. Soto had humane intentions, but the Indians held the 
 Spanish character in detestation, and could not understand the 
 justice of the papal grant, by virtue of which the invaders de 
 manded the surrender of their country to the king of Spain. The 
 former sovereign of Hirriga had his nose cut off, and his mother 
 murdered by the Spaniards. It is not surprising, therefore, that 
 Soto found himself an unwelcome visitor. His offers of alliance 
 were received by Hirriga, with the reply that the heads of the 
 Spaniards would be welcome, but not their bodies. Foiled in this 
 attempt, Soto advanced upon the city of Urribaracaxi, which he 
 found abandoned by the inhabitants. They next marched to 
 another city, called Acuera, from which they were repelled ; they 
 now turned their course into the country of Acali, which they found 
 free from the dangerous marshes that had so much incommoded 
 them heretofore. Here they were received with an appearance of 
 friendship ; but as they were constructing a bridge to cross a wide 
 river, hundreds of Indians started up from the bushes, discharging 
 clouds of arrows, and calling them base robbers and other insult 
 ing names. They escaped, however, without any other loss than 
 that of a favorite dog. 
 
 The Spaniards next marched into the province of Vitachuco, 
 which, contrary to the usual custom in Florida, was divided 
 among three brothers. Ochile, the youngest, was surprised in 
 his capital by the Spaniards, and taken prisoner ; upon which he 
 either was or Appeared to be gained over, and undertook to plead, 
 the cause of the Spaniards with his eldest brotherJSvho was much 
 the most powerful, and bore the name of Vitachuco. He seiit to 
 acquaint him that these strangers were ascertained to be children 
 of the sun and of the moon, and rode on animals so swift, that 
 nothing could escape them ; that they behaved in the most friendly 
 manner towards those who received them well, but committed the 
 
ADVENTURES OF DE SOTO IN FLORIDA. 315 
 
 most dreadful havoc where they experienced contrary treatment. 
 He earnestly exhorted him, therefore, to take the more prudent 
 part. Vitachuco answered, in the most disdainful terms, that the 
 solar and lunar descent of the Spaniards was a ridiculous fable ; 
 that whatever outward appearance they might assume, doubtless 
 they wore, like all the rest of their countrymen, traitors, murder 
 ers, robbers, and children of the devil; that, if they were the 
 honest men they pretended to be, they would stay at home and 
 cultivate their own soil, instead of coming into distant climates to 
 expose themselves, by their robberies, to the execrat ion of mankind. 
 He afterwards sent messages to the Spaniards, filled with the 
 most violent and indeed chimerical menaces. He told them that 
 if they entered his country, he would command the earth to 
 open and swallow them up ; the mountains between which they 
 marched, to unite and crush them ; he would poison the water, the 
 plants, and the very air. When, however, he saw the Spaniards 
 continuing to advance, and learned from various quarters how 
 very formidable they were, he assumed a different tone. He 
 went to meet Soto, and made many apologies. His only anxiety 
 now was, how he could do him the greatest honor. He tendered 
 his own submission and that of his subjects, and wished to learn 
 what quantity he would require of provisions, and of everything 
 useful to him that his territory afforded. Soto received his sub 
 mission in the most gracious manner, and professed his entire 
 oblivion of the past. But the hatred of Vitachuco was still as 
 deep and deadly as ever, and all this courteous seeming was only 
 to cover a plot. 
 
 The prince led the Spaniards to his town, and provided the best 
 accommodation it could afford. At the same time, as if to do 
 them honor, he summoned his warriors from every part of his 
 territory, and appointed a day in which they were to be drawn 
 up and exhibited in full array. He then disclosed to a number 
 of his chiefs, that, on a signal given, they should fall suddenly on 
 the Spaniards, and exterminate them at one blow. They ap 
 plauded the scheme, and declared their eagerness to sacrifice 
 themselves, if necessary, in so glorious an undertaking. One of 
 them, however, communicated the fatal design to the Spaniards, 
 Soto resolved to dissemble, and to turn the plot of the Indians 
 against themselves. He expressed the pleasure it would give him 
 to see the Indian pageant, and added that in order to heighten 
 the pomp of so great a day, he would also bring out his own 
 Spaniards in full armor and in order of battle. Vitachuco would 
 gladly have dispensed with this honor ; but he had no pretence 
 
316 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 for refusing ; and, not aware that all was discovered, hoped still to 
 effect his object by surprise. 
 
 On the appointed day, the Indians appeared, drawn up on a 
 plain in front of the town, having a wood on one side, and a 
 range of marshes on the other. The Spanish troops marched out 
 of the town, Soto and Vitachuco marching together at their head. 
 As they approached the spot where Soto was to have been seized, 
 a musket was fired, at which signal, twelve Spanish soldiers sur 
 rounded the cacique, and made him prisoner. The Indian army 
 seeing this, raised a loud shout and rushed on to battle. Soto 
 mounted his favorite horse, Azeituno, and with a too daring valor, 
 which was usual with him, rushed foremost upon the enemy. 
 The Indians met. him with a shower of arrows, aimed particu 
 larly at Azeituno ; and that gallant steed, which had so often 
 borne its rider to victory, was pierced with eight arrows, and fell 
 down dead. Soto fell with him, and was in imminent danger ; 
 but the Spanish cavalry instantly rushed on and charged the 
 enemy. The loose infantry of the Indians were broken, dis 
 persed and scattered in every direction. Some hundreds, the 
 flower of the army, who had been placed in the rear, could escape 
 only by throwing themselves into a lake. The Spaniards occu 
 pied all the shores, but the Indians continued floating in the 
 water, and obstinately refused to surrender. They even locked 
 themselves three or four together, on the backs of whom one stood 
 and discharged arrows as long as they had any remaining. They 
 waited anxiously for night, hoping in the dark to effect a landing 
 and escape into the woods. The Spaniards, however, invested 
 the lake six deep, and effectually opposed every attempt to land. 
 
 In the morning the Indians were in a miserable state, half dead 
 with cold and fatigue ; yet they still turned a deaf ear to the urgent 
 invitations of the Spaniards, who assured them of safety and good 
 treatment if they would surrender. At length, a few, quite over- 
 eoirte, approached the shore ; but the greater part, after touching 
 it, again plunged into the water. When it was seen, however, 
 that the few who landed were kindly received, others followed. 
 By mid-day two hundred had surrendered, and in the evening there 
 remained floating only seven, who seemed determined to perish in 
 the water rathef -than yield. Soto hereupon sent out half a dozen 
 of his best swimmers, who seized them by the ha"ir and pulled 
 them on shore. After they had recovered from their almost life 
 less state, they were asked what could lead them to persevere in 
 so obstinate a resistance. They replied that having been invested 
 by their master with the highest commands, they considered 
 themselves bound to answer such confidence by sacrificing them- 
 
ADVENTURES OF DE SOTO IN FLORIDA. 317 
 
 selves in his cause. They felt themselves dishonored in having 
 been spared by the clemency of Soto, and it would be an additional 
 kindness if he would put them to death. The high loyalty and 
 courage breathed in these sentiments were congenial to the ideas 
 of the Spaniards, who even shed tears of admiration; and the 
 seven, with general consent, were left at liberty to go to their 
 homes. Soto at the same time used every effort to gain over 
 Vitachuco. He admitted him again to his table, and assured him 
 that however dreadful his conduct had been, the memory of it 
 would be entirely effaced, provided he now acted up to his former 
 professions of fidelity. 
 
 Soto had thus far followed the course most likely to conciliate 
 the Indians. This plan, however, having been adopted, it ought 
 to have been followed consistently. But the Spanish commander, 
 unfortunately, began to think that some penalty was necessary to 
 deter other Indians from imitating the example of Vitachuco ; and 
 the plan he devised was the most injudicious that can be con 
 ceived. He caused his prisoners to be distributed among the 
 Spaniards, whom they were to serve as slaves during their stay in 
 the city. These proud chiefs and warriors were thus compelled 
 to act as cooks and scullions, and to perform all the most menial 
 offices. Soto, it is said, meant to set them at liberty at his depart 
 ure, which was to take place soon ; but he did not communicate 
 this intention to Vitachuco, to whom it appeared that his bravest 
 subjects were thus doomed to hopeless and humiliating bondage. 
 That fierce thirst for revenge which had been lulled in the breast 
 of this savage chieftain was awakened anew in all its force. The 
 Indians were disarmed, but they were at large, and in their 
 domesticated state had the Spaniards within their power. It 
 appeared to Vitachuco that if each Indian killed his master, the 
 detested race would be at once extinct. The plan was embraced 
 with ardor, and the secret faithfully kept. Three o'clock, while 
 he was at dinner, was the time fixed by Vitachuco for executing 
 his purpose. At this moment he threw back his shoulders, cracking 
 his bones in a manner peculiar to the Indians, and uttering a shout 
 so loud, that it could be heard at the distance of a quarter of a 
 mile; he then sprang up, and seizing the general by the arm, 
 dealt such a blow, that Soto fell senseless to the ground, and the 
 blood gushed from his mouth. The hand of the Indian was lifted 
 to strike another stroke, which would have closed forever the 
 career of Soto ; but the Spanish chiefs, starting from the table, 
 darted at once upon the cacique, who fell, pierced by twelve 
 wounds. Meantime all the Indians had heard the loud cry, and, 
 starting up, seized such weapons as their servile employment 
 27* 
 
318 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 afforded, spits, pots, platters and chairs, and struck them with 
 fury against the Spaniards. Two or three men were killed on the 
 spot; almost all the rest received wounds. They soon rallied, 
 however, and took to their arms ; but much embarrassment was 
 felt by many, who held it beneath their dignity to kill their own 
 slaves. All they would deign to do was to drag them to the great 
 square, to be despatched by the arrows of auxiliary Indians ; but 
 many of the prisoners shook themselves free, throwing down and 
 trampling upon their masters. However, at last nearly all per 
 ished, with little loss on the part of the Spaniards. 
 
 After this dismal and bloody catastrophe, the Spaniards could 
 have little satisfaction in remaining at this place. They merely 
 spent four days, in dressing their wounds, and then set forward for 
 Apalachen, which still bore, in their estimation, somewhat of that 
 brilliant character which had lured Narvaez onward. Their 
 march lay through the province of Ossachile, where they found, 
 as usual, the capital deserted and the Indians watching every 
 opportunity to harass and cut them off. Nothing serious occurred, 
 till they arrived at the marsh or lagoon in which the army of 
 Narvaez had suffered so dreadfully. The Indians were pre 
 pared for them, and had occupied every post from which they 
 could be conveniently annoyed. The Spaniards, like their pre 
 decessors, found the marsh deep, and difficult to pass. It cost 
 them two days to effect the passage ; but being continually on the 
 watch, and passing the most difficult parts in the night, unper- 
 ceived by the enemy, they worked their way across without any 
 very serious loss. They had still to fight every step of their way 
 to Apalachen, the Indians constantly hovering round them, and 
 keeping up such a perpetual howling, that the Spaniards could 
 scarcely obtain a moment's sleep. It was announced to them that 
 at Apalachen they would find a formidable force prepared to resist 
 them ; but on their arrival the city was abandoned, the cacique, 
 Capafi, having retreated into the mountains. 
 
 Soto sent parties in many directions to explore the country 
 beyond Apalachen, when it was found only in one quarter to be of 
 that rugged and mountainous character which had been reported 
 to Narvaez. The other districts were tolerably productive in millet, 
 roots and nuts ; so that, finding no lack of provisions, he deter 
 mined to take up here his winter quarters. The Indian's, however, 
 continued their harassing warfare. Soto resolved upon a despe 
 rate effort to terminate it, by seizing their prince. Capafi had 
 sought refuge in the heart of a thick forest, on a spot accessible 
 only by a narrow defile which the Indians had fortified by pali 
 sades, and considered almost impregnable. The Spaniards, how- 
 
DE SOTO IN FLORIDA. 319 
 
 ever, pulled up the stakes, cut the cords, and soon forced their 
 way through the successive barriers to the retreat of Capafi. The 
 chosen troops, and all the principal chiefs of the Indians rallied 
 round their cacique in this utmost peril, but could not withstand the 
 superior arms and discipline of the assailants. It was in vain to 
 attempt removing the prince, who was so excessively corpulent 
 that his only mode of locomotion was by creeping on all fours, 
 a process much too slow for this exigency. His chiefs were there- 
 fore obliged to produce him to Soto, at the same time falling on 
 their knees, and entreating him rather to take their lives than do 
 the smallest injury to their beloved monarch. The Spaniards 
 were so moved by this loyalty, that Soto received the captive 
 prince with courtesy, and his weighty person was respectfully 
 conveyed to the capital. 
 
 Soto, however, was much disappointed to find that the hostil 
 ities of the Indians, instead of ceasing, became only more active 
 and formidable. They were impelled to redoubled efforts, in hopes 
 of effecting the deliverance of their chief. Capafi, at the urgent 
 request of Soto, sent repeated orders to them to desist, but without 
 effect. As the general complained heavily upon this subject, and 
 hinted his doubts of the cacique's sincerity, the latter observed 
 that his chiefs, considering him in a state of captivity, regarded 
 the orders sent by him as not emanating from his own free will, 
 but dictated by the Spaniards. If, however, an arrangement were 
 made by which he might have an interview with his principal 
 officers, he was confident of being able to persuade them of his 
 sincere wish for peace, and to make them to desist from their pres 
 ent courses. This was rather a delicate transaction ; however, 
 Soto seeing no hope from any other course, at length agreed upon 
 the trial. An appointment was made with the principal chiefs to 
 assemble in a forest six miles from Apalachen ; and the prince 
 was sent thither under a strong guard. They arrived in the 
 evening on the borders of the forest, and messengers were sent to 
 he chiefs, by whom a meeting was arranged for the following 
 
 y. During the night, the Spaniards formed a close circle round 
 the cacique and stationed sentinels at every point to prevent all 
 possibility of escape. They hailed, therefore, the dawn of morn 
 ing, under the full confidence of a happy issue to their mission. 
 To their utter dismay the cacique was not to be found, and tidings 
 soon arrived that the Indians were carrying him off in triumph. 
 The Spaniards returned very disconsolate to Apalachen, and 
 reported to Soto that the watch had been so strictly kept as to 
 leave no possibility whatever of Capafi having escaped by human 
 means. It was, therefore, beyond a doubt that the devil, or one 
 
320 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of those mighty magicians with whom the Indians have such 
 extensive dealings, must have wafted his ponderous body through 
 the air. Soto, on strict inquiry, saw much reason to conclude, 
 that Morpheus, shedding his heavy dews on the wearied eyelids 
 of the Spaniards, had been the power, under favor of whom 
 Capafi had crept out of the circle. However, the misfortune could 
 not now be remedied ; and these being his chosen and trusty chiefs, 
 he did not choose to quarrel with them, but was fain to acquiesce 
 in the supernatural solution of the affair. 
 
 Some time was now spent in making inquiries, and at length 
 the ears of the Spaniards were greeted with the most alluring 
 tales of a yellow metal and a white metal which abounded in the 
 west. No doubt was now entertained that another Peru was 
 within their reach. They continued their march. A cacique, 
 named Patofa, gave them a most unnecessary and indeed cum 
 brous escort of three or four thousand men ; to which, it appears, 
 he was prompted by hostile views against a neighboring power, 
 in which he erroneously hoped that the Spaniards would assist 
 him. Such zeal did he display in their service, that, on their com 
 plaining of an Indian who had neglected his duty, he condemned 
 him to drink up the nearest river. To execute this task, four of 
 the stoutest Indians were provided with rods, to beat him lustily 
 whenever he made a moment's pause in drinking. The luckless 
 fellow drank and drank, till his stomach could receive no more ; 
 then being compelled to pause, the blows began to descend with 
 out intermission, and he was forced to fly back to the pool, till 
 some of the bystanders, moved with pity, ran to Soto, and per 
 suaded him to save the man's life. 
 
 The Spaniards then set forth with their cumbrous escort, and 
 proceeded for six days through a desert ; during which, however, 
 they were copiously supplied with provisions. At the end of that 
 period, the Indians declared themselves unable to tell where they 
 were, or whither the road led. Soto appealed to Patofa, whether 
 this was not a suspicious circumstance, and whether he could expect 
 him to believe that, of so great a crowd, not one had ever been 
 led, by war or hunting, into this quarter. The prince, however, 
 solemnly asserted that this was the territory of their enemies, the 
 Cofaciquis, by whom they were generally beaten. The two 
 parties, therefore, continued to proceed till they came to a broad 
 river, which they had no possible means of crossing. The diffi 
 culty was much aggravated by the failure of their provisions. 
 Parties were despatched both up and down the river, in search of 
 a passage, but for five days without success. During that time, 
 they suffered the greatest extremities of hunger, which they were 
 
DE SOTO IN FLORIDA 
 
 obliged to palliate by killing a number of their favorite dogs ; and 
 even these scarcely afforded a mouthful to each. At length they 
 found some villages, where they obtained a supply of food ; but 
 the Indians, indulging their old enmity, and encouraged by the 
 presence of their Spanish allies, began plundering and murdeiiug 
 on all sides. This was quite contrary to all the views of Soto; 
 and the presence of these Indians being thus every way useless 
 and burdensome, he was happy in being able to prevail on them, 
 in a friendly manner, to go {iome. 
 
 After some further travelling, the Spanish general was fortunate 
 enough to discover, on the opposite side of the river, the city of 
 which he was in quest. Ortiz and an Indian cried out across the 
 stream, that some peaceably disposed strangers wished to treat of 
 an alliance with their cacique. Hereupon, six of the most re 
 spectable inhabitants, with their attendants, entered into a boat 
 and passed the river. On being introduced to the general, they 
 bowed first to the sun in the east, then to the moon in the west, 
 and, lastly, to the general, to whom they put the usual question, 
 whether he wished peace or war ? Soto replied, peace, with the 
 addition of a passage over the river, and through the country, 
 and a needful supply of food. It was with regret that he sought 
 to give them this trouble, but he hoped to be able to make some 
 suitable return. The Indians replied, that there would be every 
 disposition to grant his request ; but, unfortunately, the country 
 labored under a severe scarcity, and was also suffering from a 
 pestilential disease ; but they served an amiable and gentle prin 
 cess, to whom the whole matter should be reported. The Indians 
 returned to the city, and, soon after, an ornamented barge was seen 
 putting off from the shore, with another attending it ; and, in the 
 first, an elegant female, who, it was soon perceived, must be the 
 princess herself. She arrived, and quite enchanted the Spaniards 
 by her beauty, her grace, and the courtesy of her demeanor. She 
 assured Soto, that, notwithstanding the reigning scarcity, she had 
 provided two large houses for the accommodation of his people, 
 and had lodged in them six hundred measures of millet; besides, 
 she possessed granaries, out of which, if necessary, a larger supply 
 could be drawn. She then untied a string of large pearls, which 
 formed three circles round her neck, reaching even to her girdle, 
 and gave them to Ortiz to deliver to the general. Soto observed, 
 how much greater pleasure it would give him, if she would present 
 it with her own hand, which, as a sign of peace, could not be con 
 sidered an offence against the nicest decorum. After some modest 
 reluctance, the princess advanced and complied with this request, 
 The Spaniards found themselves more at home here than in any 
 
322 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of the friendly countries through which they had lately passed. 
 Though in former cases the natives had shown amity, it had 
 been in a rough, constrained, half-reluctant manner; but there 
 was something free and cordial among the Indians of Cofaciqui, 
 which made them feel at once like old acquaintances. No time 
 was lost }ri preparing boats and rafts, and the army passed over 
 in safety. 
 
 On inquiring into the state of the country, Soto learned that the 
 princess had a mother, who held a sort of independent establish 
 ment at twenty leagues distance. He expressed a wish to see the 
 old lady, who was accordingly invited ; but, instead of comply 
 ing, she transmitted a sharp reprimand to her daughter, for 
 having admitted into her capital, strangers of whom she knew 
 nothing. The young princess was so little affected by this re 
 monstrance, that she concurred in a plan devised by Soto, to send 
 a detachment and bring the mother by force. A young chief, 
 with some servants, was sent with the Spaniards as their guide. 
 This chief, who had hitherto been one of their most agreeable 
 friends, was no sooner on the road, than, to their surprise, he sunk 
 into a gloomy reverie, and heavy sighs every moment burst from 
 him. At length, taking his quiver, he began drawing out all 
 the arrows, which were so beautiful that the attention of the 
 Spaniards was engrossed in admiring them, when he took one of 
 the sharpest, pierced his own heart, and instantly expired. His 
 attendants .burst into tears, and said that this chief, being equally 
 attached to both princesses, the present necessity of failing in duty 
 to one or the other of them, had agitated his mind, and impelled 
 him to this fatal deed. They proceeded, however, to search for 
 the old lady, but found that she had deserted her home ; and the 
 Indians represented that, in attempting to follow her, they might 
 be surrounded and cut to pieces. The Spaniards therefore re 
 turned. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Disappointment of the Spaniards in their search for gold. Temples of pearls. 
 Discovery of Mobile. Reception of the Spaniards by the natives. Battle of 
 Mobile and destruction of the town* Courage of the Indian women. The Span 
 iards cross the Mississippi. Adventure ofReinoso. Death of Soto. Despon 
 dency of his men. They march for Mexico. Conspiracy of the Indians against 
 them. Their fleets of war-canoes. The Spaniards escape down the Mississippi. 
 Great extent of their researches. Fruitless result of all the Spanish expeditions 
 in Florida. 
 
 Temple of Tolomeco. 
 
 MEANTIME, anxious inquiries were made about the productions 
 of this country, and particularly the white and yellow metals 
 before mentioned. The princess answered that they were abun 
 dant, and specimens were quickly produced. That instant dis 
 pelled all the brilliant dreams, under the influence of which the 
 Spaniards had undertaken this long and hazardous expedition. 
 The yellow metal proved to be brass or copper ; the white metal 
 was nothing but a stone, like quartz, which crumbled in the hatd. 
 Under this mortifying disappointment their only consolation was 
 found in pearls, which were found here in abundance, though 
 
324 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 they could not form any judgment as to their value. The princess 
 told them they might take as many as they pleased out of a large 
 temple, which seemed also to be the cemetery of her ancestors, 
 and which was lavishly adorned with them. This fact, which is 
 positively asserted in the Spanish narratives, cannot but appear 
 very singular, when contrasted with that reverence for ancestry 
 which usually distinguishes nations in this stage of society. This 
 and another temple were found in reality to contain pearls suf 
 ficient to have loaded the whole army, an abundance which of 
 itself afforded a pretty strong presumption that they were of small 
 value. The other temple was that of Tolomeco, the most spa 
 cious edifice in Florida. It was a hundred paces long, by forty 
 broad, the roof formed by six mats placed over each other, and 
 brilliantly adorned with shells and pearls. The gate was orna 
 mented with twelve statues of giants in full armor, and all round 
 the interior of the walls were ranged statues of men and women 
 of the ordinary size, the men completely armed. The intendants 
 of the Spanish monarch were proceeding to levy his fifth upon the 
 pearls and other precious articles found in the temple, a measure 
 which was stopped by Soto, on the pretence that they could not 
 encumber themselves with such a burden, but doubtless from a 
 well-grounded fear of provoking the hostility of the natives. 
 
 The Spaniards proceeded on to Mauvila (Mobile,) a frontier 
 town strongly palisaded, and consisting indeed of only eighty 
 houses, but each of these divided into various apartments, and 
 containing numerous families. Soto, it is said," was advised by 
 one of his officers not to enter the place ; but he thought his men 
 stood in need of the shelter of a roof. On their arrival they were 
 entertained with every show of rejoicing ; their horses were sent 
 to a commodious place without the city, and they were regaled 
 with the dances of some beautiful Indian females, who, in Florida, 
 peculiarly excelled in this exercise. Quedrado, however, who 
 had been directed to reconnoitre the place, brought a very alarm 
 ing report, that the houses were filled with armed warriors, 
 collected from different parts of the country, that all the children 
 and women had been removed, except those who were young 
 and "fit for the battle." Soto, however, determined to avoid any 
 overt act which. might excite or indicate hostility, and merely sent 
 round a warning to all his men to be on their guard. Dinner 
 being ready, notice was sent to Tascaluca, who usually sat down 
 with the Spaniards ; but he was deeply engaged in council with 
 his chiefs, and sent for answer, that he would come presently. 
 An interval having passed, a second notice was sent, which 
 brought a similar answer; but as he did not come, Ortiz was 
 
DE SOTO IN FLORIDA. 325 
 
 despatched to say that the dinner was on the table, and that he 
 might come or not, as he chose. This message was received by a 
 chief who came out of the council, and who replied, " Base 
 robbers, is it thus you speak of the great Tascaluca?" He fol 
 lowed up this speech by giving the signal for a general attack. 
 All the Indians rushed forth, and fell in one mass upon the Span 
 iards. who retreated with their faces turned towards the enemy, 
 yet hardly maintaining their ranks amid clouds of arrows, 
 which killed several and wounded many. The Indians pursued 
 them beyond the walls, and succeeded in killing several horses, 
 and taking a considerable booty. When the Spaniards, however, 
 reached their horses they mounted and formed in order of battle. 
 The undisciplined natives could not withstand their shock, but 
 were driven back, and sought refuge within the walls. There, 
 being placed under cover, they sent forth such clouds of arrows 
 and missiles, that the Spaniards were driven back in their turn. 
 By a repetition of feigned flights, they drew the enemy out of their 
 shelter, and gave them a succession of defeats. 
 
 When the Indians were thus considerably weakened, and a 
 Spanish division, which was in the rear, had come up, Soto mus 
 tered his strength, and determined to storm the place. He caused 
 the cavalry, as the best armed, to dismount, buckle their armor 
 close round them, and stooping their heads, to rush forwards and 
 force open the gate. They succeeded, and entered; at the same 
 time the foot soldiers broke down a part of the parapet, and 
 rushed in along with them. The Spaniards were soon masters of 
 all the streets and open places ; but the enemy, from the houses, 
 annoyed them to such a degree, that they at length resolved on 
 the dreadful expedient of setting fire to the place. The effect 
 was immediate in a town built only of reeds and timber ; in a 
 few minutes both armies were involved in vast volumes of flame 
 and smoke. Many Indians, especially females, perished amid the 
 flames, presenting a spectacle which, it is said, deeply affected 
 the conquerors. A number of the Indians rushed out and endeav 
 ored to renew the combat in the fields, but without success. In 
 the last extremity, they now called on their females to come for 
 ward. A number of these heroines had not waited the call, but 
 fought side by side with their husbands ; and now at the general 
 summons they rushed forth in one body against the Spanish 
 troops. The latter felt their Castilian gallantry revolt against 
 this species of combat ; they merely, it is said, warded off the blows 
 of their fair assailants, whose fury soon evaporated, and by sunset 
 the whole force of the Indians was put to rout. Thus closed 
 the dreadful battle of Mauvila. The Indians who fell are stated 
 28 
 
326 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 by Vega at eleven thousand, but by the more probable estimate 
 of a Portuguese narrator, at twenty-five thousand. The number 
 of the Spaniards killed on the spot was only eighteen ; but of the 
 wounds, upwards of seven hundred were dangerous, besides num 
 berless slight injuries, which scarcely any one had escaped. 
 
 Soto, proceeding still northwest and into the interior, passed 
 without much molestation through the territory of the Chickasaws, 
 crossed the Mississippi and traversed the provinces of Colima and 
 Quigante. But when he came to Tulla, a more fierce resistance 
 was experienced than from any former nation. This arose chiefly 
 from the female warriors, who fought side by side with their hus 
 bands, and rivalled them in valor. After a hard contest they were 
 driven into the town, where they still continued the battle. 
 Reinoso, one of 'the Spanish officers, having mounted into an 
 upper chamber, five Indian ladies rushed upon him, seized him 
 by the legs and arms, and began beating him with all their might. 
 Reinoso, though his men were below, deemed it unbecoming a 
 soldier to call out for aid against such assailants; yet he was 
 wholly unable to resist, and the blows .descended with such force 
 and rapidity, that he could not long have survived. Luckily, in 
 the struggle, his leg forced its way through the thin wicker parti 
 tion which formed the floor, and appeared to a Spaniard who was 
 in the room below, and who, thinking this an odd adventure, and 
 that it had much the appearance of a Spanish leg, called two or 
 three of his companions, and running up, delivered Reinoso out 
 of the hands of the Amazons. Juan Serrano, having obtained 
 possession of one of these heroines, endeavored to employ her as 
 a domestic servant ; but she was continually calling upon him, 
 either to kill her, or to set her at liberty, and throwing at him pots 
 and pans, so that he was not sorry at last when she made her 
 escape. 
 
 Soto began now seriously to consider the situation into which 
 he had brought himself. He had plunged again deep into Florida, 
 without any favorable result. He was continuing to go onward, 
 he knew not where or why, with an army gradually mouldering 
 away. He became sensible that the plan which he had rashly 
 abandoned, of building and fortifying a town on the sea-coast, and 
 opening a communication with Havana and Mexico, was the only 
 one which afforded a promise of any solid establishment. He 
 was now, however, so distant from the coast, that he doubted 
 being able, with his reduced force, to make his way thither through 
 so many nations. He determined to march direct to Chucagua. 
 build there his town, and construct two brigantines, which might 
 sail down the stream into the Gulf of Mexico. The Spaniards, 
 
DE SOTO IN FLORIDA. 327 
 
 then retracing their steps, marched rapidly, viewing the interme 
 diate countries only as a passage, and avoiding all intercourse 
 with the natives ; so that they effected a march of nearly three 
 hundred miles in a short time. They were involved in some dis 
 putes between the states of Avilca and Guachoia ; but So to was 
 hoping to effect his objects in the course of the winter, when a 
 disease, of which the foundation had probably been laid by his 
 labors and anxieties, carried him off after an illness of seven days. 
 
 Soto seems to have merited a more fortunate close to his adven 
 turous career. The Portuguese narrator calls him virtuous and 
 valiant. He was imbued, indeed, with the same unjust and tyran 
 nical principles which actuated the other conquerors of America, 
 and which were sanctioned in their eyes by false principles, both 
 of loyalty and religion; but he tempered these principles with 
 singular humanity, and combined daring valor with much pru 
 dence and discretion. Had the plan of settling Florida not been 
 frustrated by the fierce valor of the natives, it might have been 
 effected under better auspices than the other and more splendid 
 conquests and establishments of the Spanish nation. 
 
 On the death of Soto a deep and general despondency seized 
 the expedition. After a short deliberation, it was resolved to 
 follow out the design, on which their hearts had long been fixed, 
 of renouncing Florida forever, and making their way by the most 
 direct course to Mexico. Their first project was to proceed directly 
 across the continent. This they hoped to effect by marching due 
 west, turning neither to the right nor the left ; and in this way 
 they made a hundred leagues at full speed, never inquiring what 
 countries they Were going through, or holding any communication 
 with the inhabitants. By this blind advance, however, they found 
 themselves entangled in wild and dreary forests, and saw before 
 them a chain of rugged and trackless mountains. These were 
 probably a branch of the Cordilleras, which they might have 
 avoided by a slight detour ; but they were discouraged, and deter 
 mined to hasten back to the Chucagua, and there construct a 
 flotilla which might convey them to Mexico. They suffered much 
 on the road, by the scarcity of provisions, the severe cold, and 
 the incessant hostility of the natives. On reaching the Missis 
 sippi, they seized on Aminoia, a considerable place, composed of 
 two contiguous towns. The natives did not willingly admit them, 
 but were driven out after a short resistance. 
 
 As soon as the troops were refreshed from their fatigues, and 
 the rigor of the winter was over, Moscosco, who had succeeded 
 to the command, applied with the utmost vigor to the building of 
 seven brigantines, which were judged sufficient to embark the 
 
328 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 remaining troops. They now learned that a general confederacy 
 had been formed among the neighboring tribes for their destruc 
 tion. An envoy from one of the caciques privately assured the 
 Indian female captives that they would soon be delivered from the 
 odious yoke of the strangers, whose heads, stuck on lances, would 
 adorn the porches of the temples, while their bodies, suspended 
 from the tops of the trees, would become the prey of the birds. 
 These fair prisoners, moved either by pity or a tenderer sentiment, 
 gave notice of the danger. Fortunately for the Spaniards, this 
 design was checked by an inundation of the river, which converted 
 all the surrounding plain into a sea, and made the streets of Ami- 
 noia, passable only in canoes. They were thus enabled, by the 
 end of July, 1543, to complete their brigantines ; but the enemy 
 now determined to' attack them in their passage down the river. 
 For this purpose they had provided nearly a thousand war canoes, 
 larger than those in the rest of Florida. They were variously 
 adorned with brilliant colors, blue, yellow, red and green ; but 
 each canoe with the oars, and even the arrows and plumes of the 
 boatmen, were all of one color. It was discovered from the inter 
 preter that the Indians spoke with contempt of the cowards who 
 were flying before them in vain, but who had escaped being the 
 prey of the dogs on land, only to be devoured by the river mon 
 sters. Accordingly the voyage down for ten days was one con 
 tinued battle, in which the Spaniards were obliged to remain 
 strictly on the defensive, being now less than five hundred in 
 number and with their ammunition nearly exhausted. Every one 
 of them, notwithstanding his armor, was more or less wounded, 
 and all their horses were killed except eight. Having got the 
 start of the enemy by about a league, they landed at a village for 
 provisions ; but were so closely followed that they were obliged to 
 abandon their horses, and saw miserably perish this remnant of the 
 three hundred and fifty noble steeds with which they had landed 
 in Florida, and which had been the main instrument of their 
 victories. Soon after, the Indians, by a feigned relaxation in the 
 pursuit, induced three barks with fifty-two men, rashly to separate 
 from the rest, when they were suddenly surprised and overwhelm 
 ed, the whole being killed or drowned, with the exception of four. 
 They continued to/ follow the Spaniards during that day and the fol 
 lowing night ; but next morning, when they saw the*sunrise, they 
 raised loud shouts, and sounded all their instruments in thanks 
 giving to that great luminary, for the victory he had grafted. 
 They then desisted from the pursuit, which had been continued 
 without intermission for four hundred leagues. Moscosco, with 
 
THE SPANIARDS IN FLORIDA. 329 
 
 all that remained of his troops reached the ocean without farther 
 difficulty. 
 
 The Portuguese narrator has given an estimate of the Spanish 
 marches, which makes them amount, in all, to above five thousand 
 miles. This is certainly extravagant ; yet they were very exten 
 sive, including, in various directions, the whole of Florida and 
 Georgia, and even touching Carolina. Nothing, howe^v er, can be 
 more misplaced than the title of "Conquest of Florida," which 
 Spanish pride has not scrupled to affix to the narrative. With 
 the exception of the deep track of blood with which their steps 
 were almost everywhere marked, the Spaniards left Florida, as 
 they had found it, in full possession of the native tribes. 
 
 It was not till the year 1565, that any permanent settlement 
 was made by the Spaniards in Florida. In that year Pedro 
 Melendez was sent on an expedition for the colonization of the 
 country, and founded the city of St. Augustine. The French, in 
 the meantime, had formed settlements in Carolina, and bloody 
 contests ensued between the two nations, which ended in the 
 total extirpation of the French. The subjugation of the native 
 Floridians, however, has hardly been accomplished even at the 
 present day. 
 
C HAPTER XXXV. 
 
 VIRGINIA. Discovery of the United States by John and Sebastian Cabot. Voyage 
 of Verazzani. First attempts of the English to settle North America. Unsuc 
 cessful expedition of Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Voyage of Amidas and Barlow. 
 Sir Walter Raleigh's first endeavors at the settlement of Virginia. Disastrous 
 fate of the early adventurers. 
 
 First attempt of the English to settle North America. 
 
 HENRY VII., of England, narrowly missed the glory of attach 
 ing to his name and that of his country the discovery of the 
 Western World. But though he had lost the chief prize, he 
 showed a disposition to encourage those who embarked in these 
 nove. and brilliant adventures. A serious offer was soon made 
 to him from a respectable quarter. Such are the strange vicissi 
 tudes of human destiny, that the English, who, with their descend 
 ants, were to become the greatest maritime peopleMn the world, 
 ventured not then to undertake distant voyages, except under the 
 guidance of Italians, a people whose vessels are now hardly ever 
 seen out of the Mediterranean. Finding encouragement, how 
 ever, from the rising spirit of the English nation, a Venetian 
 mariner, named Giovanni Gabotto, whose descendants, under the 
 
DISCOVERIES OF THE CABOTS. 331 
 
 name of Cabot, now live in New England, came over with his 
 three sons to settle in England. He presented a plan to Henry, 
 for a western voyage of discovery. It met with the approbation 
 of the king, and Cabot set sail for the west. 
 
 On the 24th of June, 1497, he saw land, which he named 
 Prima Vista. This was Newfoundland. He then sailed along 
 a considerable extent of coast north and south, when, rinding the 
 whole to be a continent with no opening to the westward, he re 
 turned to England. This was the first discovery of the continent 
 of America ; for it was not till the following year that Columbus 
 saw the main land of South America, where the Orinoco pours its 
 vast flood into the ocean. It is remarkable, and seems to indicate 
 a very supine state of feeling upon these subjects, that while the 
 Spanish discoverers found such numerous historians, not a single 
 narrative should exist of the memorable voyage of Cabot. Thf- 
 most authentic account is contained in a writing made on a map 
 drawn by Cabot's son, Sebastian. It is very brief, and merely 
 states the discovery of Newfoundland and the appearance of the 
 country. The natives were clothed in the skins of wild beasts. 
 In war they used bows, arrows, darts, wooden clubs and slings. 
 The land was barren and bore no fruit ; while bears and stags of 
 an enormous size roamed in great numbers over it. Fish were 
 plenty ; among them were sea- wolves, salmon, and soles a yard 
 long. But above all, there was a great abundance of the fish 
 called bacalaos, or cod. 
 
 One more meagre testimony is contained in the chronicle of 
 Fabyan, who saw three natives brought over by the Cabots from 
 Newfoundland. " These were clothed in beasts' skins, and did eat 
 raw flesh, and spake such speech that no man could understand 
 them." Two years after, he saw them dressed like Englishmen 
 in Westminster palace, " which that time I could not discern 
 from Englishmen, till I was learned what they were ; but as for 
 speech, I heard none of them utter one word." Such are all the 
 records which England has seen fit to preserve of this her earliest 
 and one of her most illustrious naval exploits. John Cabot soon 
 died, anol Sebastian, the most intelligent of his sons, not finding 
 sufficient encouragement in England, repaired to Spain, where the 
 ardor for discovery still continued. He was readily received into 
 service, and despatched by the king to the coast of Brazil, where 
 he discovered the Rio de la Plata. He became the most eminent 
 person of his age for nautical science, and obtained the distin 
 guished title of Piloto Mayor of Spain. 
 
 On the accession of Edward VI., when the English nation 
 caught at last the full enthusiasm of maritime adventure, Sebas 
 tian Cabot was invited back to England, and made Grand Pilot 
 
332 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of the kingdom. Whether he made a second voyage to America 
 is uncertain ; but he formed the plan and drew up instructions for 
 the expedition sent under Sir Hugh Willoughby and Chancellor, 
 to attempt the discovery of India by the northeast. In 1500, the 
 Portuguese, under Cortereal, visited Newfoundland and Labrador, 
 but made no settlement. 
 
 The earliest voyage along the coast of North America, of which 
 we have any detailed account, is that of John Verazzani, a Flor 
 entine, who, under the patronage of Francis I. of France, sailed in 
 1524, to discover lands in the west. He appears to have touched first 
 at Carolina or Florida. Large fires were seen burning on shore ; 
 but he sought in vain for a good harbor. After sailing south and 
 north in this fruitless search, he landed in a boat. The natives 
 came down to 'the ' shore in considerable numbers, but on the 
 approach of the Europeans, ran away. *At length, being sat 
 isfied that they had nothing to fear, they brought provisions to 
 their visitors, assisted them in drawing their boat on shore, and 
 viewed with surprise and admiration the dress and white skin of 
 the strangers. They were tall, handsome,. swift of foot and naked, 
 except the furs which were tied round their waist by a girdle of 
 plaited grass and hung down to the knees. The coast was 
 sandy, rising into low hills ; but as they proceeded, it became 
 loftier, and was covered with magnificent woods, not of the 
 common forest trees, but palm, cypress, and others unknown to 
 Europe, and which diffused the most delicious perfume. This 
 spot appears to have been Cape Fear, in North Carolina. 
 
 They now proceeded along the coast, which turned to the east 
 ward, and appeared very populous, but so low and open that even 
 a boat could not approach it. In this emergency, a young sailor 
 offered to swim ashore, and open an intercourse with the natives. 
 They crowded to receive him ; but just as he had arrived within 
 a few* yards of the land, his courage failed, and he attempted to 
 turn back. A high wave struck him, and he was thrown on the 
 beach half dead. The natives immediately stripped him naked, 
 and carried him to a large fire which they had kindled. His 
 friends in the ships never doubted that he was about to be roasted 
 alive and eaten; and the youth himself was at first of the same 
 opinion. But he ,was soon assured of his safety when they 
 merely brought him so near as to place him in a Comfortable 
 degree of warmth. They viewed with an eager but a kindly 
 curiosity, the whiteness of his skin and the other novelties of his 
 appearance. On his making signs that he wished to return, they 
 took leave of him with marks of warm affection, accompanied 
 him to the shore, and watched him with their eyes till he reached 
 the vessel 
 
VOYAGE OF VERAZZANI. 333 
 
 Verazzani now sailed onward, and saw the coast of Virginia. 
 Like the former land, it was beautiful, and covered with noble 
 trees. The canoes of the natives were hollowed out of a single 
 tree by the use of fire. The men had all fled, and they overtook 
 only two females, one of whom was old, and the other young, tall 
 and handsome. The old woman was soon prevailed upon to eat 
 of the victuals which they offered her, and even allowed them to 
 take a little boy from her arms, which the crew wished to carry 
 away. The young woman, on the contrary, threw all their pres 
 ents indignantly on the ground, and when they attempted to carry 
 her off, she uttered such frightful screams that they desisted. 
 Sailing a hundred leagues farther, the voyagers came to a fine 
 sheltered bay, surrounded by gentle hills, and receiving a great 
 river, so deep that loaded ships might ascend it. This was proba 
 bly the Hudson ; but dreading accidents, they only went up the 
 stream in their boats, and found a country equally rich and beau 
 tiful, which they left with regret. The hills, to their anxious 
 view, appeared to afford some promise of mineral riches. 
 
 From this place they sailed fifty leagues eastward along the 
 coast, and came to an island ten leagues, from land, apparently 
 Martha's Vineyard. It was covered with gentle and finely- 
 wooded hills. Twenty canoes, filled with natives, appeared, and 
 approaching within fifty paces, set up shouts of wonder and as 
 tonishment. The voyagers threw them bells, mirrors, and other 
 little toys, which soon enticed them on board the ships. Veraz 
 zani thought them the handsomest men, and the most civilized in 
 their manners, that he had yet seen in the newly-discovered coun 
 try. Their color was lighter than that of the more southern 
 people, and their forms even approached to the beauty of the 
 antique. They became intimate with the voyagers, who made 
 several excursions with them into the country, and found it cov 
 ered with noble forests. They showed, however, an extreme 
 jealousy of their women, whom they would on no account allow 
 to approach the vessels. Even the queen, while her royal hus 
 band spent a long time on board, examining the ship and commu 
 nicating by signs and gestures with the crew, was left with her 
 female attendants in a boat at a little distance. 
 
 Again setting sail, they proceeded a hundred and fifty leagues 
 along a coast running first to the east and then to the north, 
 which shows that they were now upon the shores of New Eng 
 land. The country was in general similar to that which they had 
 left, though it gradually became higher, arid sometimes rose into 
 mountains. Fifty leagues further, in the direction of east and 
 north, brought them to a region of thick and dark woods, doubt- 
 
334 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 less the State of Maine. Here they stopped and endeavored to 
 open an intercourse with the natives, but found them shy and 
 unfriendly. They were tempted, indeed, by the display of trin 
 kets which the crew exhibited, but this led to no satisfactory 
 results. They came down to the shore, where a violent surf was 
 breaking, and accepted a few knives and fish-hooks, which the 
 sailors passed to them by a rope ; but declined all further inter 
 course. There was no temptation to linger here, and the voyagers 
 pursued their course fifty leagues further, during which they 
 counted thirty islands, separated by narrow channels. This was, 
 probably, Penobscot Bay ; leaving which place, they came next 
 to Newfoundland, and then returned to France, having completed 
 a survey of more than two thousand miles of coast. 
 
 The high hopes excited by the successful result of this voyage 
 were not realized by the French. Verazzani, on his second expe 
 dition, was killed and devoured by the natives, if we may believe 
 the accounts given at the time ; though neither the date, place 
 nor circumstances of this catastrophe, are stated by any contem 
 porary writer. We must return to England to pursue the history 
 of the discovery and settlement of the territory now under con 
 sideration. 
 
 The accession of Queen Elizabeth produced a great and per 
 manent change in the spirit of the English nation with regard to 
 maritime affairs. That prudent princess, though never liberal of 
 treasure, inspired and seconded the enterprising spirit of her peo 
 ple, which combining with their antipathy to the Spanish, impelled 
 them especially to adventure in the regions of the west. Sir 
 Humphrey Gilbert, of Compton, in Devonshire, formed the first 
 design of leading a colony to America. Aided by Sir Walter 
 Raleigh and Sir George Peckham, he equipped a fleet of five ves 
 sels, and sailed for the west, May llth, 1583. One of the ships 
 put back on the second day, but the rest held on their course, and 
 after being retarded by westerly winds and heavy fogs, reached 
 the banks of Newfoundland about the end of July. This spot 
 they knew, without heaving the lead, by the incredible number 
 of seafowl, which darkened the air. Thirty-six vessels, from 
 Europe, were found fishing upon the banks. Gilbert appears 
 to have conductepl in a very arbitrary and unjustifiable manner 
 toward the foreigners, robbing them of their stores without 
 scruple ; but the queen's commission was judged a sufficient 
 warrant for almost any act of power in this quarter. He took 
 possession of the country around the harbor of St. John's, but 
 his crew became discontented, and plotted against him. The 
 country was dreary and barren ; the weather was stormy ; ship 
 
VOYAGE OF AMIDAS AND BARLOTV. 335 
 
 after ship was lost, and finally Sir Humphrey himself. A single 
 vessel of all the squadron returned to England. 
 
 The disastrous issue of this enterprise did not, however, check 
 the spirit of adventure. In the year 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh, 
 one of the most remarkable men that adorned the reign of Eliza 
 beth, undertook, at his sole charge, a grand scheme of colonization, 
 for which he obtained an ample patent from the queen. He did 
 not proceed in person upon the expedition, but despatched two 
 vessels under the command of captains Amidas and Barlow. 
 These adventurers, in order to avoid the disasters which Gilbert 
 had suffered from the northern mists and tempests, took a circui 
 tous route by the Canaries and the Bahama channel, after which 
 they steered to the north. On approaching the land, they were 
 greeted with a gale of the most delicious odors, such as might 
 have been exhaled from a garden of flowers. They approached 
 cautiously, and found themselves on a long line of coast, but 
 without any appearance of a harbor. The shore was low and 
 sandy, but green hills rose in the interior, and the woods exhibited 
 such a profusion of grapes as had never been seen by those who 
 had travelled in the finest wine countries of Europe. They sailed 
 a hundred and twenty miles before they found a landing-place. 
 On landing and mounting the nearest hill, they were surprised to 
 discover that the whole of this range of coast was an island. It 
 was that long strip of land which incloses Pamlico Sound, in North 
 Carolina. 
 
 The English spent two days here without seeing any people : 
 but on the third, a boat with three men approached, one of whom 
 landed on the beach. The English sent a boat on shore, which 
 he fearlessly awaited, and began to speak fluently in an unknown 
 tongue. He cheerfully accepted their invitation to go on board : 
 ate their food, drank their wine, and, receiving some presents of 
 dress, departed highly pleased. Other natives soon appeared, and 
 at length came the king's brother, Granganimeo, with a train of 
 forty or fifty attendants. They were handsome men, very cour 
 teous in their demeanor, and treated their chief with the most 
 abject submission. They spread a mat for him to sit upon, and 
 stood round him in a circle, none speaking, except four, mark? d 
 as chiefs by red pieces of copper on their heads, and these whis 
 pered in a low tone to each other. The English began to make 
 presents, first to Granganimeo, and then to his officers ; but he 
 took all these and put them into his own basket, making signs 
 that all things should be presented to him alone. Commerce was 
 the next business, for which a quantity of valuable skins, brought 
 by the natives, formed a desirable object. The English now dis- 
 
336 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 played their goods and trinkets, and the chief instantly fixed upon 
 a tin plate, which he applied to his breast, and having made a 
 hole in the rim, hung it round his neck, declaring that he was 
 now invincible, and fearless of an enemy. For this plate he gave 
 twenty valuable skins. After more traffic, equally profitable, and 
 excursions to various parts of the coast, particularly to Roanoke, 
 where they found a queen, who treated them with great kindness, 
 they returned to England. 
 
 The two captains gave the most flattering account of the coun 
 try on their return. " The soil," said they, " is the most fruitful, 
 sweet, and plentiful and wholesome of all in the world. We 
 found the people most gentle, loving and faithful, void of all guile 
 and treason, and such as lived after the manner of the golden 
 age." These reports enchanted Raleigh, and filled the kingdom 
 with high expectations. The queen honored this land of promise 
 by naming it Virginia, in allusion to her unmarried state, of 
 which she was fond of making an ostentatious mention. Raleigh 
 expended almost his whole fortune in equipping a second expedi 
 tion. This consisted of seven ships, the largest of which was 
 one hundred and twenty tons burthen. Ralph Lane was ap 
 pointed governor. The fleet was commanded by Sir Richard 
 Grenville, a man accounted one of the chief ornaments of Eng 
 lish chivalry. He steered first towards the West Indies, and 
 reached Virginia on the 29th of June, 1585. He landed his colony, 
 and discovered Chesapeake Bay. At the head of Roanoke Sound, 
 they found a chief named Menaton, who commanded seven hun 
 dred fighting men. The chief, with his favorite son, they took 
 prisoners. The former was set at liberty, but the latter was retained 
 as a hostage. Menaton gave the English an enticing description 
 of the country. Pearls were represented as so abundant in the 
 upper country of the Moratiks and the Mangoaks, that not only 
 their fur garments, but the beds and the walls of the houses were 
 bedecked with them. Much was said, also, of a wonderful species 
 of copper, which was found high up in the sands of the river. 
 
 These accounts highly inflamed the imagination and cupidrty 
 of the English, and the utmost eagerness was felt to push forward 
 to this rich country. Menaton assured them that in ascending the 
 river, they wou!4 find relays of men with provisions, at every 
 point, and that the people would be prepared to give them the 
 kindest reception. Forty of the adventurers, therefore, emrarked 
 in two boats, and proceeded up the stream. Great was their dis 
 appointment when they passed three days without seeing one of 
 the natives, or an article of food. All the towns were deserted, 
 and every useful thing carried away. The English now began 
 
DISASTERS OF THE SETTLERS OF VIRGINIA. 337 
 
 to suspect they were betrayed; but unwilling to abandon at^once 
 their golden hopes, sailed on two days longer, subsisting on the 
 flesh of two dogs made into a soup, with sassafras leaves. Still 
 they found neither men nor food on shore, and saw only lights at 
 night moving to and fro in the interior. At length, in the after 
 noon, a voice from the woods called out, " Manteo!" This wus 
 the name of one of their Indian guides, and a joyful hope arose 
 that a friendly intercourse was about to be opened. ManteOj 
 however, on hearing the voice, and a song which followed it, bade 
 them be on their guard. Presently a cloud of arrows fell among 
 them. They immediately landed and attacked the savages ; but 
 they escaped into the forest. The English kept watch all night, 
 and in the morning set out on their return to the coast. 
 
 They reached their companions just in time to prevent a gen 
 eral rising of the natives. Hostilities, however, soon broke out, 
 and the enmity of all the tribes became firmly rooted. In the 
 hopes of starving the English, they had abstained from sow 
 ing any of the lands around the settlement. No fresh supplies 
 arrived from England at the time expected. While they were in 
 this forlorn condition, a fleet of twenty-three vessels came in 
 sight ; this was the squadron of Sir Francis Drake, returning 
 from his victorious expedition against the Spaniards in the West 
 Indies. The colonists gladly seized this opportunity to return to 
 England, and every man embarked without scruple. A few days 
 after this hasty abandonment of the colony, arrived a vessel from 
 England, with ample stores; and the crew, to their amazement, 
 found no colony to relieve. They sailed along the coast, and 
 made excursions into the country, but all search being vain, 
 they returned to England. A fortnight after, arrived Sir Richard 
 Grenville, with three well-appointed vessels, bringing everything 
 requisite to place the settlement in the most flourishing state. 
 Great was his dismay when neither the colony nor the ship sent 
 for its relief, nor any trace of the English was to be discovered. 
 He also returned to England, leaving fifty men on the island of 
 Roanoke, to hold the place till he should arrive with more ample 
 supplies. 
 
 All these disasters did not discourage Raleigh. He sent out 
 three more ships, with one hundred and fifty persons, under John 
 White, as governor. They arrived on the 22d of July, On 
 landing and searching for the fifty men of the colony, they found 
 only the bones of one, a dreadful spectacle, which told too dis 
 tinctly the fate of the rest. The fort was razed to the ground ; the 
 houses were in ruins and overgrown with grass, on which deer 
 were browsing, and all was melancholy and desolate. White, 
 29 2 
 
338 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 however, sent invitations to the neighboring chiefs, to open a 
 friendly intercourse, assuring them that all should be forgiven 
 and forgotten. They returned a courteous answer, saying that 
 they would reply within eight days. Meantime, the English 
 learned the history of the unfortunate settlers. They had been 
 surprised and attacked by three hundred Indians. They re 
 treated into their storehouse, which the assailants set on fire. 
 Part of them perished in the flame, part were massacred, and the 
 remainder fled into the woods, where they were heard of no more. 
 Irritated by this relation, and hearing nothing from the chiefs 
 to whom he had made his overtures, White determined on instant 
 revenge. He attacked a party of the natives, as they were sitting 
 round a fire, and pursued them into a thicket, when it was discov 
 ered that they belonged to one of the tribes friendly to the Eng 
 lish. This ill-judged burst of resentment was the only exploit 
 performed by Governor White; and the colonists, who suffered 
 unexpected privations and hardships, forced him to return imme 
 diately to England for further supplies. Much delay followed, 
 and it was not till 1590, that another expedition reached Virginia, 
 when a scene of desolation similar to the former, again presented 
 itself in the place occupied by the unfortunate colony. The 
 houses were demolished, and a great part of the stores were found 
 buried in the earth. This led at first to the hope that the settlers 
 had removed to some other spot in the neighborhood ; but as no 
 trace was ever found of them, there cannot be a doubt that the 
 whole miserably perished. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 VIRGINIA CONTINUED. Voyage of Newport. Discovery of Chesapeake Bay, 
 Adventure of Captain Smith and Pocahontas. Smith explores the Chesapeake. 
 Cultivation of Tobacco. Vicissitudes of the colonists. Massacre by the In 
 dians. Dissolution of the London Company who held the charter of the colony. 
 HI success of their administration. 
 
 Settlement of Jamestown. 
 
 THESE repeated disasters at length discouraged Raleigh, who 
 had expended nearly his whole fortune without any prospect of a 
 return. Grenville, meantime, had died. Raleigh made no farther 
 attempts to colonize Virginia. The design was therefore sus 
 pended for some years; but, in 1602, it received a new impulse 
 from a voyage made by Bartholomew Gosnold, to the coast of 
 New England, or North Yirginia, as it was then called. Sir 
 Thomas Gates, Sir George Summers, Richard Hakluyt and 
 others, obtained a patent for South Virginia, as a company of 
 merchants and adventurers; and on the 19th of December, 1606, 
 three vessels sailed from London, under the command of Captain 
 Newport. Many persons of distinction were in this expedition ; 
 among others Captain John Smith, who was destined to become 
 
340 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 celebrated in the history of Yirginia. He possessed all those 
 qualities of firmness, courage and perseverance, which could fit 
 him for the arduous task of founding a colonial establishment. 
 He had been appointed one of the council for the government of 
 the colony. The president of the council was Edward Maria 
 Wingfield ; but Smith, from the force of his character, was allowed 
 to take a leading part in the very outset of the undertaking. He 
 soon excited the jealousy of his colleagues, who charged him with 
 a design of making himself king of Virginia. Upon this vague 
 accusation, he was arrested and kept in close confinement above 
 a year. 
 
 Towards the end K of April, 1607, they came nearly in sight of 
 the coast of Virginia, when they met a violent storm, which drove 
 them out of their reckoning, and they sailed three days without 
 any view of the expected land. So disheartened were they by 
 their long passage, that they were on the point of steering back to 
 England, when they came in sight of an unknown cape at the 
 entrance of a spacious gulf. This was Cape Henry, at the mouth 
 of Chesapeake Bay, where the beauty and fertility of the shores 
 surpassed all they had yet seen of the American continent. Their 
 first intercourse with the natives, however, showed that a deep 
 feeling of hostility against the English had become rooted in 
 their minds. A party from the ship having gone on shore for 
 recreation, the savages came creeping down the hills on all fours, 
 with their bows in their mouths, and when sufficiently near, dis 
 charged a cloud of arrows, wounding two of the English. A 
 volley of musketry sent them back to the woods with loud cries. 
 When the ships reached Cape Comfort, they saw five more natives, 
 who at first were shy, but at length invited the English by signs to 
 come ashore to their town. They proceeded to it by rowing across 
 a river, while the savages swam, holding their bows and arrows in 
 their mouths. The reception of the strangers was singular. The 
 Indians made a doleful noise, laying their faces to the ground and 
 scratching the earth with their nails. " We did think they had been 
 at their idolatry," says the narrator. After this greeting, they 
 spread mats on the ground and covered them with such dainties as 
 the country afforded, including tobacco, which they smoked out of 
 long, ornamented pipes. They then entertained their visitors with - 
 a dance. " beating their hands, shouting, howling" and stamping 
 like so many wolves or devils." After this entertainment, the 
 English departed in peace. 
 
 Proceeding higher up the bay, they came among people who 
 had probably never before seen Europeans. Here they were 
 received still more cordially. The king, or Werrowannee, of 
 
SETTLEMENT OF JAMESTOWN. 341 
 
 Rappahannoc, met them with all his train, "as goodly men/' says 
 one of the adventurers, " as I have seen of savages or Christians. 
 His body was painted all of crimson, with a chain of beads about 
 his neck ; his face painted blue, besprinkled with silver ore, as we 
 thought; his ears all hung with bracelets of pearl, and in either 
 ear a bird's claw beset with fine copper or gold. He entertained 
 us in so modest a proud fashion as though he had been a prince 
 of civil government." He invited the English to his house on a 
 hill covered with the finest corn-fields ; the vales were watered 
 by beautiful rivulets. One of the English having a very strong 
 target, which could resist shot, set it up for an Indian to shoot at. 
 The Indian took his arrow of cane, an ell in length, headed with 
 a sharp stone, and shot the target through. A steel target was 
 then set up, against which the arrow was broken in pieces ; on 
 which the Indian took out another, bit it in a rage, and went 
 away. 
 
 A fine river was next discovered, to which they gave the name 
 of James's river, in honor of king James I., from whom they held 
 their patent. Ascending this river forty miles, they selected a 
 spot on its banks for a settlement. A town was begun, named 
 Jamestown. But their provisions soon began to fall short ; sick 
 ness spread among them, and at the end of summer, fifty of the 
 settlers had died. In their distress, all eyes were turned towards 
 Smith, whose courage and enterprise were well known. Believ 
 ing him to be the only man who could provide a remedy for their 
 evils, they released him from confinement, and gave him the 
 supreme command. Smith set forth to collect provisions in the 
 surrounding country. The Indians, knowing the famishing con 
 dition of the English, received them with derision, and demanded 
 their muskets, swords, and other valuables. Finding it impossi 
 ble to trade, the English fired a volley and frightened the savages 
 into the woods. Smith's party then entered a village, which was 
 found well stocked with provisions. They proposed to carry these 
 off without delay, but Smith insisted upon remaining till the 
 Indians returned, as he had no doubt they would do ere long. 
 Soon they heard a hideous noise, and a body of sixty or seventy 
 Indians issued from the woods. They were painted black, white 
 and red, and advanced singing, dancing, and bearing in front 
 their okee, or idol, an image of skins stuffed with moss, painted, 
 and hung with chains of copper. In this style they made a 
 furious attack upon the English, but were driven back to the 
 woods, with the loss of their idol and several of their men. This 
 defeat appeared to dishearten them, and presently a venerable 
 personage came out with overtures of peace. A treaty was 
 29* 
 
342 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 concluded, terms of barter were agreed upon, and the English 
 obtained a boat-load of provisions. 
 
 After some further excursions, Smith returned to Jamestown, 
 and found a scheme on foot to break up the settlement and return 
 to England. He put down this attempt, and set out to explore the 
 Chickahominy, a branch of James's river. He sailed so fai up 
 that his boat could be forced onward only by cutting down the 
 trees which overhung the stream. At length, he was obliged to 
 abandon the boat, and proceed in a canoe with four of his party, 
 two of whom were Indians. Twenty miles further up, he left his 
 men at the canoe, and went into the woods to shoot game. In 
 this he did not observe his usual caution. The Indians, who had 
 been all this time watching his movements, attacked the canoe 
 and killed the two Englishmen. Smith suddenly found himself 
 surrounded by two or three hundred infuriated savages. Never 
 theless, he defended himself with amazing intrepidity. He seized 
 his Indian guide, tied him to his body, and presented him to the 
 enemy as a shield. In this position he retreated towards the 
 canoe, but before he could reach it, he sunk to the middle in a 
 swamp, where he was surrounded and taken prisoner. 
 
 He now gave himself up for lost. The Indians tied him to a 
 tree, and formed a circle around to shoot him. The presence of 
 mind of this remarkable man did not, however, desert him even 
 when he saw death before his eyes. Before a bow could be 
 drawn, Smith excited the attention of their chief, Opecancanough, 
 by exhibiting an ivory compass-dial; this caused a moment's 
 delay, which the ingenious adventurer improved to explain its 
 use and application to the heavenly bodies. Curiosity and the 
 love of mystery, were strong with the savages ; the chief and his 
 officers were struck with wonder and admiration. On a signal 
 given, all the bows and arrows were dropped, and Smith was 
 unbound, and conducted under a guard to the chief town of the 
 Indians. He was then led from town to town, and exhibited to 
 the women and children, who flocked in crowds to the sight, and 
 received him with strange yells and dances. Every day they set 
 before him as much bread and venison as would have fed twenty 
 men ; but no one sat down to eat with him. This and the lack 
 of all other marks of kindness in the behavior of the natives, 
 induced him to think they were fattening him for slaughter. 
 
 After he had been led about the country sufficiently, the sava 
 ges performed a grotesque conjuration over him, which lasted for 
 three days. The chief performer was a grim figure, having his 
 face painted black with coal and oil, and numerous stuffed skins 
 of snakes and weasels fastened by the tails to the crown of his 
 
SMITH SAVED BY POCAHONTAS. 343 
 
 head, and hanging down in a frightful manner over the face and 
 shoulders. He was assisted by others still more hideous, with 
 white eyes and striped skins of red and black. These demo 
 niacal figures intermingled circles of meal and corn with bundles 
 of sticks, explaining to their victim that the meal was the Indian 
 country, the corn the sea, and the sticks England, and that this 
 was done to discover whether he meant them well or ill. When 
 this incanlation was over, he was led before Powhatan, the chief 
 of all that part of Virginia, and whom the English dignified with 
 the title of emperor. Powhatan arrayed himself in the utmost 
 pomp on this solemn occasion. He wore an ample robe of raccoon 
 skins, from which all the tails were hanging. Behind him stood 
 two long rows of men, and behind them two more of women, all 
 with their faces and shoulders painted red, their heads bedecked 
 with white down, and chains of white beads round their necks. 
 One of the queens gave Smith a towel to wash his hands, and 
 another, a bundle of feathers to dry them. The fatal moment 
 was now approaching. Two large stones were placed before the 
 savage chief, and the attendants, rushing in a body upon Smith, 
 dragged him forward and laid his head upon one of the stones. 
 The executioner raised his ponderous club, and another instant 
 would have ended the life of the hero of Virginia. But at this 
 
 Pocahontas saving Smith. 
 
 critical moment, Pocahontas, the favorite daughter of Powhatan, 
 was struck with those emotions of humanity and tenderness, 
 which are the ornament of the sex. Regardless of the savage 
 hearts and barbarous mariners of her countrymen, and discarding 
 all thoughts of the dignity of her birth, she rushed to her father, 
 
344 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 arid pleaded for the life of the stranger. Her interposition was 
 repelled with coolness and obstinacy by the haughty chieftain. 
 The princess, rinding her entreaties insufficient to shake his bloody 
 resolution, then flung herself upon the bosom of the captive, laid 
 her head upon his, and declared that the blow aimed at his life 
 must first fall upon her. The romantic intrepidity of this savage 
 maiden at length touched the heart of the barbarous king. The 
 life of the captive was spared, and he was retained at the court 
 of the Virginian chief where he amused him and his daughter 
 by making bells, beads, and other trinkets of European fashion. 
 Another adventure soon followed. Smith was conveyed to a 
 house and placed alone by a large fire. Presently he heard a 
 frightful noise, #nd. Powhatan rushed in, with two hundred of his 
 men, having their faces blackened, and disguised in every terrify 
 ing manner that a savage fancy could invent. Again the prisoner 
 looked for instant death, but was relieved by the information that 
 these were signs of peace and friendship. He was then granted 
 his liberty, on condition of sending the king two culverdns and a 
 mill-stone. 
 
 Smith returned to Jamestown, which he reached at a critical 
 moment. The colonists were again in despair, and had been 
 fitting up a pinnace to convey them back to England. He took 
 decisive measures at once, and declared that the voyage must be 
 abandoned, or he would cause the pinnace to be sunk. Finding 
 him resolute, they gave up the project. Pocahontas, continuing 
 her generous kindness, sent them provisions every three or four 
 days, till a fresh ship arrived from England. After this, Smith 
 set out to complete his survey of the shores of the Chesapeake. 
 He crossed first to the eastern shore, and coasted upwards. He 
 was variously received, the natives in general coming " in much 
 surprise, asking what they were, and what they would." He 
 always used the means of conciliation ; and generally succeeded, 
 by friendly explanations and presents of beads, in opening an 
 amicable intercourse. But in some cases, the savages were obsti 
 nate in their hostility, and Smith was forced to intimidate them 
 by the terrors of his musketry. In one place, he was nearly 
 killed by the sting of a poisonous fish, and, by his own desire, his 
 friends dug a grave for him. His rapid and unexpected recovery, 
 however, saved the adventurers from so irretrievable a loss. A fter 
 a fortnight spent in this pursuit, the men became tired of laboring 
 at the oar, and being seconded in their murmurs by some days of 
 bad weather, obliged their commander to return home, though 
 much against his will. He set his face toward Jamestown, full 
 of regret at not having seen the Massowomeks, understood to be 
 
SMITH ASCENDS THE POTOMAC. 345 
 
 the most numerous and powerful of all the nations in those parts, 
 and the great river Potomac, the fame of which had come to his 
 ears. Suddenly, to his great surprise and delight, he came to the 
 broad mouth of this famous river, which presented so grand a 
 spectacle that the men recovered their spirits, and agreed to ascend 
 it. They found the country populous, but hostile; and at one 
 place an ambuscade of three or four thousand men, grimed, 
 painted and disguised, started up from the thickets with yells and 
 screams, like demons from the infernal regions. However, upon 
 the mere grazing of the English musket-balls upon the water, 
 " down fell their bows and arrows," and a friendly intercourse 
 followed. The enmity of these tribes, it appeared, had been 
 fomented by Powhatan, who had now resumed his hostile feel 
 ings toward the colonists. Some distance up the river, they found 
 a mine of antimony, which the natives extracted with shells and 
 hatchets. They prized this mineral highly, as the means of paint 
 ing their bodies black, yet giving them a gloss like silver. 
 
 The next expedition, Smith went in search of the river Sus- 
 quehannah, at the head of the bay. His vessel, however, was 
 stopped before reaching it, by the shoals. He sent up a message 
 requesting a visit from the Susquehannah tribe, who were repre 
 sented as a mighty people. After an interval of three or foui 
 days, there appeared sixty men, of gigantic stature, with presents 
 of arms, venison, and tobacco-pipes three feet long. Five of their 
 chiefs came on board the vessel and sailed across the bay without, 
 the least apprehension. The English then explored all the waters 
 of the bay, particularly the river Rappahannoc, where a thousand 
 arrows were let fly in a single volley at them. From this attack 
 
346 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 however, they suffered no injury. In this exploratory trip they 
 voyaged a distance of three thousand miles, and returned in safety 
 to Jamestown. 
 
 Pocahontas for several years kept up her acquaintance with the 
 English, visiting Jamestown, with her wild train of attendants, 
 with as much familiarity as if it had been her father's houso. 
 Powhatan, however, dissatisfied with the English mode of tra 
 ding, which does not seem to have been very liberal, laid a plan to 
 murder Smith in the woods. His life was again saved by the 
 fair Indian princess, who ran through the forest in a dark night 
 to warn her friend of his danger. In this disinterested act of 
 kindness she encountered gre?t hazard, yet refused all the pres 
 ents which the English offered in token of their gratitude. Open 
 war now broke out, and all intercourse between the colonists and 
 the natives was cut off. Smith, having been severely burned by 
 an accidental explosion of gunpowder, found it necessary to return 
 to England. 
 
 Before we resume the thread of our political history, we will 
 complete the story of the heroic Pocahontas. Some time after 
 the departure of Smith, one Captain Argall, who had been sent 
 up the Potomac to trade for corn, heard that this celebrated per 
 sonage was at a village on the river. He, therefore, bribed one of 
 the Indians to inveigle her on board his vessel, and then carried 
 her captive to Jamestown. It was expected that Powhatan would 
 consent to terms of peace to regain possession of his daughter ; 
 but the base treachery of her captors did not produce the desired 
 effect. The savage king remained three months without making 
 any reply to these overtures, and at last sent seven English cap 
 tives with seven bad muskets and an offer of five hundred bushels 
 of corn, as a ransom. These were rejected, as inadequate, and the 
 unfortunate prisoner remained two years in captivity. She 
 appears, however, to have been perfectly well treated, insomuch 
 that she became more and more attached to the English manners 
 and character. She was instructed in the principles of the Chris 
 tian religion, which she embraced, and was baptized with the 
 name of Rebecca. A young man, named Thomas Rolfe, admiring 
 her noble character and amiable manners, paid her his addresses, 
 and met with a tender return. A proposal of marriage was made 
 to her father, who, with unhoped-for willingness, readily agreed to 
 the proposal, and made it the basis of a treaty of peace, which 
 he never violated. Rblfe and Pocahontas were married, and the 
 brother and son of the king visited Jamestown, to represent the 
 barbarian monarch at the wedding. Soon after, the new-married 
 pair sailed for England. 
 
VOCAHONTAS IN LONDON. 347 
 
 When Smith heard of her arrival, he wrote a letter to the 
 queen, soliciting her kindness and courtesy towards his noble 
 friend. She was, in consequence, introduced at court, and became 
 the lavonte object in the social circles of fashion and rank. She 
 was accompanied by an Indian chief, who had married one 
 of her sisters. This savage resisted all the endeavors made to 
 convert him to Christianity: and the historian, Purchas, saw 
 him repeatedly " sing and dance his diabolical measures." Pow- 
 hatan had instructed him to bring back full information respecting 
 England, and particularly to count the people, furnishing him 
 for that purpose with a bundle of sticks, that he might make a 
 notch for every man. On landing at Plymouth, he was appalled 
 at the magnitude of the task before him, but continued notching 
 indefatigably all the way to London. As soon, howe\ er, as he 
 reached the great thoroughfare of Piccadilly, he threw away his 
 sticks, and on returning, desired Powhatan to count the leaves on 
 the trees, or the sands on the sea-shore, if he would number the 
 English. 
 
 The only mortification which Pocahontas met with in England, 
 was from king James, who, in his pedantic bigotry, imagined, or 
 affected to imagine, that Rolfe, in marrying the daughter of Pow 
 hatan, might be advancing a claim to the crown of Virginia. His 
 courtiers nevertheless, by much industry, drove this fancy from 
 his head, and Pocahontas departed from London with the most 
 favorable impressions of the English, and every appropriate honor 
 conferred upon her ; Rolfe being appointed Secretary and Recor 
 der General of Virginia. She was destined, however, no more to 
 see her native land. As she went down the Thames, she was 
 seized with an illness, which in a few days put an end to her life. 
 Her last moments are described as having been extremely edifying 
 to the spectator, and full of Christian hope and resignation. 
 
 Among the commodities sought in Virginia, gold, as usual, was 
 the primary object ; and whenever the eyes of the settlers lighted 
 on any mineral substance of a yellow color, then, as Smith says, 
 " dig gold ! wash gold ! refine gold ! became all the cry." Several 
 ships were loaded with yellow earth, believed to be gold dust, 
 which when it arrived in England was found to be utterly worth 
 less. To gold succeeded tobacco, which was soon established so 
 firmly among the English and other European nations as to become 
 a speedy and permanent source of wealth to Virginia. Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, while his mind was occupied with the settlement of the 
 country, introduced it at the court of Queen Elizabeth, where it 
 seems ta have been at first the subject of much ridicule. Raleigh 
 offered to bet with the queen that he would weigh the smoke 
 
348 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 from it ; a challenge which the queen readily accepted. Raleigh 
 then weighed the tobacco, and after smoking it, weighed the 
 ashes, arguing that the difference between the two quantities must 
 be the amount of the smoke. The queen admitted his reasoning, 
 and remarked that she had often seen gold turned into smoke, but 
 never, till then, smoke turned into gold. 
 
 Among the vicissitudes and disasters which befel the colony, 
 there is one deserving of especial notice for its tragical character. 
 Opecancanough, the successor of Powhatan, had adopted with 
 ardor all the early enmity of that prince against the English. 
 This hostile feeling was more and more embittered, as he observed 
 the manner in which the hated strangers multiplied and spread 
 over the country. Instigated by these feelings, he formed one of 
 those dreadful schemes, so characteristic of the Indians, of exter 
 minating the whole race of his enemies at a single blow. Such 
 was the fidelity of his people, and so deep the power of savage 
 dissimulation, that this bloody scheme was arranged and matured 
 during four years, without the slightest hint being conveyed to the 
 English. Down to the fatal moment of its execution the most 
 studied semblance of friendship and cordiality was maintained. 
 The king sent a message that " the sky would sooner fall than the 
 peace between them should be dissolved." Several of the English, 
 who had strayed into the woods and fallen into the power of the 
 savages, were carefully and kindly guided back. 
 
 On the fatal morning of the 22d of March, 1622, the Indians 
 flocked to the English settlements in great numbers, with numerous 
 presents, and many of them breakfasted in the English houses. 
 On a signal given, they began a general massacre, without distinc 
 tion of age or sex. The weapons of the English themselves, or 
 any instruments of destruction which lay nearest at hand, were 
 used against them. Many of the savage murderers had received 
 from* their victims particular kindness and marks of favor. In a 
 space of time which may be called momentary, three hundred 
 and forty-seven of the English fell, without knowing how or 
 by what weapon. Only one disclosure was made, and that by 
 Chumo. an Indian convert living with a Mr. Pace, who treated him 
 as his own son. One of his companions, the night before, acquaint 
 ed him with the ,design, and urged him to kill his master, as he 
 intended to kill his own. Instead of following this diabolical advice, 
 Chumo discovered the plot to Pace, by whom the intelligence was 
 despatched to Jamestown, and that settlement was saved. 
 
 Meantime, the colony proceeded with much vicissitude of for- 
 tune. The materials composing it were by no means of a prom 
 ising description. Smith describes them as "poor gentlemen. 
 
DISSOLUTION OF THE LONDON COMPANY. 349 
 
 tradesmen, servingmen, libertines, and such like ; ten times more 
 fit to spoil a commonwealth than either to begin or maintain one. ; ' 
 As they went out from England usually with extravagant hopes 
 of sudden and brilliant wealth, they paid little regard to any reg 
 ular or substantial pursuit, and scorned even the slight labor whic h 
 was necessary to draw subsistence from this fertile soil. Hostili 
 ties with the Indians cut off their supplies of provisions, and a 
 period of scarcity and suffering ensued which is known in the 
 history of Virginia as the " starving time" Once more the inhab 
 itants resolved to abandon the country. " No one dropped a tear," 
 says the contemporary narrator, " for none had enjoyed one day of 
 happiness." They embarked and sailed down James river, but 
 the next morning they met the long-boat of Lord Delaware, who 
 had just arrived on the coast with emigrants and supplies. The 
 vessel was put about, and the colonists returned to Jamestown. 
 
 Much as the colony had been reduced in its inhabitants and pos 
 sessions by their calamities, its losses were soon counterbalanced 
 oy supplies from the parent country. From May, 1621, to May, 
 1622, twenty ships conveyed thirteen hundred persons and eighty 
 head of cattle from England to Yirginia. King James made the 
 colonists a present of arms out of the tower, and sent them twenty 
 barrels of powder. Lord St. John, of Basing, gave them sixty 
 coats of mail. The city of London, and many private persons, 
 made them generous presents. Specimens of wine, made in Vir 
 ginia about this time, were sent to England. French laborers, 
 who had been imported to cultivate vineyards, wrote to the Eng 
 lish Company, that the climate and soil of Virginia surpassed 
 that of the province of Languedoc, for the culture of grapes. 
 
 In 1624, the London Company, which had hitherto held the gov 
 ernment of the colony, was dissolved by a legal process, and all the 
 rights and privileges conferred upon it returned to the king, from 
 whom they flowed. Whatever may be thought of the manner in 
 which the dissolution of the company was effected, the change was 
 for the better. There is not, perhaps, any mode of governing an 
 infant colony, less friendly to its liberty, than the dominion of an 
 exclusive corporation, possessed of all the powers which James 
 had conferred upon the company of adventurers in Virginia. 
 During several years the colonists can hardly be considered in 
 any other light than as servants to the company ; nourished out 
 of its stores, bound implicitly to obey its orders, and subjected to 
 the most rigorous of all forms of government, that of martial law. 
 Nor was the power of the company more favorable to the pros 
 perity of the colony than to its freedom. A numerous body of 
 merchants, as long as its operations are purely commercial, may 
 30 
 
350 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 carry them on with discernment and success ; but the mercantile 
 spirit, is badly adapted to conduct an enlarged and liberal plan of 
 civil policy. Colonies have seldom grown up to maturity and 
 vigor, under its narrow and interested regulations. Unacquainted 
 with the climate and soil of America, and ignorant of the produc 
 tions best suited to them, they seem to have had no settled plan 
 of improvement, and their schemes were continually varying 
 Their system of government was equally fluctuating. In the 
 course of eighteen years, ten different persons presided over the 
 province, as chief governors. No wonder that, under such admin 
 istration, all the efforts to give stability should prove abortive, or 
 produce but slender effects ! 
 
 Above an hundred and fifty thousand pounds were expended 
 in this first attempt to plant an English colony in America ; and 
 more than nine thousand persons were sent out from the mother 
 country to people this new settlement. The nation, in return for 
 this waste of treasure and of people, did not receive from Vir 
 ginia an annual importation of commodities exceeding twenty 
 thousand pounds in value ; and the colony was so far from having 
 added strength to the state, by an increase of population, that in 
 the year 1624, scarcely two thousand persons survived. 
 
 The company, like all unprosperous societies, fell unpitied. 
 The violent hand .with which royal prerogative had invaded its 
 rights was forgotten, and new prospects of success opened under a 
 projected constitution, supposed to be exempt from all the defects 
 to which past disasters were imputed. But the death of king 
 James prevented him from completing his intended plan of Colo 
 nial government. It was under the administration of the London 
 Company that slavery was first introduced into the United States. 
 In 1620, a Dutch ship of war entered James's river, and landed 
 twenty negroes for sale. This is the first mention of negro 
 slavery in the history of Virginia. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 VIRGINIA CONTINUED. Arbitrary government of Charles I. in Virginia. 
 isf ration of Sir William Berkeley. Opposition of the Virginians to the English 
 Parliament. Policy of Cromwell toward the Virginians. They rebel in favor 
 of the king. Ingratitude of Charles II. Effects of the navigation act in the 
 colonies. Bacon's rebellion. Civil war in Virginia. The royal government 
 overthrown. Death of Bacon and suppression of the rebellion. Prosperity of 
 the colony. 
 
 Bacon's Rebellion. 
 
 CHARLES I., on his accession to the throne, in 1625, adopted all 
 his father's maxims with respect to the colony in Virginia. He 
 declared it to he a part of the empire annexed to the crown, 
 and immediately subordinate to its jurisdiction. He conferred 
 the title of governor on Sir George Yeardly ; empowered him. in 
 conjunction with a council of twelve and a secretary, to exercise 
 supreme authority ; and enjoined them to conform in every point 
 to such instructions as, from time to time, he might send them. 
 From the tenor of the king's commission, as well as from the 
 known spirit of his policy, it is apparent that he intended to vest 
 every power of government, both legislative and executive, in the 
 governor and council, without recourse to the representatives of 
 the people. Virginia knew no other law than the will of the 
 sovereign. Statutes were published and taxes imposed, without 
 
35-2 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 once calling upon the representatives of the people to sanction them. 
 At the same time that the colonists were bereaved of political 
 rights, which they deemed essential to freedom, their private 
 property was violently invaded. A proclamation was issued, by 
 which, under pretexts equally absurd and frivolous, they were 
 prevented from selling tobacco to any person but to certain com 
 missioners appointed by the king to purchase it on his account. 
 Thus they had the cruel mortification to behold their sovereign 
 engross all the profits of their industry, by seizing the only valua 
 ble commodity which they had to vend, and retaining the mo 
 nopoly of it in his own hands. While the staple of the colony of 
 Virginia sunk in value, under the oppression and restraints of a 
 monopoly, property in land was rendered insecure, by various and 
 conflicting grants which Charles inconsiderately bestowed upon 
 his favorites. These were not only of such exorbitant extent as 
 to be unfavorable to the progress of cultivation, but, from inat 
 tention or imperfect acquaintance with the geography of the 
 country, their boundaries were so inaccurately defined, that large 
 tracts already occupied and planted, were often included in new 
 grants. 
 
 The murmurs and complaints which such a system of admin 
 istration excited, were augmented by the rigor with which Sir 
 John Harvey, who succeeded Yeardley in the government of 
 the colony, enforced every act of power. Rapacious, unfeel 
 ing and haughty, he added insolence to oppression; and neither 
 regarded the sentiments nor listened to the remonstrances of the 
 .people under his administration. The colonists, far from the seat 
 of government, and overawed by authority, submitted long to his 
 tyranny and exactions. Their patience was at last exhausted ; 
 and in a transport of popular rage and indignation, they seized 
 their governor and sent him a prisoner to England, accompanied 
 by two of their number, whom they deputed to prefer their accu 
 sations against him to the king. But this attempt to redress their 
 wrongs was altogether repugnant to every idea which Charles 
 entertained, with respect to the obedience due by subjects to theii 
 sovereign. To him, the conduct of the colonists appeared to be, 
 not only an usurpation of his right, but an open and audacious 
 act of rebellion. t Without deigning to admit their deputies into 
 his presence, or to hear one article of their charges*.against Har 
 vey, the king instantly sent him back to his former station, with 
 an ample renewal of all the powers belonging to it. Though 
 Charles deemed this vigorous step necessary to assert his own 
 authority, and to testify his displeasure against those who had pre 
 sumed to offer such an insult to it, he seems to have been so sen- 
 
VIRGINIA. 353 
 
 sible of the grievances under which the colonists groaned, and of 
 the chief source from which they flowed, that, soon after, he not 
 only removed a governor so justly odious to them, but named as a 
 successor, Sir William Berkeley, a person far superior to Harvey 
 in rank, abilities and popular virtues. 
 
 Under his government, the colony in Virginia remained, with 
 some short interruption, almost forty years ; and to his mild and 
 prudent administration, its increase and prosperity are in a great 
 measure to be ascribed. It was indebted, however, to the king 
 himself, for such a reform of its constitution and policy, as gave a 
 different aspect to the colony, and animated all its operations with 
 a new spirit. Though the tenor of Sir William Berkeley's com 
 mission was the same with that of his predecessor, he received 
 instructions under the great seal, by which he was empowered to 
 declare, that in all its concerns, civil as well as ecclesiastical, the 
 colony was to be governed according to the laws of England. 
 He was directed to issue writs for electing representatives of the 
 people, who, in conjunction with the governor and council, were 
 to form a general assembly, and to possess supreme legislative 
 authority. And he was ordered to establish courts of justice, in 
 which all questions, whether civil or criminal, were to be decided 
 agreeably to the forms of judicial procedure in the mother country. 
 tt is probable that the dread of the spirit then rising in England, 
 extorted from Charles concessions so favorable to Virginia. He 
 was aware that many measures of great moment, in his own 
 government, would be brought under a strict review in parlia 
 ment, and, unwilling to give malecontents the advantage of adding 
 a charge of oppression, in the remote parts of his dominions, to a 
 catalogue of domestic grievances, he artfully endeavored to take 
 the merit of having granted voluntarily to his people in Virginia, 
 such privileges as he foresaw would be extorted from him. 
 
 But though Charles established the internal government of Vir 
 ginia on a model similar to that of the English constitution, and 
 conferred on his subjects there all the rights of freemen and citi 
 zens, he was extremely solicitous to maintain its connexion with 
 (he parent state. With this view he instructed Sir William 
 Berkeley strictly to prohibit any commerce of the colony with for 
 eign nations. Even under this restraint, such is the kindly influ 
 ence of free government on society that the colony advanced rap 
 idly in industry and population. At the beginning of the civil 
 war, the English settled in it exceeded twenty thousand. 
 
 Gratitude towards a monarch from whose hands they had re 
 ceived immunities, together with the influence and example of a 
 popular governor, concurred in preserving loyalty among die 
 30* s2 
 
354 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 eolonists. Even when monarchy was abolished, after one king 
 had been beheaded, and another driven into exile, the authority 
 of the crown continued to be acknowledged and revered in 
 Virginia. Irritated at this open defiance of its power, parlia 
 ment issued an ordinance declaring, that, as the settlement in 
 Yiiginia had been made at the cost, and by the people of England, 
 it ought to be subordinate to the English commonwealth, and 
 subject to such laws as are, or shall be made in parliament ; that, 
 instead of dutiful submission, the colonists had disclaimed the 
 authority of the state, and audaciously rebelled against it ; on this 
 account they were denounced as traitors ; and, not only all vessels 
 belonging to natives of Europe, but those of foreign nations were 
 prohibited to enter their ports, or to carry on any commerce with 
 them. 
 
 The efforts of a high-spirited government, in asserting its own 
 dignity, were prompt and vigorous. A powerful squadron, with 
 a considerable body of land forces, was despatched to reduce the 
 Virginians to obedience. After compelling the colonists in Bar- 
 badoes and the other islands to submit to the commonwealth, the 
 squadron entered the bay of Chesapeake. Berkeley, with more 
 courage than prudence, took arms to oppose this formidable arma 
 ment ; but he could not long maintain such an unequal contest. 
 His gallant resistance, however, procured favorable terms for 
 the people under his government. A general indemnity for all 
 past offences was granted. They acknowledged the authority 
 of the common wealth, and were admitted to a participation of all 
 the rights of citizens. By a convention entered into by commis 
 sioners, on both sides, the Virginians had secured to them the 
 ancient limits of their country ; its free trade ; its exemption from 
 taxation but by their own assembly ; and the exclusion of military 
 force from among them. Berkeley, firm to his principles of loyalty, 
 disdained to make any stipulation for himself; but continued to 
 reside in Virginia, as a private man, beloved and respected by all 
 over whom he had formerly presided. 
 
 Not satisfied with taking measures to subjugate the colonists, 
 the commonwealth turned its attention towards the most effectual 
 mode of retaining them in dependence on the parent state, and 
 of securing to, it the benefit of their increasing commerce. With 
 this view, the parliament framed two laws ; one ofavhich expressly 
 prohibited all mercantile intercourse between the colonies and for 
 eign states ; and the other ordained that no production of Asia, 
 Africa or America, should be imported into the dominions of the 
 commonwealth, but in vessels belonging to English owners, or to 
 the people of the colonies settled there, and navigated by an 
 
LOYAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE VIRGINIANS. 355 
 
 English commander, and by crews of whom the greater portion 
 were Englishmen. This act was rigidly enforced in Virginia and 
 Maryland ; and from its operation the inhabitants suffered no little 
 distress. Cromwell frequently changed his colonial governors, 
 lest they should enter into the feelings of the people. In Virginia, 
 he had no less than three, Digges, Bennet and Matthews, during 
 the protectorship. 
 
 His conduct was very different in the New England colonies. 
 Notwithstanding the navigation laws, they were allowed a free 
 trade to all parts ; and were indulged with the liberty of importing 
 their commodities into England, free from all the duties which 
 the southern colonies were obliged to pay. This excited the envy 
 of the other colonies, and created dissatisfaction among the mer 
 chants in England ; but was, notwithstanding, continued till the 
 restoration. 
 
 Virginia remained almost nine years in perfect tranquillity. 
 During that period, many adherents to the royal party, and among 
 these some gentlemen of good families, in order to avoid danger 
 and oppression, to which they were exposed in England, or in 
 hopes of improving their fortunes, migrated to Virginia. On the 
 death of Matthews, the last governor named by Cromwell, the 
 sentiments and inclinations of the people, no longer under the con 
 trol of authority, burst out with violence. They forced Sir Wil 
 liam Berkeley to quit his retirement; they unanimously elected 
 him governor of the colony; and as he refused to act under an 
 usurped authority, they boldly erected the royal standard, and, 
 acknowledging Charles the Second their lawful sovereign, pro 
 claimed him with all his titles. The Virginians long boasted, 
 that, as they were the last of the king's subjects who renounced 
 their allegiance, they were the first who returned to their duty. 
 
 Happily for the people in Virginia, a revolution in England, 
 sudden and unexpected, seated Charles on the throne of his ances 
 tors. On receiving the first accounts of this event, the exultation 
 of the colony was universal and unbounded, but not of long con 
 tinuance. Gracious but unproductive professions of esteem and 
 good-will were the only return made by Charles to loyalty arid 
 services, which, in the estimation of the Virginians, were so dis 
 tinguished, that no recompense was beyond what they claimed. 
 The king's neglect and ingratitude disappointed all the sanguine 
 hopes they had founded on the merits of their past conduct ; and 
 at the same time the spirit which influenced parliament, in com 
 mercial deliberations, opened a prospect that alarmed them with 
 respect to their future situation. In framing regulations for the 
 
356 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 encouragement of trade, the house of commons, instead of grant 
 ing the colonies that relief which they expected, from the restraints 
 on their commerce imposed by the commonwealth and Cromwell, 
 not only adopted all their ideas concerning this branch of legis 
 lation, but extended them further. This produced the act of 
 navigation, the most important and memorable of any in the 
 statute book, with respect to the history of English commerce. 
 By this, it was enacted, that no commodities should be imported 
 into any settlement in Asia, Africa or America, or exported from 
 them, but in English or plantation built vessels ; that no sugar, 
 tobacco, cotton, wool, indigo, ginger, or woods used in dyeing, of 
 the growth or manufacture of the colonies, should be shipped from 
 them to any other country but England. Soon after, the act of 
 navigation was extended, and additional restraints were imposed 
 by a new law, which prohibited the importation of any European 
 commodity into the colonies, but what was laden in England, in 
 vessels navigated and manned as the act of navigation required. 
 The principles of policy on which the various regulations con 
 tained in both statutes are founded, were openly avowed in a 
 declaration, that, " as the plantations beyond seas are inhabited 
 and peopled by subjects of England, they may be kept in a firmer 
 dependence upon it, and rendered yet more beneficial and advan 
 tageous to it, in the further employment and increase of English 
 shipping and seamen, as well as in the vent of English woollen 
 and other manufactures and commodities ; and in making Eng 
 land an emporium, not only of the commodities of those planta 
 tions but also of the commodities of other countries and places, for 
 the supplying of them." 
 
 By these successive regulations, the plan of securing to Eng 
 land a monopoly of the commerce with its colonies, and of shutting 
 up every other channel into which it might be diverted, was per 
 fected and reduced into a complete system. On one side of the 
 Atlantic these regulations have been extolled, as an extraordinary 
 effort of political sagacity, and have been considered as the great 
 charter of national commerce, to which England is indebted for all 
 its opulence and power. On the other, they have been execrated 
 as a code of oppression, more suited to the illiberality of mercantile 
 ideas than to the extensive views of legislative wisdom. 
 
 Hardly was the act of navigation known in Virginia, and its 
 effect begun to be felt, when the colony remonstrated against it, 
 as a grievance, and petitioned earnestly for relief. But the com 
 mercial ideas of Charles and his ministers coincided so perfectly 
 with those of parliament, that, instead of listening with a favora- 
 
NAVIGATION ACT. 357 
 
 ble ear to their application, they labored assiduously to carry the 
 act into execution. For this purpose, instructions were issued to 
 the governor, forts were built on the banks of the principal rivers, 
 and small vessels appointed to cruise on the coasts. The Vir 
 ginians, seeing no prospect of obtaining exemptions from the act, 
 set themselves to evade it. As it is with extreme difficulty that 
 commerce can be turned into a new channel, tobacco, the staple 
 of the colony, sunk prodigiously in value, when they were com 
 pelled to send it all to one market. It was some time before Eng 
 land could furnish full assortments of those necessary articles, 
 without which the industry of the colony could not be carried on, 
 or its prosperity secured. Encouraged by the symptoms of general 
 languor and despondency, which this declining state of the colony 
 occasioned, the Indians, seated towards the heads of the rivers, 
 ventured first to attack the remote settlements. Unexpected as 
 these hostilities were from a people, who during a long period had 
 lived in friendship with the English, a measure taken by the king 
 seems to have excited still greater uneasiness among the most opu 
 lent people in the colony. Charles had imprudently imitated the 
 example of his father, by granting such large tracts of land in 
 Virginia to several of his courtiers, as tended to unsettle the dis 
 tribution of property in the country, and to render the title of the 
 most ancient planters to their estates, precarious and questionable. 
 From these various causes, which affected every individual in the 
 colony, the indignation of the people became general; and was 
 worked up to such a pitch that nothing was wanting to precipitate 
 them into the most desperate acts, but some leader qualified to 
 unite and to direct their operations. 
 
 Such a leader they found in Nathaniel Bacon, a colonel of 
 militia ; who, though he had been settled in Virginia only three 
 years, had acquired, by popular manners, an insinuating address, 
 and the consideration derived from having been regularly trained 
 in England to the profession of the law, such general esteem, 
 that he was regarded as one of the most respectable persons in 
 the colony. Bacon was ambitious, eloquent and daring. Prompted 
 either by honest zeal to redress the public wrongs, or allured by 
 hopes of raising himself to distinction and power, he mingled 
 with the malecontents, and by his bold harangues, and confident 
 promises of removing all their grievances, inflamed them almost 
 to madness. As the devastation committed by the Indians was 
 the calamity most sensibly felt by the people, he accused the gov 
 ernor of having neglected the proper measures for repelling the 
 invasions of the savages, and exhorted them to take arms in their 
 
35S THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 own defence, and to exterminate that odious race. Great numbers 
 assembled and chose Bacon to be their general. He applied to 
 the governor for a commission confirming this election of the peo 
 ple ; and oifered to march instantly against the common enemy. 
 Berkeley, accustomed, by long possession of supreme command, to 
 high ideas of the respect due to his station, considered this tumult 
 uary armament as an open insult to his authority. Unwilling, 
 however, to give farther provocation to an incensed multitude, by 
 a direct refusal of what they demanded, he thought it prudent to 
 negotiate in order to gain time ; and it was not till he found (ill 
 endeavors to soothe them ineffectual, that he issued a proclama 
 tion, requiring them in the king's name, under the pain of being 
 denounced as rebels, to disperse. 
 
 But Bacon,' sensible that he had advanced so far as rendered it 
 impossible to recede with honor or safety, instantly took the only 
 resolution that remained for him in his situation. At the head of 
 a chosen body of his followers, he marched rapidly to Jamestown ; 
 and, surrounding the house where the governor and council were 
 assembled, demanded the commission for which he had formerly 
 applied. Berkeley, with the proud, indignant spirit of a cavalier, 
 disdaining the requisitions of a rebel, peremptorily refused to 
 comply ; and calmly presented his naked breast to the weapons 
 that were pointed against it. The council, however, foreseeing 
 the fatal consequences of driving an enraged multitude, in whose 
 power they were, to the last extremities of violence, proposed a 
 commission constituting Bacon general of all the forces in Vir 
 ginia, and, by their entreaties, prevailed on the governor to sign 
 it. Bacon, with his troops, retired in triumph. Hardly was the 
 council delivered, by his departure, from the dread of present 
 danger, when, by a transition not unusual in feeble minds, pre 
 sumptuous boldness succeeded to excessive fear. The commis 
 sion granted to Bacon was declared to be null, having been 
 extorted by force ; he was proclaimed a rebel ; his followers were 
 required to abandon his standard, and the militia ordered to arm 
 and join the governor. 
 
 Enraged at this conduct, Bacon, instead of continuing his march 
 towards the Indian country, instantly wheeled round, and ad 
 vanced with all his forces to Jamestown. The governor, unable 
 to resist so numerous a body, made his escape anclfled across the 
 bay, to Accomack, on the eastern shore. Some of the counsellors 
 accompanied him thither ; others retired to their own plantations. 
 Upon the flight of Sir William Berkeley, and dispersion of the 
 council, the frame of civil government in the colony seemed to be 
 
359 
 
 dissolved ; and Bacon became possessed of supreme and uncon 
 trolled power. But, as he was sensible that his countrymen 
 would not long submit with patience to aathority acquired and 
 held merely by force of arms, he endeavored to found it on a more 
 constitutional basis, by obtaining the sanction of the people's 
 approbation. With this view he called together the most consid 
 erable gentlemen in the colony, and having prevailed on them to 
 bind themselves by oath to maintain his authority, and to resist 
 every enemy that should oppose it, he from that time considered 
 his jurisdiction as legally established. 
 
 Berkeley, meanwhile, made inroads into different parts of the 
 colony, where Bacon's authority was recognised. Several sharp 
 conflicts took place with various success. Jamestown was reduced 
 to ashes ; and the best cultivated districts in the province were laid 
 waste, sometimes by one party, and sometimes by the other. But 
 it was not by his own exertions that the governor hoped to termi 
 nate the contest. He had early transmitted an account of the 
 transactions in Virginia to the king, and demanded such a body 
 of soldiers as would enable him to quell the insurgents. To 
 induce the king to grant this request, he represented Bacon's party 
 as impatient of all dependence on the parent state. Charles, 
 alarmed at a commotion no less dangerous than unexpected, and 
 solicitous to maintain his authority over a colony, the value of 
 which was daily increasing, speedily despatched a small squadron, 
 with such a number of regular troops as Berkeley had required. 
 Bacon and his followers received intimation of this armament, 
 but were not intimidated at its approach. They boldly deter 
 mined to oppose it with open force ; and declared it to be consist 
 ent with their duty and allegiance to treat all who should aid Sir 
 William Berkeley, as enemies, until they should have an opportu 
 nity of laying their grievances before their sovereign. 
 
 But while both parties prepared, with equal animosity, to involve 
 their country in the horrors of a civil war, an event happened 
 which quieted the commotion almost as suddenly as it had been 
 excited. Bacon, when ready to take the field, sickened and died. 
 None of his followers possessed such talents as entitled them to 
 aspire to the supreme command. Destitute of a leader to conduct 
 and animate them, their sanguine hopes of success subsided. 
 Mutual distrust accompanied this universal despondency. All 
 began to wish for an accommodation ; and, after a short negotia 
 tion with Sir William Berkeley, Lieutenant General Ingram and 
 Major General Walklate, they laid down their arms and submitted 
 to his government, on obtaining a promise of general pardon ; but 
 
SCO THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ... 
 
 were obliged to submit to the incapacity of ever bearing any 
 office in the colony. 
 
 Thus terminated an insurrection, which, in the annals of Vir 
 ginia, is distinguished by the name of "Bacon's rebellion." During 
 seven months this daring leader was master of the colony, while 
 the royal governor, shut up in a remote corner of it, was able to e 
 make only a feeble resistance. Skirmishes took place, in which 
 several on both sides were killed or wounded. The cattle of the 
 country were destroyed, and during the insurrection there was an 
 almost total neglect of husbandry ; so that the people had the 
 dreadful prospect of famine. What were the real motives that 
 prompted Bacon to take arms, and to what length he intended to 
 carry his plans of reform, it is not easy to discover. It is probable 
 that his conduct, like that of other adventurers in faction, would 
 have been regulated chiefly by events ; and accordingly as these 
 proved favorable or adverse, his views and requisitions would 
 have been extended or circumscribed. 
 
 Sir William Berkeley, as soon as he was reinstated in his office, 
 called together the representatives of the people, that by their 
 advice and authority, public tranquillity and order might be per 
 fectly re-established. Though this assembly met a few weeks after 
 the death of Bacon, while the memory of reciprocal injuries was 
 still recent, and when the passions excited by such a fierce contest, 
 had yet had but little time to subside, its proceedings were con 
 ducted with a moderation seldom exercised by the successful party 
 in a civil war. No man suffered capitally. A small number were 
 subjected to fines ; others were declared incapable of holding any 
 office of trust ; and, with these exceptions, the promise of general 
 indemnity was confirmed by law. Soon after these events, Berke 
 ley went to England, and died there. Lord Culpepper was ap 
 pointed his successor. 
 
 From the English revolution, in 1688, to the American revolu 
 tion, in 1776, the government of Virginia was conducted on lib 
 eral principles, and generally for the benefit of the people. The 
 colony was too far north to be involved in the disputes with the 
 Spaniards, about boundary, whicjj affected the more southern 
 colonies ; and too far south to be claimed by the French, as an 
 appendage to Canada ; or to have a distressing participation in 
 the several wars between France and England which, from 1690, 
 to 1748, disturbed the peace of the more northern colonies. From 
 1754, to 1758, when the French scheme of uniting Canada and 
 Louisiana, was urged, the frontiers of Virginia were involved in 
 serious distresses, from the incursions of French and Indian par- 
 
VIRGINIA. 
 
 361 
 
 ties, detached from fort Duquesne, on the Ohio; but, with this 
 exception, Virginia enjoyed a steady course of prosperity, for the 
 last eighty-five years of her colonial existence. In this period, 
 her strength and her resources increased to so great an extent, as 
 enabled her successfully to resist the encroachments of the mother 
 country. 
 
 Sock bridge, Virginia. 
 
 31 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. Voyage of Gosnold to New England. Voyage of Weymouth. 
 Settlement of Popham and Gilbert at Sagadahock. Smith's voyage to New 
 England. Rise of the Puritans. Their persecution in England. Their emi 
 gration to Holland. Brown and Robinson. Embarkation of the Pilgrim 
 Fathers. Voyage of the Mayflower to America. Arrival of the Pilgrims at 
 Cape Cod. Adventures with the natives, and perils of the colonists. Landing 
 at Plymouth. 
 
 Landing of the Pilgrims. 
 
 IN the year 1602, Captain Bartholomew Gosnold made a voy 
 age to New England, apparently on his own account, and perhaps 
 with a view to the Newfoundland fishery. He sailed from Dart 
 mouth, in a small vessel, with a crew of thirty-two men. He first 
 made the land p,bout Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. The 
 voyagers found the soil exceedingly fertile, so that -wheat, barley 
 and oats, being sown in the middle of May, grew nine inches in. a 
 fortnight. On reaching the main land, " they stood awhile, rav 
 ished with the beauty and delicacy of the scene," which presented 
 large and fine meadows, adorned with clear and noble streams. 
 They caught in a few hours more codfish than they knew how 
 
COLONIZATION OF NEW ENGLAND. 363 
 
 to dispose of; and the coast appeared so rocky and broken as to 
 afford every promise of good harbors. Gosnold published such 
 alluring accounts of this territory, which still bore the name of 
 North Virginia, that the attention of the English, which had been 
 turned somewhat from the subject of western adventure by the 
 ill success of the southern colony, was roused anew. This dis 
 covery presented to their eyes a new country, and gave them a 
 much larger idea of that vast dominion, which, under the above 
 name, stood nominally attached to the British empire. 
 
 In 1606, Thomas Arundel, Lord Wardour, an accomplished and 
 spirited nobleman fitted out a vessel, under Captain Weymouth, 
 to make further discoveries. Weymouth, following the same route 
 as Gosnold, brought home a most favorable report, but the narra 
 tive of his voyage is not sufficiently distinct to enable us to deter 
 mine the precise localities to which his delineations refer. He 
 describes a noble river, a mile broad for forty miles upward into 
 the country, and adds that "Orenoque, so famous in the world's 
 ears," was not comparable to it. From the size of this river, one 
 might judge it to be the Hudson ; but from his mention of a bay 
 with the isles, channels and inlets about it, we incline to think it 
 was the Penobscot. The soil is represented as most rich, " verged 
 with a green border of grass," and which, when cleared of the 
 thick woods that covered it, might be formed into the most beau 
 tiful meadow. Weymouth might have found opportunity for 
 trade, but he would not " hazard so hopeful a business," and 
 regarded nothing but " a public good and promulgating God's holy 
 Church." 
 
 The first colony sent to New England was despatched by Sir 
 John Popham, chief justice, and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, governoi 
 of Plymouth, and " divers others worshipful knights and mer 
 chants of the west." These great personages, however, produced 
 nothing more than a little bark of fifty-five tons, on board of which 
 they shipped twenty-nine Englishmen and two savages, who had 
 been brought from that country. But these adventurers never 
 reached the New England shores. On the coast of Hispaniola 
 they were caught in a thick and tempestuous fog, on the clearing 
 up of which they found themselves in the midst of a fleet of 
 Spanish vessels, who made them prisoners and carried them to 
 Spain. Notwithstanding the miscarriage of this enterprise, Cap 
 tain Popham, son to the chief justice, and Captain Gilbert, set 
 sail, in 1607, on a new adventure, with a hundred men. well 
 equipped. They settled on the river Sagaclahock, and built a fort, 
 which they called St. Geprge. The first years of a colony, how 
 ever, always constitute a period of hardships, and the new settlers 
 
364 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 suffered additionally by part of their stores being accidentally 
 burned. Next summer a vessel arrived with supplies, but brought 
 tidings of the death of their great patron, the chief justice, and 
 likewise of the brother of Captain Gilbert, who determined imme 
 diately to go home and take possession of his estate. The whole 
 colony, discouraged and sick of the enterprise, set sail together. 
 
 The next adventurer in New England, it appears, was Captain 
 John Smith, who acted so eminent a part in Virginia, and whom 
 Purchas describes as "a man who hath many irons in the fire." 
 He went about the principal seaports in the west of England, 
 visiting all the gentlemen who were likely to favor his scheme; 
 and complains that this negotiation cost him more toil and torment 
 than any he endured on the coasts of the New World. The mer 
 chants of London were best able to furnish the funds, but the 
 western sailors were the best fishers, and the voyage from London 
 to Plymouth was almost as hard as from Plymouth to New Eng 
 land. At length he equipped two vessels, whose destination was 
 threefold : first, the whale fishery ; next, a mine of gold ; and, in 
 default of both, to make a saving voyage any other way. All 
 three failed. The whale-fishery proved a "costly conclusion;'' 
 for, though they saw and chased a great number of whales, they 
 could not kill any. The gold was found a mere device of the 
 projector ; and when they came to the banks of Newfoundland, 
 they found they had lost the prime season for fishing, and re 
 turned to England with only a sorry cargo. 
 
 During this voyage, however, Smith surveyed and made a map 
 of the coast of New England, which he presented to the king, 
 Charles L, who always took a great interest in maritime affairs, 
 and amused himself in changing the uncouth Indian names of 
 places into others derived from England. Notwithstanding this 
 sunshine of royal favor, Smith had difficulty next year in equipping 
 a small bark with sixteen colonists, whom he would have wished 
 to be several thousands, and who seemed, indeed, to be incapable 
 of providing for their own security on this barbarous shore ; but 
 he trusted in the friendship of Dohoday, " one of the greatest 
 lords of the savages." This vessel was captured by the French, 
 and Smith effected, with difficulty, his return to England. . Yet 
 his ardent and persevering temper still led him to dwell on the 
 scheme, and in his 'General History of New England, 4je copiously 
 sets forth all its advantages. The shore, he admits, is in many 
 places " rocky and affrightable," but in penetrating into the in 
 terior it greatly improved, and might yield plentifully, though not 
 quite the same perfection as in Virginia, the best grains, fruits and 
 vegetables. 
 
NEW ENGLAND COLONIZATION. 365 
 
 Meantime, the first voyage of Smith had been followed by a 
 tragical event. One Hunt, who had been left in charge of one of 
 the ships inveigled twenty or thirty of the natives on board and 
 carried them to Malaga, where he sold them to the Spaniards. 
 The consequence was that Captain Hobson, who came after him, 
 without knowing anything of the affair, was attacked by the 
 Indians ; several of his crew were killed, and himself wounded. 
 The natives were subsequently pacified for a time, but in a few 
 years these hostile acts were repeated. 
 
 These mishaps, with other discouraging circumstances arising 
 out of the loose and indiscriminate manner in which the patentees 
 of the colony made grants of land to individuals, threw such a 
 damp on the undertaking, that England, an hundred and twenty 
 years after her discovery of North America, possessed nothing on 
 the shores of this great continent except a few scattered huts built 
 by the fishermen who resorted hither in summer. But the time 
 was now come, when causes unforeseen, and events undesigned 
 by their authors, were to lead the way to a mighty tide of emi 
 gration, and render New England the most flourishing and pros 
 perous of all the colonies in the western world. 
 
 New England was the destined asylum of oppressed piety and 
 virtue, and its colonization, denied to the pretensions of greatness 
 and the efforts of power, was reserved for men whom the great 
 and the powerful despised for their insignificance, and persecuted 
 for their integrity. The recent growth of the Virginian colony, and 
 the repeated attempts to form a settlement in New England, 
 naturally attracted to this quarter the eyes of men who felt little 
 reluctance to forsake a country, where, for conscience sake, they 
 had already incurred the loss of temporal ease and enjoyment ; 
 whom persecution had fortified to the endurance of hardship, and 
 piety had taught to despise it. It was at this juncture, accordingly, 
 that the project of colonizing New England was undertaken by 
 the Puritans, a body of men, respecting whose sentiments and 
 previous history we must give some account. 
 
 Henry the Eighth Abolished the authority of the church of Rome 
 in England, but his haughty and imperious disposition incited 
 him to substitute his own authority for that of the pope, and regu 
 late the ecclesiastical affairs of the kingdom in an arbitrary and 
 despotic manner. Abetted by a body of servile, dependent and 
 sordid nobles, whom he enriched with the spoils of the plundered 
 monasteries, and by a compliant House of Commons, whose pro 
 fession of faith veered about with every variation of the royal 
 creed, he paid no respect whatever, in the ecclesiastical institutions 
 which he successively established, to the sentiments of the body 
 31* 
 
366 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of the people, a portion of his subjects, to whose petitions he once 
 answered by a public proclamation that they were " but brutes 
 and inexpert folk," and as unfit to advise him as blind men were 
 to judge of colors. His object was to make himself and his suc 
 cessors the heads of the church, in place of the pope ; and for the 
 maintenance of this usurped dominion, he retained, both in the 
 ceremonies of worship and the constitution of the clerical order, 
 a great deal of the machinery which his predecessor in the supre 
 macy had found useful. While he rigidly denied the right of pri 
 vate judgment to his subjects, his own incessant and imperious 
 exercise of this right continually tempted them to partake the 
 satisfaction which it seemed to afford him. Moreover, the frequent 
 variations of the creeds he promulgated, at once excited a spirit 
 of speculation ' akin to his own, and practically refuted the only 
 pretence that could recommend or entitle his judgment to the 
 implicit assent of fallible men. The pope, expressly maintaining 
 that he could never be in the wrong, was disabled from correcting 
 either his own errors or those bequeathed to him by his predeces 
 sors. Henry the Eighth, merely pretending to the privilege of 
 being always in the right, defeated this pretension by the variety 
 and inconsistency of the systems to which he applied it. While 
 he insisted on retaining much of the peculiar doctrine of the 
 church of Rome, he attacked, in its infallibility, a tenet not only 
 important in itself, but the sole sanction and foundation of a great 
 many others. Notwithstanding all his exertions, a spirit of re 
 ligious inquiry began to arise among the multitude of professors, 
 who, blindly or interestedly, had followed the fortunes and the 
 variations of the royal creed ; and the knowledge of divine truth, 
 combined with a growing regard for simplicity of divine worship, 
 arising first in the higher classes, spread downwards through 
 the successive ranks of society during this and the following reigns. 
 Even in the lifetime of Henry, the protestant doctrines had 
 spread far beyond the limits of any of the peculiar creeds which 
 he had adopted and promulgated, and in their illegitimate extent 
 had made numerous proselytes in his court and kingdom. The 
 propagation of them was aided by the translation and diffusion of 
 the Scriptures, which he vainly endeavored to prevent, and which 
 enabled his people to draw truth for themselves, unstinted and 
 unadulterated, from the everlasting wells. The open profession 
 of those illicit opinions, was in many instances repressed by the 
 terror of his inflexible cruelty, and by the influence over his 
 measures which his courtiers found it easy to obtain, by feigning 
 implicit submission to his capricious and impetuous temper. The 
 temptations to which these men were exposed, proved fatal in 
 
HENRY VIII. AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 367 
 
 some instances to their integrity ; and several of them, even the 
 virtuous Cranmer, concurred, though reluctantly, in punishing 
 by a cruel death the open profession of sentiments which they 
 secretly cherished in their own breast. They were afterwards 
 compelled themselves to drink of the same cup of martyrdom, and 
 enabled to make some atonement to the cause of truth, by the 
 heroism with which, in Mary's bloody reign, they suffered for the 
 cause which they had persecuted before. 
 
 By the death of Henry, his protestant subjects were exempted 
 from the necessity of further dissimulation. In the reign of 
 Edward the Sixth, the Catholic doctrines were wholly expunged 
 from the national creed, and the fundamental articles of the pro 
 testant faith recognised and established by law. As among other 
 practices of the preceding reign, the absurd and tyrannical device 
 of promoting uniformity of faith and worship by persecution, 
 was still pursued, the influence of temporal fear and favor con 
 tributed, no doubt, to encumber the protestant church with many 
 reluctant and hypocritical professors. In the hope of reconciling 
 the English nation, as far as possible, to the system they had 
 established, the ministers of Edward preserved not only the eccle 
 siastical constitution which Henry had retained, but as much of 
 the ancient ceremonial of worship as they judged likely to gratify 
 the taste and predilections of minds that hankered after Catholic 
 pageantry. They rather yielded in this respect to the necessity 
 of the times, than indulged their own sentiments or followed out 
 their principles ; and plainly insinuated their opinion, that, when 
 ever the public mind was sufficiently prepared for it, a farther 
 reformation should be introduced into the establishment. But in 
 the prosecution of this temporizing policy, the rulers of the Eng 
 lish reformed church encountered a spirit of resistance, originating 
 in the protestant body itself. During the late reign, the disaffec 
 tion that had been cherished in secret toward the national church 
 had not confined itself to the doctrine savoring of popery which 
 she retained, and which many protestants connected in their 
 opinion and esteem with the ceremonial rites and clerical habits 
 that had for ages been their associate and their characteristic. With 
 their enmity to the doctrines of the Catholic church, they com 
 bined an aversion to those ceremonies which her ministers had 
 too often rendered subservient to imposture. These sentiments, 
 which were subsequently matured into doctrines by the puritans, 
 had already begun to take possession of the minds of the English 
 protestants. 
 
 But the sentiments of the puritans were overborne by the 
 weight of superior numbers, and might, perhaps, have gradually 
 
368 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 died away, if the reign of Edward had been much farther pro 
 longed, or his sceptre transmitted to a protestant successor. But 
 the reign of Mary seemed destined not only to purify the protes 
 tant body, by separating the true from the false professors, but to 
 strengthen and confirm every protestant sentiment, by exposing 
 that religion to persecution. During the tyrannical and bloody 
 reign of Mary, many of the English protestants forsook their 
 country and took refuge in Germany and Switzerland. The 
 puritans beheld with pleasure, in the continental churches, the 
 establishment of a constitution and ritual, which had been the 
 object of their own warm approbation and earnest desire. On the 
 death of Mary, the emigrants returned to England ; but her suc 
 cessor, Elizabeth, inherited the headstrong and arrogant disposi 
 tion of her father, -and though she had been educated with her 
 brother Edward, and her understanding had received a strong 
 tincture of protestant opinion, her feelings inclined her in favor of 
 the rites, discipline, and even doctrines of the Catholics ; of every 
 thing, in short, which might enable her to maintain a dominion 
 over the clergy. She desired to make them priests, not preachers; 
 discouraged their sermons, and would have interdicted them from 
 marriage, had she not been restrained by the remonstrances of 
 her minister, Lord Burleigh. Disregarding the wishes both of 
 churchmen and puritans, she restored king Edward's constitution, 
 with no other alteration than the omission of a few passages in 
 the liturgy that were offensive to the Catholics ; and caused a law 
 to be framed, commanding, under the penalties of fine, imprison 
 ment and deprivation of ministerial office, a strict uniformity of 
 religious worship. This was the first step in a line of policy 
 which the Church of England had deep and lasting cause to 
 deplore, and which, by compelling thousands of her best and 
 ablest ministers reluctantly to forsake her communion, afflicted 
 her with a decay of internal piety, the effects of which continued 
 to be visible after many generations. 
 
 The immediate consequences of the oppressive policy of Eliza 
 beth were the enkindling of a great additional zeal and fervor in 
 the minds of the puritans ; the multiplication of their numbers, 
 and a growing abhorrence in their body to the order of bishops, 
 and the whole frame of a church which was to them an organ of 
 injustice and tyranny. There is no doubt that the. puritans of 
 those times were at first exceedingly reluctant to separate from 
 the Church of England. They willingly allowed her to be a true 
 Christian church, and merely claimed indulgence with regard to a 
 few ceremonies which did not affect the substance of her consti 
 tution. But the injurious treatment which they received, induced 
 
THE BROWNISTS. 369 
 
 different views; it at once aroused their passions, stimulated 
 their inquiries, and extended their objections. Expelled from 
 the national church, they were forced to inquire if they could not 
 do without it. Their next step was to deny the lawfulness of 
 communion with it, inasmuch as this church persecuted them foi a 
 conscientious adherence to their opinions. So firm was the resis 
 tance of the puritans to the despotic authority of the crown, that 
 the historian, Hume, has not hesitated to declare that to this sect 
 alone the English of the present day owe the whole freedom of 
 their constitution. 
 
 Robert Brown, in 1586, was the first who proclaimed an open 
 rupture with the established church. His doctrine readily gained 
 the assent and approbation of multitudes. This individual, from 
 whom the name of Brownists was applied to the first seceders, 
 was a young clergyman, of a good family, active and intrepid, but 
 excited by a fiery temper and an insatiable rage for controversy. 
 He travelled about the country, inveighing against bishops, eccle 
 siastical courts, ceremonies, and episcopal ordination of ministers, 
 and exulting, above all, in the boast that he had been committed 
 to thirty-two prisons, in some of which he could not see his hand 
 at noonday. The queen and the bishops had recourse to the 
 usual remedy, persecution, and the Brownists were oppressed 
 with cruelties that disgraced the name of religion. This course 
 had its usual effect of spreading the persecuted doctrine still 
 more widely. Brown himself, with a congregation attached to 
 him, emigrated to Holland, where they were permitted to enjoy 
 their opinions without molestation. Those who remained in 
 England were exposed to all the severity of the law and all the 
 fury of theological hatred. Some were hanged for circulating 
 the writings of the Brownists, and others for attending their dis 
 courses. Numbers suffered severe imprisonment, and many fami 
 lies were ruined by heavy fines. On the accession of James to 
 the throne, he was solicited, by numerous petitions, to interpose 
 his authority for the protection and relief of the puritans. At 
 first he showed himself so far disposed to comply, as to appoint a 
 solemn conference between their leaders and the heads of the 
 church party at Hampton Court. But the hopes inspired by the 
 prcposal of this conference were disappointed by the result; and 
 James, instead of tolerating the puritans, banished, imprisoned, 
 and otherwise persecuted three hundred of their ministers, in the 
 second year of his reign. 
 
 The first congregation of Brownists which emigrated to Hol 
 land, broke up into parties and were soon dispersed. Brown 
 returned to England, and ended his days in obscurity. But in 
 
370 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 1610, another congregation fled from the persecutions at home, 
 and took refuge in Leyden, where they were permitted to establish 
 themselves in peace, under the ministry of their pastor, John 
 Robinson. This excellent person may be justly regarded as the 
 founder of the sect of Independents, having been the first teacher 
 who steered a middle course between Brownism and the Presby 
 terian system. He was a man of most exemplary life, fervent 
 piety, sound sense and high attainments. 
 
 Enjoying the counsel and direction of such a pastor, and cher 
 ishing an adequate sense of his value, the English exiles com 
 posing this congregation remained for ten years at Leyden, in 
 harmony with each other, and in peace with their neighbors. 
 But, at the end of that period, the same pious views that had 
 prompted their departure from England, incited them to undertake 
 a more distant migration. They beheld with deep concern the 
 prevalence around them of manners which they esteemed loqse 
 and profane; more particularly the general neglect among the 
 Dutch of a reverential observance of Sunday ; and they reflected 
 with apprehension on the danger to which their children were 
 exposed, from the natural contagion of habits so remote from 
 serious piety. Their country, too, still retained a hold on their 
 affections; and they were loath to behold their posterity com 
 mingled and identified with the Dutch population. The small- 
 ness of their numbers and the difference of language, discouraged 
 them from attempting to propagate in Holland the principles, 
 which, with so much suffering and hazard, they had hitherto 
 maintained; and the conduct of the English government extin 
 guished every hope of toleration in their native land. The 
 famous Arminian controversy, moreover, which was now raging 
 in Holland with a fury that produced the barbarous execution 
 of the Grand Pensionary, Barneveldt, and the imprisonment of 
 Grotius, probably contributed to alienate the desires of the Eng 
 lish exiles from farther residence in a land where the Calvinistic 
 tenets, which they cherished, were thus disgraced by cruelty and 
 intolerance. In these circumstances, it occurred to them that they 
 might combine the indulgence of their patriotic attachment with 
 the propagation of their religious principles, by establishing them 
 selves in some distant quarter of the British dominions ; and after 
 many days of' earnest supplication for the counsel and direction 
 of Heaven, they unanimously determined to transport themselves 
 and their families to the territory of America. It was resolved 
 that a part of the congregation should proceed thither before the 
 rest, to prepare a settlement for the whole; and that the main 
 body, meanwhile, should continue at Leyden with their pastor. 
 
ft 
 EMBARKATION OF THE PILGRIMS. 371 
 
 In choosing the particular scene of their establishment, they hesi 
 tated for some time, between the territory of Guiana, of which Sir 
 Waiter Raleigh had published a most dazzling and attractive de 
 scription, mainly engendered by the brilliancy of his own imagi 
 nation, and the provinces of Virginia, to which they finally gavo 
 the preference ; but Providence had ordained that their residence 
 should be established in New England. 
 
 By the intervention of agents, whom they deputed to solicit the 
 sanction of the English government to their enterprise, they rep 
 resented to the king, " that they were well weaned from the 
 delicate milk of their mother country, and inured to the difficulties 
 of a strange land ; that they were knit together in a strict and 
 sacred bond, by virtue of which they held themselves bound to 
 take care of the good of each other, and of the whole ; that it was 
 not with them as with other men, whom small things could dis 
 courage, or small discontent cause to wish themselves at home 
 again." The king, wavering between his desire to promote the 
 colonization of America, and his reluctance to suffer the con 
 sciences of any portion of his subjects to be emancipated from his 
 control, refused to grant them a charter assuring the full enjoy 
 ment of ecclesiastical liberty, but promised to connive at their 
 practices, and to refrain from molesting them. They were forced 
 to accept this precarious security, and would hardly have obtained 
 it but for the friendly interposition of Sir Robert Nanton, one of 
 the secretaries of state, and a favorer of the puritans ; but they 
 relied with more reason on the distance from the ecclesiastical 
 tribunals of England, and from the eye and arm of their persecuting 
 sovereign. Having procured from the Virginia Company a grant 
 of a tract of land, lying as was supposed within the limits of its 
 patent, several of the congregation sold their estates, and expended 
 the purchase money in the equipment of two vessels, in which a 
 hundred and twenty of their number were appointed to embark 
 from an English port for America. 
 
 All things being prepared for the departure of this detachment 
 of the congregation from Delft haven, where they took leave of 
 their friends for the English port of embarkation, Robinson and 
 his people devoted their last meeting in Europe to an act of 
 solemn and social worship, intended to implore a blessing from 
 Heaven upon the hazardous enterprise. He preached a sermon to 
 them from Ezra viii. 21. " I proclaimed a fast there at the river 
 Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of 
 him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our 
 substance." On the 6th of September, 1620, the pilgrims took 
 their final departure from England in the Mayflower, a vessel of 
 

 
 372 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 one hundred and eighty tons. The whole number who embarked 
 amounted to one hundred and one souls. The story of their 
 voyage from Ley den across the Atlantic, and their arrival in the 
 New World, cannot be better related than in the following words 
 fr:m the simple and touching narrative of Nathaniel Morton, the 
 author of New England's Memorial. 
 
 " The wind being fair, they went on board and their friends 
 with them, where truly doleful was the sight of that sad and 
 mournful parting, to hear what sighs and sobs and prayers did 
 sound amongst them ; what tears did gush from every eye. Yet 
 comfortable and sweet it was to see such lively and true express 
 ions of dear and unfeigned love. But the tide, which stays for 
 no man, calling them away that were thus loath to depart, their 
 reverend pastor, falling down upon his knees, and they all with 
 him, with watery cheeks, commended them with most fervent 
 prayers unto the Lord and his blessing. And then, with mutual 
 embraces and many tears, they took their leave of one another, 
 which proved to be the last leave to many of them. Then hoist 
 ing sail, with a prosperous gale of wind, they came in a short time 
 to Southampton. Now all being compact together in one ship, 
 they put to sea again with a prosperous wind. But after they 
 had enjoyed fair winds for a season, they met with many contrary 
 winds and fierce storms, with which their ship was shrewdly 
 shaken and her upper works made very leaky, and one of the 
 main beams of the mid-ship was bowed and cracked, which put 
 them to some fear that she would not be able to perform the 
 voyage ; on which the principal of the seamen and passengers had 
 serious consultation what to do, whether to return or hold on. 
 But the ship proving strong under water, by a screw the said 
 beam was brought into his place again ; which being done and 
 well secured by the carpenter, they resolved to hold on their 
 voyage. And so, after many boisterous storms, in which they could 
 bear no sail, but were forced to lie at hull many days together, 
 after long beating at sea, they fell in with the land called Cape 
 Cod; the which being made and certainly known to be it, they 
 were not a little joyful. After some little deliberation, they tacked 
 ab^ut to .stand to the southward, to find some place about Hudson's 
 river, according to their first intentions, for their habitations. But 
 they had not sailed that course above half a day^ before they fell 
 among perilous shoals and breakers, and they were so far entan 
 gled therewith, as they conceived themselves in great danger ; and 
 the wind shrinking upon them withal, they resolved to bear up 
 again for the cape aforesaid. The next day, by God's Providence, 
 they got into the cape harbor. Thus, they arrived at Cape Cod, 
 
373 
 
 alias Cape James, in November, 1620, and being brought safe to 
 land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, 
 who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and deliv 
 ered them from many perils and miseries. 
 
 " But what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, 
 full of wild beasts and wild men ? And what multitudes of them 
 there were, they then knew not ; neither could they, as it were, 
 go up to the top of Pisgah, to view from this wilderness a more 
 goodly country to feed their hopes ; for which way soever they 
 turned their eyes, save upwards to heaven, they could have little 
 solace or content in respect of any outward object ; for summer 
 being ended, all things stood in appearance with a weather-beaten 
 face, and the whole country, full of woods and thickets, represented 
 a wild and savage hue. If they looked behind them, there was 
 the mighty ocean which they had passed, and was now as a main 
 bar and gulf to separate them from all the civil parts of the world. 
 
 " Necessity now calling them to look out a place for habitation, 
 while their carpenter was trimming up of their boat, sixteen of 
 their men tendered themselves to go by land and discover those 
 nearest places, which was accepted ; and they, being well armed, 
 were sent forth on the 16th of November, and having marched 
 about a mile by the sea-side they espied five Indians, who ran 
 away from them ; and they followed them all that day sundry 
 miles, but could not come to speech with them. So night coming 
 on, they betook themselves to their rendezvous, and set out their 
 sentinels and rested in peace that night. The next morning they 
 followed the Indian tracks, but could not find them nor their 
 dwellings, but at length lighted on a good quantity of clear ground, 
 near to a pond of fresh water, where the Indians had planted corn, 
 at which place they saw sundry of their graves. And proceeding 
 further, they found new stubble where Indian corn had been 
 planted the same year ; also they found where lately a house had 
 been, where some planks and a great kettle were remaining, and 
 heaps of sand newly paddled with their hands, which they digged 
 up, and found in them divers fair Indian baskets filled with corn, 
 some whereof was in ears, fair and good, of divers colors, which 
 seemed to them a very goodly sight, having seen none before ; of 
 which rarities they took some to carry to their friends on shipboard, 
 like as the Israelites' spies brought from Eshcol some of the good 
 fruits of the land. But finding little that might make for their 
 encouragement as to situation, they returned. 
 
 " After this, their shallop being ready, they set out the second 
 time for a more full discovery of this place, especially a place that 
 seemed to be an opening, as they went into the said harbor, some 
 32 
 
374 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 two or three leagues off, which the master judged to be a river. 
 About thirty of them went out on this second discovery, the mas 
 ter of the ship going with them ; but upon the more exact discov 
 ery thereof, they found it to be no harbor for ships, but only for 
 boats. There they also found two houses covered with mats, and 
 sundry implements in them, but the people ran away and could 
 not be seen. Also there they found more of their corn and beans 
 of various colors : the corn and beans they brought away, pur 
 posing to give them full satisfaction when they should meet with 
 any of them. And here is to be noted a special and great mercy 
 to this people, that here they got them seed to plant their corn the 
 next year, or otherwise they might have starved, for they had 
 none nor any likelihood to get any until the season had been past, 
 as the sequel did manifest ; neither is it likely that they had had 
 this if the first discovery had not been made, for the ground was 
 now all covered with snow and hard frozen. But the Lord is 
 never wanting unto those that are his, in their greatest needs. 
 Let his holy name have all the praise ! 
 
 " The month of November being spent on these affairs, and having 
 much foul weather, on the sixth of December they concluded 
 to send out their shallop again on a third discovery. They set 
 sail, intending to circulate the deep bay of Cape Cod, the weather 
 being very cold, so as the spray of the sea lighting on their coats, 
 they were as if they had been glazed : notwithstanding, that night 
 they got down into the bottom of the bay, and as they drew near 
 the shore, they saw some ten or twelve Indians, and landed about 
 a league off them, but with some difficulty, by reason of the shoals 
 in that place, where they tarried that night. 
 
 "In the morning they divided their company to coast along, 
 some on shore and some in the boat, where they saw the Indians 
 had been the day before, cutting up a fish like a grampus ; and 
 so they ranged up and down all that day, but found no people, 
 nor any place they liked, as fit for their settlement : and that 
 night they on shore met with their boat at a certain creek, where 
 they made them a barricado of boughs and logs for their lodging 
 that night, and being weary, betook themselves to rest. The next 
 morning, about five o'clock, seeking guidance and protection from 
 God by prayer, and refreshing themselves in way of preparation 
 to persist on their intended expedition, some of tRem carried their 
 arms down to the boat, having laid them up in their coats from 
 the moisture of the weather ; but others said they would not carry 
 theirs till they went themselves. But presently, all on a sudden, 
 about the dawning of the day, they heard a great and strange cry, 
 and one of their company being on board, came hastily in and 
 
MORTON'S NARRATIVE. 375 
 
 cried, c Indians ! Indians ! ' and withal, their arrows came flying 
 amongst them ; on which all their men ran with speed to recover 
 their arms, as by God's good providence they did. In the mean 
 time, some of those that were ready, discharged two muskets at 
 them, and two more stood ready at the entrance of their rendez 
 vous, but were commanded not to shoot until they could take full 
 aim at them, and the other two charged again with all speed, for 
 there were only four that had arms there, and defended the barri- 
 cado which was first assaulted. The cry of the Indians was 
 dreadful, especially when they saw their men run out of their 
 rendezvous toward the shallop to recover their arms, the Indians 
 wheeling about upon them : but some running out with coats of 
 mail and curtal-axes in their hands, they soon recovered their 
 arms and discharged amongst them, and soon stayed their violence. 
 Notwithstanding, there was a lusty man, and no less valiant, stood 
 behind a tree, within half a musket shot, and let his arrows fly 
 amongst them. He was seen to shoot three arrows, which were 
 all avoided, and stood three shots of musket, until one, taking full 
 aim at him, made the bark and splinters of the tree fly about 
 his ears, after which he gave an extraordinary shriek, and away 
 they went, all of them. And so, leaving some to keep the shallop, 
 they followed them about a quarter of a mile, that they might 
 conceive that they were not afraid of them, or any way discouraged. 
 " From hence they departed, and coasted all along, but discerned 
 no place likely for harbor, and therefore hasted to the place the 
 pilot told them of, who assured them that there was a good har 
 bor, and they might reach it before night ; of which they were glad, 
 for it began to be foul weather. After some hours' sailing, it began 
 to snow and rain, and about the middle of the afternoon the wind 
 increased, and the sea became very rough, and they broke their 
 rudder, and it was as much as two men could do to steer the boat 
 with a couple of oars. But the pilot bid them be of good cheer, 
 for he saw the harbor. But the storm increasing and night drawing 
 on, they bore what sail they could to get in while they could see : 
 but herewith they broke their mast in three pieces, and their sails 
 fell overboard in a very grown sea, so as they had like to have 
 been cast away, yet by God's mercy they recovered themselves, 
 and having the flood with them, struck into the harbor. But 
 when it came to, the pilot was deceived, and said, ' Lord be mer 
 ciful to us ! my eyes never saw this place before ! ' And he and 
 the master's mate would have run the boat ashore in a cove full 
 of breakers before the wind, but a lusty seaman who steered, bid 
 them that rowed. ' if they were men, about with her ! else they 
 were all cast away :' the which they did with all speed. So he 
 
376 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 bid them be of good cheer and row hard, for there was a fair 
 sound before them, and he doubted not but they should find one 
 place or other they might ride in safety. And although it was 
 very dark and rained sore, yet in the end they got under the lee 
 of a small island, and remained there all night in safety. But 
 they knew not this to be an island until the next morning, but 
 were much divided in their minds : some would keep the boat, 
 doubting they might be amongst the Indians ; others were so wet 
 and cold they could not endure, but got on shore, and with much 
 difficulty got fire. And so the whole were refreshed and rested 
 in safety that night. The next day, rendering thanks to God for 
 his great deliverance of them, and his continued merciful good 
 providence towards them, and finding this to be an island, it being 
 the last day of the week, they resolved to keep the Sabbath there." 
 
 James I. 
 
 Charles I. 
 
 Oliver Cromwell. 
 
 Charles It 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 MASSACHUSIZTTS CONTINUED. The Plymouth settlement. Sufferings of the colo 
 nists. Hostility of the Indians prevented. The Old Colony. Salem founded. 
 The new colony of Massachusetts Bay. Foundation of Boston. Alliance with 
 the Indians. Theological dissensions. Roger Williams. Endicott. Founda 
 tion of Providence Plantations. Representative government in Massachusetts. 
 Emigration to New England. Hugh Peters. The colonists penetrate to the 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Settlement of Boston. 
 
 THE next day, December 11, 1620, O. S., they landed on the con 
 tinent. This is the day, now the 22d, N. S., celebrated ever after 
 wards in the history of New England for the landing of the Pilgrims. 
 The rock on which they first planted their feet, known as " Fore 
 father's Rock," is now visited with devotion by their grateful 
 descendents. The town which they built here, was named Ply 
 mouth, in memory of the last English port from which they sailed. 
 The settlement was immediately begun by building houses. This 
 territory having been found without the limits of their patent, as 
 their original destination was the country about Hudson river, 
 they formed a voluntary government before landing, upon purely 
 democratic principles. John Carver was chosen governor. Their 
 building went on slowly ; cold weather, snow and rain, hindered 
 their labors and subjected them to great sufferings. By a fortu- 
 
378 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 nate chance they had saved for seed the corn first discovered; 
 otherwise, their agriculture for the first season would hardly have 
 kept them from starving. Sickness diminished their numbers, 
 and a fire consumed their storehouse. By March, 1621, only 
 fifty-five remained of their whole number, yet were they not dis 
 couraged. 
 
 None of the natives had yet been seen at Plymouth. But, on 
 the 16th of March, an Indian walked into the town and saluted 
 them, in broken English, with the exclamation, "Welcome, Eng 
 lishmen!" This was Samoset, a sagamore of Monhegan, in 
 Maine, where he had learnt some English by intercourse with 
 fishing vessels and traders. He informed the Plymouth settlers 
 that the place where they had established themselves was called 
 by the Indians, Pdtuxet, and that an extraordinary pestilence had 
 depopulated the whole neighborhood about four years previous, 
 leaving neither man, woman nor child remaining. The settlers 
 had found ancient cornfields and other marks of cultivation here, 
 which confirmed this account. There were in consequence no 
 owners of the land first occupied by the New England pilgrims. 
 They treated Samoset with hospitality, and he made them subse 
 quent visits, bringing with him Squanto, a native who had been 
 kidnapped by Captain Hunt, in 1614, and carried to England. 
 The settlers now learned that Massasoit, the greatest sachem in 
 the country, was near, with a train of sixty men. His visit was 
 friendly, and a treaty was made between him and the Englisk, for 
 mutual assistance and defence, which was observed inviolate for 
 half a century. The settlers, by their moderate, discreet and 
 upright conduct toward their neighbors, secured their firm friend 
 ship and alliance ; and within a year, nine sachems of the country 
 declared their allegiance. Massasoit, with several others, signed 
 a writing, acknowledging the king of England as their sovereign. 
 
 The first demonstration of a hostile spirit came from Canonicus, 
 sachem of the Narragansetts, who sent the English a bundle of 
 arrows wrapped in the skin of a rattlesnake. The token was 
 readily understood, and promptly answered by sending back the 
 skin stuffed with powder and shot. The savage chieftain discov 
 ered that the strangers were not to be frightened away, and 
 changing his mjnd, eagerly sought their friendship. Meantime 
 the English had explored Boston harbor and the shores of Massa 
 chusetts Bay. A settlement was made at Weymouth, in 1622, by 
 Mr. Weston, of London, who, without any connection with the 
 Plymouth company, obtained a patent for a tract of land in Mas 
 sachusetts Bay. His colony of fifty or sixty persons, by their 
 imprudent and disorderly behavior, came to nothing at the end of 
 
FOUNDATION OF BOSTON. 379 
 
 a year. They would have starved or been cut off by the Indians, 
 but for the aid of the Plymouth men, who averted a plot for their 
 destruction, which had been revealed by the faithful Massasoit. 
 The settlers at Plymouth first threw all their property into a 
 common stock, but this scheme was found impracticable after a 
 short trial. The property was therefore equally divided, and 
 the colonists became freeholders of the soil. The progress of 
 population was slow, and at the end of ten years the settlement 
 contained only three hundred souls. Salem was settled in 1628, 
 by Endicott, one of the original planters. An establishment had 
 been made in 1624, at Cape Ann, but shortly afterwards aban 
 doned. 
 
 The government of Plymouth, or, as it was afterwards called, 
 the Old Colony, was a voluntary association, not deriving its 
 powers from the king of England. A new government soon arose 
 in its neighborhood. Humphrey, Endicott and Whetcomb, and 
 three other gentlemen of Dorchester, in England, obtained a char 
 ter for a colony in Massachusetts Bay, which afterwards absorbed 
 the Plymouth colony and became the head of the New England 
 settlements. This charter was signed by king Charles I., in 
 March, 1629. Winthrop, Dudley, Johnson, Pynchon, Saltonstall, 
 Bellingham and others, celebrated in the colonial annals, were 
 parties to the undertaking. An association at Boston in Lincoln 
 shire, lent them their support, and they received encouragement 
 from the great body of the Puritans throughout England. Their 
 ships sailed in May of the same year, and at the end of June arrived 
 at Salem, which at that time consisted of ten or a dozen wretched 
 hovels. The first attempts of the new emigrants were unprom 
 ising; winter brought disease and suffering, and before spring, 
 eighty, almost half their number, had died. However, during the 
 following season, the colony received a strong reinforcement ; no 
 less than one thousand and five hundred persons arrived at Salem. 
 Many of them were of high endowments, large fortunes and good 
 education ; scholars well versed in all the learning of the times ; 
 clergymen who ranked among the most eloquent and pious in 
 England. A search was now made for a more desirable locality 
 to build a town, and the peninsula of Shawmut, or Tri-mountain, 
 was found to be a place of " sweet and pleasant springs, and good 
 land, affording rich corn-fields and fruitful gardens." The safe 
 and capacious harbor, sheltered from the ocean by clusters of well 
 wooded islands, offered additional advantage, and in September, 
 1630, the foundation of Boston was laid. The town received its 
 name from the Rev. John Cotton and other " Boston men," who 
 had shown great zeal for the colony. 
 
380 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The new emigrants encountered much the same obstacles that 
 afflicted the Plymouth settlers. Disease and hardship thinned 
 their ranks, yet they bore all with equal firmness, and their con 
 duct towards the natives was equally prudent and upright. The 
 Boston settlers soon became formidable in the eyes of the savages, 
 who were at hostility with each other. The sagamore of the 
 Mohegans came from the banks of the Connecticut, soliciting the 
 English to settle in his neighborhood. He praised the fertility of 
 the country, and sought their alliance as a bulwark against the 
 inroads of his enemies, the Pequods. Next came the Nipmucks, 
 begging for assistance against the tyranny of the Mohawks. Then 
 came Miantonimo, the great warrior of the Narragansets ; then 
 the son of the aged Canonicas ; and then a Pequod sachem, with 
 a great store of wampumpeag and bundles of sticks, in promise of 
 so many beaver and other skins. Charlestown, Roxbury, Dor 
 chester, Cambridge, Ipswich and Newbury, were founded about 
 this time, or within a few years. The first General Court was 
 held at Boston, in October, 1630. The government underwent 
 some changes, but was established on .a representative system, 
 with a governor elected annually. For a long time, however, the 
 elective franchise was confined to the members of the church. 
 
 City of Boston. 
 
 The first theological dissension that arose in the colony, was 
 promoted by Roger Williams, who had emigrated to New Eng 
 land in 1630, and officiated for some time as pastor of New 
 Plymouth; but not finding there an audience of congenial spirits, 
 he obtained leave to resign his functions at that place, and had 
 recently been appointed minister of Salem. This celebrated man 
 was a Brownist, keen, resolute and uncompromising. He began to 
 announce from the pulpit, which he had gained by his substantial 
 piety and fervid zeal, many new opinions, some wildly specula- 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 381 
 
 tive, some boldly opposed to the existing constitutions of civil 
 society, and some which, if unexceptionable in the abstract, were 
 regarded as unsuitable to the place where they were promul 
 gated, and the exercises and sentiments with which he endeav 
 ored to combine them. He maintained that it was not lawful 
 for an unregenerate man to pray, nor for Christians to join in 
 family prayer with those whom they judged unregenerate ; that 
 it was not lawful to take an oath to the civil magistrate, not 
 even the oath of allegiance, which he had declined himself to take, 
 and advised his congregation equally to reject ; that king Charles 
 had unjustly usurped the power of disposing of the territory of 
 the Indians, and hence the colonial patent was utterly invalid ; 
 that the civil magistrate had no right to restrain or direct the con 
 sciences of men ; and that anything short of unlimited toleration 
 for all religious systems, was detestable persecution. These liberal 
 principles of toleration, he combined with a spirit so rigid and 
 separating, that he not only refused all communion with persons 
 who did not profess every one of the foregoing opinions, but for 
 bade the members of the church at Salem to communicate with 
 any of the other churches in the colony ; and when they refused 
 to obey this prohibition, he forsook his ministerial office among 
 them and established a separate meeting in a private house. He 
 even withdrew from the society of his wife, because she continued 
 to attend the church of Salem, and from that of his children, 
 because he accounted them unregenerate. In his retirement he 
 was attended by a select assembly of zealous admirers, consisting 
 of men in whose minds an impetuous temper, inflamed by perse 
 cution, had greatly impaired the sense of moral perspective ; who 
 entertained disproportionate ideas of those branches of the trunk 
 of godliness, for the sake of which they had endured severe afflic 
 tion, and had seen worth and piety foully wronged; and who 
 abhorred every symbol, badge, and practice, that was associated 
 with the remembrance, and spotted, as they conceived, with the 
 iniquity, of their idolatrous oppressors. One of these individuals, 
 Endicott, a magistrate of the place, and formerly deputy governor 
 of the colony, in a transport of devouring zeal against superstition, 
 was instigated by Williams to cut the red cross out of the royal 
 standard ; and many of the trained bands who had followed this 
 standard without objection, caught the contagion of Endicott's 
 fervor, and protested that they would no longer follow a flag, on 
 which the popish emblem of a crucifix was painted. The intem 
 perate and disorderly conduct of Endicott was generally disap 
 proved, and the provincial authorities punished his misdemeanor 
 by reprimand, and disability of holding office for a year ; but they 
 
382 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 were obliged to compromise the dispute with the protesters among 
 the trained bands, and comply to a certain extent with their 
 remonstrances. They were preparing to call Williams to a judi 
 cial reckoning, when Cotton and other ministers interposed, and 
 desired to be allowed to reason with him; alleging that his 
 vehemence and breach of order betokened rather a misguided 
 conscience than seditious principles, and that there was hope that 
 they might gain, instead of losing, their brother. "You are deceived 
 in that man, if you think that he will condescend to learn of any of 
 you, was the prediction of the governor ; at all events, the result 
 of that conference was that sentence of banishment from the 
 colony was forthwith pronounced upon Williams. This sentence 
 excited great feeling in Salem, and was so generally regarded 
 as persecution by the adherents of Williams, that the bulk of 
 the inhabitants of the place were preparing to follow him into 
 exile ; when an earnest and pious admonition, addressed to them 
 by Cotton and the other ministers of Boston, induced them to 
 relinquish their purpose, to acknowledge the justice of the pro 
 ceeding, and abandon Williams to his fate. He was not, however, 
 abandoned by his more select admirers, whose esteem and affec 
 tion he had gained to such a degree, that they resolved to brave 
 every hardship in order to live and die with him. Accompanying 
 him in his exile, they directed their march towards the south ; and 
 settling at a place beyond the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, they 
 purchased a considerable tract of land from the Indians, and 
 bestowed on their plantation the name of Providence. Had 
 Williams encountered the severities to which the publication of his 
 peculiar opinions would have exposed him in England, he would 
 probably have lost his senses ; the wiser and kinder treatment he 
 experienced from the Massachusetts authorities, was productive 
 of happier effects ; and Cotton and his colleagues were not wholly 
 mistaken, in supposing that they would gain their brother. They 
 gained him, indeed, in a manner less flattering to themselves than 
 a controversial victory would have been, but much more benefi 
 cial to the interests of America. He contributed, as we shall see, 
 at a later period, to found the state of Rhode Island, and was 
 one of its most eminent benefactors. He lived to an advanced 
 age, and soon throwing off the impetuous yet punctilious spirit 
 with which his doctrinal sentiments had been leavened, he 
 regained the friendship and esteem of his ancient fellow-colonists, 
 and preserved a friendly correspondence with Cotton and others 
 of them till his death. The principles of toleration, which he 
 had formerly discredited, by the rigidness with which he disal 
 lowed the slightest difference of opinion between the members of 
 
 
REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IN MASSACHUSETTS. 383 
 
 his own communion, he now recommended, by the exercise of 
 meekness, charity and forbearance. The great fundamental prin 
 ciples of Christianity, progressively acquiring a more exclusive 
 and absorbing influence on his mind, he began to labor for the 
 conversion of the Indians ; and, in addition to the benefits of 
 which his ministry among them was productive to this race of 
 people, he acquired over them an influence which he rendered 
 highly advantageous to his old associates in Massachusetts, whom 
 he was enabled frequently to apprize of conspiracies formed 
 against them by the savages in their vicinity, and revealed to him 
 by the tribes with whom he maintained relations of friendship. 
 Endicott's vehemence was not less mellowed by time and the 
 ascendency of sound wisdom and piety. He remained in Massa 
 chusetts; and at a later period held for many years the chief 
 office in its government, with great public advantage and general 
 esteem. 
 
 The colony of Massachusetts had continued, meanwhile, to ad 
 vance in the attainment of stability and prosperity, and to extend 
 its settlements ; and in 1634, an important and beneficial change 
 took place in its municipal constitution. The mortality that had 
 prevailed among the Indians, had vacated a great many stations 
 formerly occupied by their tribes ; and as most of these were 
 advantageously situated, the colonists took possession of them with 
 an eagerness that dispersed their settlements widely over the face 
 of the country. This necessarily led to the introduction of repre 
 sentative government, and, accordingly, at the period of convoking 
 the general court, the freemen, instead of personally attending it, 
 which was the literal prescription of the provincial charter, elected 
 representatives in their several districts, whom they authorized 
 to appear in their name and act in their behalf. The representa 
 tives were admitted, and henceforward considered themselves, in 
 conjunction with the governor and council of assistants, as the 
 supreme legislative body of the province. 
 
 The abstract wisdom of this innovation could not admit of 
 doubt; and, in defence of its legitimacy, it was forcibly urged 
 that the colonists were only making an improved and necessary 
 access to the enjoyment of an advantage already bestowed on 
 them, and preventing their assemblies from becoming either too 
 numerous to transact business, or inadequate to represent the gen 
 eral interest and administer the general will. The number of 
 freemen had greatly increased since the charter was granted; 
 many resided at a distance from the places where the general 
 courts or assemblies of the freemen were held ; personal attendance 
 had become inconvenient ; and, in such circumstances, little if any 
 
384 THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 blame can attach to the colonists for making with their own hands 
 the improvement that was necessary to preserve their existing 
 rights, instead of applying to the government of England, which 
 was steadily pursuing the plan of subverting the organs of liberty 
 in the mother country, and had already begun to exhibit an altered 
 countenance towards the colonial community. In consequence 
 of this important measure, the colony advanced beyond the state 
 of a mercantile society or corporation, and acquired by its own 
 act the condition of a commonwealth endowed with political lib 
 erty. The representatives of the people having established them 
 selves in their office, asserted its inherent rights, by enacting that 
 no legal ordinance should be framed within the province, no tax 
 imposed, and no public officer appointed in future, except by the 
 provincial legislature. 
 
 The increasing violence and injustice of the royal government 
 in England cooperated so forcibly with the tidings that were 
 circulated of the prosperity of Massachusetts, and the simple 
 frame of ecclesiastical policy that had been established in the 
 colony, presented a prospect so desirable, and, by the comparison 
 which it invited, exposed the gorgeous hierarchy and recent 
 superstitious innovations in the ceremonies of the English church 
 to so much additional odium, that the flow of emigration seemed 
 rather to enlarge than subside, and crowds of new settlers contin 
 ued to flock to New England. Among the passengers in a fleet 
 of twenty vessels that arrived in the year 1635, were two per 
 sons who afterwards made a distinguished figure in a more 
 conspicuous scene. One of these was Hugh Peters, the celebrated 
 chaplain and counsellor of Oliver Cromwell, and the other was 
 Vane, whose father, Sir Henry Vane, the elder, enjoyed the dignity 
 of a privy counsellor at the English court. Peters, who united 
 an active and enterprising genius with the warmest devotion to 
 the interests of religion and liberty, became minister of Salem, 
 where he not only discharged his sacred functions with zeal and 
 advantage, but roused the planters to new courses of useful indus 
 try, and encouraged them by his own successful example. His 
 labors were blessed with a produce not less honorable than en 
 during. The spirit which he fostered has continued to prevail 
 with unabated vigor; and nearly two centuries after his death, 
 the piety, good mprals, and industry, by which Salem has always 
 been characterized, have been ascribed, with just- and grateful 
 commemoration, to the effects of Peters' residence there. He 
 remained in New England till the year 1641, when, at the request 
 of the colonists, he went to transact some business for them in the 
 mother country, from which he was fated never to return. But 
 
SIR HENRY VANE. 385 
 
 his race remained in the land which had been thus highly indebted 
 to his virtue ; and the name of Winthrop, one of the most honored 
 in New England, was again acquired and transmitted by his 
 daughter. Vane, afterwards Sir Henry Vane, the younger, had 
 been for some time restrained from indulging his wish to proceed 
 to New England, by the prohibition of his father, who was at 
 length induced to waive his objections by the interference of the 
 king. A young man of patrician family, animated with such 
 ardent devotion to the cause of pure religion and liberty, that, 
 relinquishing all his prospects in Britain, he chose to settle in an 
 infant colony, which as yet afforded but little more than a bare 
 subsistence to its inhabitants, was received in New England with 
 the fondest regard and admiration. He was then little more than 
 twenty-four years of age. His youth, which seemed to magnify 
 the sacrifice he had made, increased no less the impression which 
 his manners and appearance were calculated to produce. The 
 deep, thoughtful composure of his aspect and demeanor stamped 
 a serious grace, and somewhat, according to our conceptions, of 
 angelic grandeur on the bloom of manhood ; his countenance dis 
 closed the surface of a character not less resolute than*profound, 
 and of which the energy was not extinguished, but concentrated 
 into a sublime and solemn calm. He possessed a prompt and 
 clear discernment of the spirits of other men, and a wonderful 
 mastery over his own. He has been charged with a wild enthu 
 siasm, by some who have remarked the intensity with which he 
 pursued purposes, which to them have appeared worthless and 
 ignoble ; and with hypocrisy by others, who have contrasted the 
 vigor of his resolutions with the calmness of his manners. But a 
 juster consideration, perhaps, may suggest that it was the habitual 
 energy of his determination, that repressed every symptom of 
 vehement impetuosity, and induced an equality of manner that 
 scarcely appeared to exceed the pitch of a grave, deliberate con 
 stancy. So much did his mind predominate over his senses, that 
 though constitutionally timid, and keenly susceptible of impres 
 sions of pain, yet his whole life was one continued course of great 
 and daring enterprise ; and when, amid the wreck of his fortune 
 and the treachery of his associates, death was presented to him 
 self in the appalling form of a bloody execution, he prepared for 
 it with a heroic and smiling intrepidity, and encountered it with 
 tranquil and dignified resignation. The man who could so com 
 mand himself, was formed to acquire a powerful ascendency over 
 the minds of others. He was admitted a freeman of Massa 
 chusetts; and extending his claims to respect, by the address 
 and ability which he displayed in conducting business, he was 
 33 w 2 
 
386 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 elected governor, in the year subsequent to his arrival, by unani 
 mous choice, and with the highest expectations of a happy and 
 advantageous administration. These hopes, however, were dis 
 appointed. Yane, not finding in the political affairs of the colo 
 nists, a field wide enough for the excursion of his active spirit, 
 embarked its energy in their theological discussions; and, \ in for 
 tunately connecting himself with a party who had com eived 
 singularly just and profound views of Christian doctrine, but asso 
 ciated them with some dangerous errors, and discredited them 
 by a wild extravagance of behavior, he very soon witnessed the 
 abridgment of his usefulness and the decline of his popularity, 
 and returned to England. 
 
 The incessant flow of emigration to Massachusetts, causing the 
 inhabitants of some of the towns to feel themselves straitened for 
 room, suggested the formation of additional establishments. A 
 project of founding a new settlement on the banks of the river 
 Connecticut, was now embraced by Hooker, one of the ministers 
 of Boston, and a hundred of the members of his congregation. 
 After enduring extreme hardship, and encountering the usual 
 difficulties that attended the foundation of civilized society in this 
 quarter of America, with the usual display of fortitude and reso 
 lution, they at length succeeded in establishing a plantation, which 
 gradually enlarged into the flourishing State of Connecticut. 
 

 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS CONTINUED. Foundation of the province of Connecticut. The 
 Narraganset Indians. The Pequods. Indian wars. Sassacus and Mason. 
 Victory over the Pequods, and extirpation of that tribe. Atrocities of the Indian 
 wars. Internal dissensions in Massachusetts. Doctrines of Mrs. Hutchinson. 
 Their effects upon the colony. 
 
 Indian wars. 
 
 - 
 
 SOME Dutch settlers from New York, who had, in 1633, occu 
 pied a post in Connecticut, were compelled to surrender it to the 
 British colonists, who, moreover, obtained shortly after from Lord 
 Brooke, and Lords Say and Sele, the grant of a district, which 
 these noblemen had acquired in the same quarter, with the inten 
 tion of flying from the royal tyranny to America. Thomas 
 Hooker, a clergyman, made the first permanent settlement in 
 Connecticut. Hooker and his comrades at first carried with them 
 a commission from the government of Massachusetts ; but sub 
 sequently, ascertaining that their territory was beyond the juris 
 diction of the authorities of Massachusetts, they combined them 
 selves, by a voluntary association, into a body politic, constructed 
 on the model of the colonial society from which they had separated. 
 They continued in this condition till the Restoration, when they 
 obtained a charter for themselves, from King Charles the Second. 
 That this secession from the colony of Massachusetts was occa- 
 
388 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 sioned by lack of room in a province yet imperfectly peopled, has 
 appeared so improbable to some writers, that they have thought 
 it necessary to assign another cause, and have found none so 
 probable or so satisfactory as the jealousy which they conclude 
 that Hooker must inevitably have entertained towards Cotton, 
 whose patriarchal authority had attained such a height in Massa 
 chusetts, that even a formidable political dissension was quelled 
 by one of his pacific discourses. But envy was not a passion 
 congenial to the breast of Hooker, or likely to be generated by the 
 character or influence of Cotton. The notion of a redundant 
 population was the more readily entertained at this period, from 
 the unwillingness of the settlers to penetrate far into the interior 
 of the country, or deprive themselves of an easy communication 
 with the coast. Another reason, indeed, appears to have sug 
 gested the formation of the new settlement ; but it was a reason 
 that argued not dissension, but community of feeling and design 
 between the planters who remained in Massachusetts and those 
 who removed to Connecticut. By the establishment of this ad 
 vanced station, a barrier, it was hoped, would be erected against 
 the troublesome incursions of the Pequod Indians. Nor is it 
 utterly impossible that some of the seceders of the new settle 
 ment were actuated by a restless spirit, which had hoped too 
 much from external change, and which vainly urged a farther 
 pursuit of that excitement which is found in a life of adventure 
 and vicissitude. 
 
 In the immediate neighborhood of this new settlement another 
 plantation was formed, about two years after, by a numerous body 
 of emigrants who arrived from England, under the guidance of 
 Theophilus Eaton, a man of large fortune, and John Davenport, 
 an eminent puritan minister. Unwilling to erect the social institu 
 tions which they projected, upon foundations previously laid by 
 other hands, these adventurers declined to settle in Massachusetts, 
 which already presented the scene of a thriving and well-com 
 pacted community ; and, smitten with the attractions of a vacant 
 territory skirting the large and commodious bay to the southwest 
 of Connecticut river, they purchased from its Indian owners all 
 the land that lies between that stream and Hudson's river, which 
 divides the southern parts of New England from New York. 
 Repairing to tMe shores of this bay, they built, ^first the town 
 of New Haven, which gave its name to the whole colony, and 
 then the towns of Guilford, Milford, Stamford and Brainford. 
 After some time they crossed the bay, and planted various settle 
 ments in Long Island; in all places where they came, erecting 
 churches on the model of the Independents. When wo observe 
 
SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 the injustice and cruelty exercised by the government of Britain, 
 thus contributing to cover the earth with cities, and to plant reli 
 gion and liberty in the savage deserts of America, we recognise 
 the overruling providence of that Being, who can render even the 
 insolence of tyrants, who usurp his attributes, conducive to his 
 honor. Having no royal patent, nor any other title to their lands 
 than by purchase of the natives, and not being included within 
 the boundaries of any provincial jurisdiction established by British 
 authority, these settlers entered into a voluntary association, of the 
 same nature and for the same ends as that which the founders of 
 Connecticut had embraced ; and in this condition they remained 
 till the Restoration, when New Haven and Connecticut were united 
 by a charter of King Charles the Second. 
 
 When the settlement of Connecticut was first projected, hopes 
 were entertained that it might conduce to overawe the hostility of 
 the Indians; but it produced a directly opposite effect. The 
 tribes of Indians in the immediate vicinity of Massachusetts Bay 
 were comparatively feeble and un warlike; but the colonies of 
 Providence and Connecticut were planted in the midst of power 
 ful and martial hordes. Among these, the most considerable were 
 the Narragansets, who inhabited the shores of the bay which 
 bears their name; and the Pequods, who occupied the territory 
 which stretches from Rhode Island to the banks of the Connec 
 ticut. The Pequods were a numerous tribe, and renowned for 
 their prowess and ferocity. They had early entertained a jealous 
 hatred of the European colonists, and for some time past had 
 harassed them with unprovoked attacks, and excited their abhor 
 rence and indignation by the monstrous outrages to which they 
 subjected their captives. Unoffending men, women and children, 
 who had the misfortune to fall into their hands, were scalped and 
 sent back to their friends, or put to death with every circum 
 stance of torture and indignity, while the assassins, with dia 
 bolical glee and derision, challenged them to invoke the God of 
 the Christians, and put to the proof his power to save them. The 
 extension of the English settlements excited anew the fury of the 
 savages, and produced a repetition of injuries, which Vane, the 
 governor of Massachusetts, determined at length to retaliate and 
 punish by offensive operations. Receiving intelligence of a serious 
 attack that had been made by the Pequods on the Connecticut 
 settlers, he summoned all the New England communities to as 
 semble and despatch the strongest force they could contribute, to 
 the defence of their countrymen, and of the common cause of 
 European civilization. The Pequods, aware of the impending 
 danger, were not negligent of prudent precautions, as well as 
 33* 
 
390 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 active endeavors to repel it. To this end, they sought a recon 
 ciliation with the Narragansets, their hereditary enemies, and 
 rivals in power ; proposing that on both sides the remembrance of 
 ancient quarrels and animosities should be buried ; and urging the 
 Narragansets for once to cooperate cordially with them against a 
 common foe, whose progressive encroachments threatened to con 
 found them both in one common destruction. But the Narragan 
 sets had long cherished a fierce and deep-rooted hatred against 
 the Pequods ; and less moved by a distant prospect of danger to 
 themselves, than by the hope of an instant gratification of their 
 implacable revenge, they rejected the proposals of accommoda 
 tion, and determined to assist the English in the prosecution of 
 the war, which broke out in 1637. 
 
 The Pequods, incensed but not dismayed by this disappoint 
 ment, hastened by the vigor of their operations to anticipate the 
 junction of the allied provincial forces; and the Connecticut 
 troops, while as yet they had received a small part of the succors 
 with which their friends had undertaken to reinforce them, found 
 it necessary to advance against the enemy. The Pequod warriors, 
 amounting in number to more than fifteen hundred, commanded 
 by Sassacus, their principal sachem, occupied two fortified sta 
 tions, against one of which, at Mistic, in Rhode Island, Captain 
 Mason and the Connecticut militia, consisting only of ninety men, 
 attender by a body of Indian allies, directed their attack. The 
 approach of Mason was quickened by the information that the 
 enemy, deceived by a seeming retreat of the provincial troops, had 
 abandoned themselves to the conviction that the English dared 
 not encounter them, and were celebrating in premature triumph 
 the supposed evacuation of their country. About daybreak, while 
 in deep slumber and supine security, they were approached by 
 the colonists ; and the surprise would have been complete, if an 
 alarm had not been communicated by the barking of a dog. The 
 war-whoop was immediately sounded, and they flew to their arms. 
 The colonial troops rushed on to the attack; and while some of 
 them fired on the Indians through the palisades, others forced 
 their way by the entrances into the fort, and setting fire to the 
 huts, which were covered with reeds, involved their enemies in 
 the confusion and horror of a general conflagration. The Pequods, 
 notwithstanding the disadvantage of their situation, behaved 
 with great intrepidity; but after a prolonged and "furious resist 
 ance, they were totally defeated, with the slaughter of at least 
 five hundred of their tribe. Many of the women and children per 
 ished in the flames ; and the warriors, in endeavoring to escape, 
 were slain by the colonists, or, falling into the hands of the Indian 
 
EXTINCTION OF THE PEQUODS. 391 
 
 allies of the English, who surrounded the fort at a distance, were 
 reserved for a more cruel fate. Soon after this action, Captain 
 Stoughton having arrived with the auxiliary troops from Massa 
 chusetts, it was resolved to pursue the victory. Several engage 
 ments took place, which terminated unfavorably for the Pequods ; 
 and in a short time they sustained another general defeat, which 
 put an end to the war. A few only of this once powerful nation 
 survived, who, abandoning their country to the victorious Euro 
 peans, dispersed themselves among the neighboring tribes, and lost 
 their existence as a separate people. Sassacus had been an object 
 of superstitious terror to the Narragansets, who had endeavored to 
 dissuade the colonists from risking a personal encounter with him, 
 by the assurance that his life was charmed and his person invul 
 nerable. After the destruction of his people, when he fled for 
 refuge to a distant tribe, the Narragansets, exchanging their terror 
 for cruelty, solicited and prevailed with these Indians to cut off his 
 head. Thus terminated a struggle more important from its conse 
 quences than from the number of the combatants, or the celebrity 
 of their names. On its issue there had been staked no less than 
 the question, whether Christianity and civilization, or paganism 
 and barbarity should prevail in New England. 
 
 This first military enterprise of the colonists was conducted 
 with vigor and ability, and impressed the Indian race with a high 
 opinion of their steadfast courage and superior skill. Their vic 
 tory, however, it must be confessed, was sullied by cruelties 
 which it is easy to account for and extenuate, but painful to re 
 collect. The Massachusetts militia had been exceedingly diligent 
 before their march in purging their ranks of all persons whose 
 religious sentiments did not correspond with the general standard 
 of faith, orthodoxy. It had been happy if they could have purged 
 their own bosoms of the vindictive feelings which the outrages of 
 their savage foes were but too well fitted to inspire. Some of the 
 prisoners were tortured by the Indian allies, whose cruelties, we 
 can hardly dou^bt, the English might have prevented ; a consider 
 able number were sold as slaves in Bermuda, and the rest were 
 reduced to servitude in the New England settlements. In aggra 
 vation of the reproach which these proceedings undoubtedly 
 merit, it has been urged, but with very little reason, that the 
 Pequods were entitled to the treatment of an independent people, 
 gallantly striving to defend their property, their rights and their 
 freedom. But, in truth, the Pequods were the aggressors in an 
 unjust quarrel, and were fighting all along in support of unpro 
 voked and ferocious purposes of extermination. 
 
 While the military force of Massachusetts was thus employed 
 
392 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 in the field, the provincial commonwealth was shaken by intestine 
 dissensions, which had been excited by theological controversy, 
 and inflamed by the gall and bitterness of unruly tongues. It 
 was the custom at that time, in Boston, that the members of every 
 congregation should assemble in weekly meetings, to reconsider 
 the sermons of the preceding Sunday ; to discuss the doctrinal 
 instructions they had heard ; to revive the impressions that had 
 been produced by their sabbatical exercises ; and extend the sacred 
 influences of the Sabbath throughout the week. Mrs. Hutchinson, 
 the wife of one of the most respectable inhabitants of the colony, 
 a woman of masculine spirit, subtle, ambitious and enthusiastic, 
 submitted with impatience to the restriction by which women, at 
 these meetings, were debarred from the privilege of joining in the 
 debates; and 'at length, conceiving that she was authorized to 
 exercise her didactic powers, by the precept of Scripture, which 
 enjoins the elder women to teach the younger -, she established sep 
 arate meetings of the Christians of her own sex, where her zeal 
 and talents soon procured her a numerous and admiring audience. 
 These women, who had partaken the .struggles and perils of the 
 male colonists, had also caught no small portion of the various 
 hues of their spirit ; and as many of them had been accustomed to 
 a life more replete with external elegance and variety of interest 
 and employment than the state of the colony could supply, they 
 experienced a listless craving for something to animate and engage 
 their faculties, and judged nothing fitter for this purpose than 
 an imitation of those exercises, for the promotion of the great 
 common cause, which seemed to minister such comfort and sup 
 port to the spirits of the men. Mrs. Hutchinson, their leader, 
 had by her devout behavior, gained the cordial esteem of John 
 Cotton, whose charity never failed to recognise, in every human 
 being, the slightest trace of those graces which he continually 
 and ardently longed to behold ; and towards him she entertained 
 and professed for some time a very high veneration. The friend 
 ship of Vane and some others had a less favorable influence on 
 her mind ; and their admiring praise of the depth and vigor of 
 her genius seems to have elevated, in her estimation, the gifts of 
 intellect above the graces of character. She acquired the title of 
 The Nonesuch^ which the ingenuity of her admirers derived from 
 an anagrammatical transposition of the letters of her name ; and 
 gave to her female assemblies the title of gossipings, a term at 
 that time of respectable import, but which the scandalous repute 
 of female conventions and debates has since consigned to con 
 tempt and ridicule. Doing amiss what the Scriptures plainly 
 forbade her to do at all, she constituted herself not only a dictator 
 
MRS. HUTCHINSON. 393 
 
 of orthodoxy, but a censor of the spiritual estate and value of all 
 the ministers and inhabitants of the province. Her canons of 
 doctrine were received by her associates as the unerring standard 
 of truth ; and a defamatory persecution was industriously waged 
 against all who rejected them as unsound, uncertain, or unintelli 
 gible. A scrutiny was instituted into the characters of all the 
 provincial clergy and laity; and of those who refused to receive 
 the doctrinal testimony of the conclave, few found it easy to stand 
 the test of a censorious inquisition, stimulated by female petulance 
 and controversial rancor. In the assemblies which were held by 
 the followers of Mrs. Hutchinson, there were nourished and trained 
 a keen, pugnacious spirit, and unbridled license of tongue, of 
 which the influence was speedily felt in the serious disturbance 
 first of domestic happiness, and then of public peace. The mat 
 rons of Boston were transformed into a synod of slanderous 
 praters, whose inquisitorial deliberations and audacious decrees 
 instilled their venom into the innermost recesses of society ; and 
 the spirits of a great majority of the citizens being in that com 
 bustible state in which a feeble spark will suffice to kindle a 
 formidable conflagration, the whole colony was inflamed and 
 distracted by the incontinence of female spleen and presumption. 
 The tenets adopted and inculcated by the faction of which Mrs. 
 Hutchinson was the leader, were denounced by their adversa 
 ries as constituting the heresy of antinomianism. The doctrine 
 which she taught, and the censures which she pronounced, were 
 received with avidity and delight by a considerable party ; and 
 proportionally provoking the displeasure of others, excited the 
 most violent dissensions throughout the whole colony. Cotton 
 endeavored to moderate the heats that arose, by representing to 
 the parties, that their strife was prejudicial to the great purpose in 
 which he firmly believed the minds of both were united, the 
 exalting and honoring divine grace ; the one (said he) seeking to 
 advance the grace of God within us, in the work of sanctification, 
 the other seeking to advance the grace of God without us, in the 
 work of justification. But the strife was- not to be stayed; his 
 endeavors to pacify and reconcile, only served to draw down 
 upon himself the charge of a timorous and purblind incapacity, 
 from the assembly of the women ; and, as even this insult was 
 not able to induce him to declare himself entirely opposed to 
 them, he incurred a temporary abatement of his popularity with 
 a majority of the colonists. Some of the tenets promulgated by 
 the sectaries, he reverenced as the legitimate fruit of profound and 
 enlightened meditation upon the Scriptures; but he viewed with 
 grief and amazement the fierce and arrogant spirit with which they 
 
394 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 were maintained, and the wild and dangerous errors with which 
 they very soon came to be associated. The controversy raged 
 with a violence very unfavorable to the discernment and recog 
 nition of truth. Mrs. Hutchinson and her adherents, both male 
 and female, firmly persuaded of the superior soundness and purity 
 of their system of doctrines, forgot to consider how far the opposi 
 tion which it encountered might be traced to the obscurity and 
 imperfection of their views, and their manner of exhibiting them. 
 
 It is asserted that the heat of their tempers gradually commu 
 nicated itself to the understandings of Mrs. Hutchinson and her 
 party ; and that, in addition to their original tenets, they adopted 
 the idea that the Spirit of God communicates with the minds of 
 believers independently of the written word ; and, in consistency 
 with this, received many revelations of future events, announced 
 to them by Mrs. Hutchinson, as equally infallible with the prophe 
 cies of Scripture. But the accounts that are transmitted to us of 
 such theological dissensions are always obscured by the cloud of 
 contemporary passion, prejudice and error ; hasty effusions of irri 
 tated zeal are mistaken for deliberate sentiments, and the excesses 
 of the zealots of a party are held up as the standard by which 
 the whole body may fairly be measured. 
 
 Some ministers, who had embraced Mrs. Hutchinson's opinions, 
 began to proclaim them from the pulpit, with such opprobrious 
 invectives against all by whom they were rejected, as at length 
 brought the dissensions to a crisis; and Vane, being considered the 
 confederate and protector of Mrs. Hutchinson, his continuance in 
 office, or privation of it, at the approaching annual election, was 
 the first test by which the parties were to try with which of them 
 resided the power of imposing silence on the other. So much ill 
 humor and mutual jealousy had now been instilled into the minds 
 of the people, that the utmost efforts of the sober and humane 
 barely sufficed to prevent the day of election from being disgraced 
 by a general riot. All the exertions of Vane's partisans failed to 
 obtain his reappointment; and by a great majority of votes, the 
 government was conferred on Winthrop. Vane, never theless r re 
 mained in the colony, professing his willingness to undertake even 
 the humblest function in the service of a commonwealth of the 
 people of God ;, and the followers of Mrs. Hutchinson, regarding 
 his deprivation of office as a dangerous blow to themselves, ceased 
 not to labor for his reinstatement, with as much warmth as they 
 had exerted in the propagation of their religious tenets. The 
 government was loudly reproached, and Winthrop openly slighted 
 and affronted. At length, the prevailing party resolved to cut up 
 this source of contention by the roots ; and a general synod of 
 
MRS. HUTCHINSUN. 395 
 
 the churches of the colony having been assembled, the doctrines 
 recently broached were condemned as erroneous and heretical. 
 As this proceeding served only to provoke the professors of these 
 doctrines to assert them with increased warmth and pertinacity, 
 the leaders of the party were summoned before the general court. 
 Mrs. Hutchinson rebuked her judges for their wicked persecution 
 of truth, compared herself to the prophet Daniel cast into the den 
 of lions, and attempted to complete the similitude by exercising 
 what she believed to be the gift of prophecy, and predicting that 
 her exile would be attended with the ruin of her adversaries and 
 all their posterity. To this punishment, nevertheless, she was 
 condemned, together with her brother, Wheelwright, who was a 
 clergyman, an,d who had been the great pulpit champion of her 
 doctrines ; and some of the inferior members of the faction, partly 
 on account of the violence with which they still proclaimed their 
 theological tenets, and partly for the seditious insolence with 
 which they had treated the new governor, were fined and dis 
 franchised. In consequence of these proceedings, Vane quitted 
 the colony, and returned to England, "leaving a caveat," says 
 Cotton Mather, " that all good men are not fit for government." 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. Jealousy of the English government. Attempt* 
 upon American liberty. Firmness of the colonists. Attempts of the crown tc 
 stop emigration. Cromwell and Hampden. Trouble in England. Harvara 
 College founded. Settlement of Maine. General state of the colonies. Man 
 ners, government, religion, strictness of morals. Severity of the laws. 
 Attempts to civilize the Indians. Elliot, the Indian apostle. His labors among 
 the natives. Stubborn character of the Indians. Mayhem's missionary efforts. 
 Translation of the Bible. Result of the attempts at civilizing the savages. 
 
 Elliot preaching to the Indians. 
 
 MEANTIME, the progress of the New England colonies had begun 
 to* excite the jealousy of the English government. The system 
 of civil and religious liberty, now rapidly growing up in the west, 
 was too striking a spectacle to escape serious notice. The clergy, 
 in particular, began to look upon the American innovations as an 
 affair of state, and in April, 1634, the Archbishop of Canterbury 
 and his associates received full power over the American planta 
 tions, with authority to establish the government, regulate the 
 church, and revoke any charter which conceded liberties prejudi 
 cial to the royal prerogative. This account spread alarm among 
 the colonists, and they resolved to defend their rights. Fortifica 
 tions were hastily erected, and a military fund of six hundred 
 pounds raised, a large sum, if we consider the poverty of the 
 colonies at that period. All the ministers assembled at Boston 
 
DISTRICT OF MAINE. 397 
 
 and declared unanimously the determination of the settlers to 
 defend their lawful possessions as far as they were able. The 
 holders of the general patent for New England were forced to 
 surrender it to the king, and by a writ of quo wananto, the Mas 
 sachusetts charter was likewise ordered to be given up. With a 
 design to stop the tide of emigration to the colonies, the privy 
 council, in May, 1638, forbade the sailing of eight ships, in the 
 Thames, bound to New England. A tradition is current that 
 Oliver Cromwell and John Hampden, afterwards so famous in the 
 history of England, were among the emigrants on board this fleet. 
 After some detention, however, the ships were permitted to depart. 
 
 When the order for surrender of the charter arrived at Boston, 
 accompanied with a threat that in case of refusal the king would 
 take into his own hands the whole government of the plantations, 
 the colonists firmly refused ; and, fortunately for them, before the 
 royal anger could wreak itself on their heads, the troubles broke 
 out in England which led Charles I. to the scaffold. The repub 
 lican parliament favored the colonists, and the House of Commons, 
 in 1643, voted a resolution favorable to the New England colonies. 
 In the meantime Massachusetts promulgated a bill of rights and 
 offered a free welcome to Christians of every nation, who might 
 fly from war, famine, tyranny or persecution. New England had 
 at this early period become the asylum for the oppressed of all 
 Christendom. Antecedent to this period the colonists had begun 
 to look forward to the promotion of literature. Harvard College 
 was founded, in 1636, by the general court of Massachusetts, who 
 appropriated a whole year's taxation towards the establishment 
 of a college at Cambridge. Two years afterwards, John Harvard, 
 of Charlestown, bequeathed one half of his estate and all his 
 library to the same purpose, from which donation the infant Uni 
 versity received his name. 
 
 The District of Maine, now a separate state, was in the early 
 part of its existence, a portion of Massachusetts. This territory 
 was at first comprised within the limits of a patent granted to 
 Gorges and Mason, who obtained a title for the whole country 
 between the Merrimack and the St. Lawrence. The French had 
 already visited the coast of Maine and established themselves at 
 Mount Desert. Some English settlers took post at Saco river and 
 Monhegan Island, about 1618, but the first permanent settlement 
 was made in 1626, "on the Maine," as it was called, in contra 
 distinction to the islands which so thickly stud the coast. This 
 settlement was at the mouth of the Pemaquid. The French 
 made encroachments and claimed nearly all the territory of Maine, 
 but they were finally expelled. The first court organized in this 
 34 
 
398 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 district was in 1636, at Saco. Gorges gave the country the name 
 of New Somersetshire. In 1652, Massachusetts, by a literal inter 
 pretation of her charter, extended her limits so as to absorb the 
 territory of Maine as far as Casco Bay. In 1691, the whole of 
 Maine became incorporated with Massachusetts, and continued 
 an integral portion of that state till 1820. 
 
 When the intercourse, which for twenty years had subsisted 
 between New England and the parent state, was interrupted by 
 the civil war in England, the number of colonists appears to have 
 amounted to about twenty thousand persons, or four thousand 
 families, including about a hundred ministers. The expenditure 
 that had already been incurred in equipping vessels and transport 
 ing emigrants, amounted to nearly two hundred thousand pounds, 
 a prodigious sum in that age, and which nothing but the grand 
 and unconquerable principle which animated the puritans, could 
 have persuaded men to expend on the prospect of forming an 
 establishment in a remote, uncultivated desert, offering to its 
 inhabitants merely a plain, unadorned freedom and difficult sub 
 sistence. When the civil war broke out in the parent state, the 
 colonists had already founded fifty towns and villages ; they had 
 erected upwards of thirty churches and ministers' houses ; and 
 combining with their preponderating regard for the concerns of 
 religion, a diligent and judicious conduct of their temporal affairs, 
 they had improved their estates to a high degree of cultivation. 
 During the first seven years of the infancy of the settlement that 
 was founded in 1630, even subsistence was procured with diffi 
 culty, and trade was not attempted ; but soon after that period, the 
 people began to extend their fishery, and to open a trade in lum 
 ber, which subsequently proved the staple article of New England 
 commerce. In the year 1637, there were but thirty ploughs in the 
 whole province of Massachusetts, and less than one third of that 
 number in Connecticut. The culture of the earth was generally 
 performed with hoes, and was consequently slow and laborious. 
 Every commodity bore a high price. Though money was ex 
 tremely scarce, the price of a good cow was thirty pounds ; Indian 
 corn cost five shillings a bushel ; labor and every other article of 
 use was proportionably dear. Necessity at first introduced what 
 the jurisprudence of the colonists afterwards confirmed; and 
 desiring to perpetuate the habits that had proved o conducive to 
 piety and virtue, they endeavored by legislative enactments, to 
 exclude luxury and promote industry. When the assembling of 
 the long parliament opened a prospect of safety, and even of 
 triumph and supremacy to the puritans in England, many persons 
 who had taken refuge in America returned to their native country ; 
 
GENERAL STATE OF THE COLONIES. 399 
 
 but a great majority of the colonists had experienced so much of 
 the substance and happiness of religious life in the societies which 
 had been formed within the colony, that they felt themselves 
 united to New England by stronger and nobler ties than any that 
 patriotic recollections could supply; and resolved to abide in a 
 region which their virtue had converted from a wilderness into 
 a garden. In these infant communities of men devoted to godli 
 ness and liberty, all hearts were strongly united by community 
 of feeling on subjects the most interesting and important; the 
 inhabitants were, in general, very nearly on a level in point of 
 temporal condition; the connexion of neighborhood operated as 
 extended family ties; and the minds of all were warmed and 
 invigorated by a primitive friendliness, freedom, and simplicity of 
 mutual communication. And yet some indications of an aristo- 
 cratical disposition, arising not unnaturally from peculiar circum 
 stances that had occurred in the formation of the colonial settle 
 ments, did occasionally manifest themselves. Several of the first 
 planters, particularly Dudley, Winthrop, Bradford, Bellingham 
 and Bradstreet, were persons of ample fortune ; and besides the 
 transportation of their own families, they had borne the charge 
 of transporting many poor families, who must otherwise have 
 remained in England. Others were members of the original body 
 of patentees, and had incurred expenses in the procurement of 
 the charter, the formation of the company, the equipment of the 
 first body of adventurers, and the purchase of the soil from the 
 natives, of which they had now no prospect of obtaining reim 
 bursement. On this class of planters the offices of government 
 naturally devolved during the infancy of the settlements, and 
 long continued to be discharged by them with no other pecuniary 
 recompense than presents, which were occasionally voted to* them 
 by the gratitude of their fellow-citizens. It was probably owing 
 to the prevalence of the peculiar sentiments inspired by the ser 
 vices of these persons, that, in the first general court which was 
 assembled in Massachusetts, the election of the governor, the 
 appointment of all the other officers, and even the power of legisla 
 tion, were withdrawn from the freemen, and vested in the council 
 of assistants; and although the freemen reclaimed and resumed 
 their rights the following year, yet the exercise of legislation was 
 confined almost entirely to the council of assistants, till the intro 
 duction of the representative system in the year 1634. From this 
 time the council and the freemen, assembled together, formed the 
 General Court, till the year 1644, when it was arranged that the 
 governor and assistants should sit apart ; and thence commenced 
 the separate existence of the democratic branch of the legislature, 
 
400 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 or house of representatives. Elections were conducted by ballot, 
 in which the balls or tickets tendered by the electors consisted of 
 Indian beans. 
 
 Some notice of the peculiarities of jurisprudence that already 
 prevailed in the various communities of New England, will serve 
 to illustrate the state of society and manners that sprung up at 
 first among this singular people. By a fundamental law of 
 Massachusetts, it was enacted, " that all strangers professing the 
 Christian religion, who shall flee to this country from the tyranny 
 of their persecutors, shall be succored at the public charge until 
 some provision can be made for them." Jesuits and other Romish 
 priests, however, were subjected to banishment, and in case of 
 their return, to death. This cruel ordinance was afterwards ex 
 tended to the -Quakers ; and all persons were forbidden, under the 
 severest penalties, to import any of " that cursed sect," or of their 
 writings, into the colony. By what proceedings the Quakers of 
 that age provoked so much aversion and such rigorous treatment, 
 we shall have an opportunity of considering hereafter. These 
 persecuting edicts had no place in Rhode Island, where no one 
 was exposed to active molestation for religious opinions, and all 
 professors of Christianity, except Roman Catholics, were admitted 
 to the full rights of citizenship. In Connecticut, persons were for 
 bidden to run, or even to walk, "except reverently to and from 
 church," on Sunday, or to profane the day by sweeping their houses, 
 cooking their victuals, or shaving their beards. Mothers were even 
 commanded not to kiss their children on that sacred day. The 
 usual punishments of great crimes were disfranchisement, banish 
 ment, and temporary servitude ; but perpetual slavery was not per 
 mitted to be inflicted upon any persons except captives lawfully 
 takenin the wars ; and these were to be treated with the gentleness 
 of Christian manners, and to be entitled to all the mitigations of 
 their lot, enjoined by the law of Moses. Disclaiming all but 
 defensive war, the colonists considered themselves entitled and 
 constrained, in self-defence, to deprive their assailants of a liberty 
 which they had abused and rendered inconsistent with the safety 
 of their neighbors. The practice, notwithstanding, was impolitic, 
 to say no worse, and served to pave the way, at a later period, for 
 the introduction of negro slavery into New England. 
 
 All gaming was prohibited ; cards and dice were forbidden to 
 be imported ; and assemblies for dancing were proscribed. By a 
 law enacted in 1646, kissing a woman in the street, even in the 
 way of honest salute, was punished by flogging. This was not 
 considered an infamous punishment by the people of Massachu 
 setts : and even so late as the middle of the eighteenth century, 
 
SEVERITY OF THE LAWS. 401 
 
 there were instances of persons, who, after undergoing its severity, 
 have associated with the most respectable circles of society in 
 Boston. This doubtless arose from the peculiar character of the 
 government, which, seeming to hold a patriarchal relation to the 
 people, could never be supposed, in correcting an offender, to divest 
 itself entirely of hope and good will towards him. The economy 
 of inns was regulated with a strictness which deserves to be noted, 
 as explanatory of a circumstance that has frequently excited the 
 surprise of European travellers in America. The intemperance 
 and immorality to which these places are so often made subser 
 vient, were punished with the utmost rigor ; and all innkeepers 
 were required, under the severest penalties, to restrain the ex 
 cesses of their guests, or to acquaint the magistrate with their 
 perpetration. To secure a stricter execution of this law, it was 
 judged expedient that innkeepers should be divested of the temp 
 tation that poverty presents to its infraction, and enjoy such 
 personal consideration as would facilitate the exercise of their 
 difficult duty ; and, accordingly, none were permitted to follow 
 this calling, but persons of approved character and competent 
 estate. One of the consequences of this policy was, that an em 
 ployment very little respected in other countries, for a long period, 
 was creditable in the highest degree in New England. 
 
 Persons, wearing apparel which the grand jivry should account 
 unsuitable to their estate, were to be admonished in the first 
 instance, and if contumacious, fined. A fine was imposed on 
 every woman cutting her hair like a man's, or suffering it to hang 
 loosely upon her face. Idleness, lying, swearing and drunken 
 ness, were subjected to various penalties and marks of disgrace. 
 The selectmen assessed, in every family, the quantity of spinning 
 which the young women were esteemed capable of producing, 
 and enforced by fines the production of the requisite quantities. 
 Usury was forbidden ; and the prohibition was not confined to the 
 interest of money, but extended to the loan of laboring cattle and 
 implements of husbandry. Persons deserting the English settle 
 ments, and living in heathen license and profanity, were punished 
 by fine and imprisonment. A male child above sixteen years of 
 age, accused by his parents of rebellion against them and general 
 misconduct, incurred, (conformably with the Mosaic code,) the 
 doom of capital punishment; and any person courting a maid 
 without the sanction of her parents, was fined and imprisoned, 
 
 It is pleasing to contemplate the substantial fruits of Chris 
 tian sentiment evinced by the memorable exertions for the con 
 version of the Indians. The circumstances that promoted the 
 34* Y2 
 
402 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 emigrations to New England, had operated with particular force on 
 the ministers of the puritans ; and so many of these spiritual direc 
 tors had accompanied the other settlers, that among a people who 
 derived less enjoyment from the exercises of piety, the numbers 
 of the clergy would have been reckoned exceedingly burdensome 
 and very much disproportioned to the wants of the laity. This 
 circumstance was highly favorable to the promotion of reli 
 gious habits among the colonists, as well as to the extension of 
 their settlements, in the plantation of which, the cooperation of a 
 minister was considered indispensable. It contributed also to 
 suggest and facilitate missionary labor among the neighboring 
 heathen, to whom the colonists had associated themselves, by 
 superadding the ties of a common country to those of a common 
 nature. While the people at large were progressively extending 
 their industry, and overcoming by culture the rudeness of desert 
 nature, the ministers of religion, with earnest zeal, aspired to an 
 extension of their peculiar sphere of usefulness ; and, at a very 
 early period, entertained designs of redeeming to the dominion of 
 piety and civilization the neglected wastes of human character that 
 lay stretched in savage ignorance and idolatry all around them. 
 John Elliot, one of the ministers of Roxbury, a man whose large 
 soul glowed with the in tensest flame of holy charity, had been 
 diligently laboring some time to overcome the preliminary diffi 
 culty by which its performance was obstructed. He had now, by 
 diligent study, obtained such a knowledge of the Indian language, 
 as enabled him not only himself to speak it with fluency, but to 
 facilitate the acquisition of it by others, in the construction and 
 publication of a system of Indian grammar. Having completed 
 his preparatory inquiries, he began, in the close of this year, a 
 scene of labor, which has been traced with the greatest interest 
 and accuracy by the ecclesiastical historians of New England. 
 . It is a remarkable feature in Elliot's long and arduous career, 
 that the energy by which he was actuated never sustained the 
 slightest abatement; but, on the contrary, manifested a steady 
 and continual increase. He appears never himself to have 
 doubted its endurance ; but, confidently referring it to Divine 
 bestowment, he felt assured of its derivation from a source incapa 
 ble of being wasted by the most liberal communication. Every 
 thing he saw or knew occurred to him in a^ religious aspect ; 
 every faculty, and every acquisition that he "derived from the 
 employment of his faculties, was received by him as a ray 
 imparted to his soul, from that everlasting source of sentiment 
 and intelligence, which was the object of his earnest contempla- 
 
LABORS OF ELLIOT AMONG THE INDIANS. 403 
 
 tion and continual desire. As he was one of the holiest, so was 
 he also one of the happiest and most beloved of men. When he 
 felt himself disabled from preaching, by the infirmities of old age, 
 lie proposed to his parishioners of Roxbury, to resign his ministe 
 rial salary ; but the people unanimously declared, that they would 
 willingly pay the stipend, for the happiness of having him reside 
 among them. His example, indeed, was the most valuable part 
 of his ministry among Christians; his life, during many yeais, 
 K ~ : '.~. u, continual effusion of soul in devotion to God and charity 
 to mankind. 
 
 The mild, persuasive address of Elliot soon gained him a favor 
 able audience from many of the Indians ; and having successfully 
 represented to them the expediency of an entire departure from 
 their savage habits of life, he obtained from the general court a 
 suitable tract of land adjoining the settlement of Concord, in 
 Massachusetts, upon which a number of Indian families began, 
 under his counsel, to erect fixed habitations for themselves, and 
 where they eagerly received his instructions, both spiritual and 
 secular. It was not long before a violent opposition to these 
 innovations was excited by the powows, or Indian priests, who 
 threatened death and other inflictions of the vengeance of their 
 idols on all who should embrace Christianity. The menaces and 
 artifices of these persons caused several of the seeming converts 
 to draw back, but induced others to separate themselves entirely 
 from the society and converse of the main body of their country 
 men, and court the advantage of a closer association with that 
 superior race of men, who showed themselves so willing, nay, so 
 anxious, to diffuse and communicate the benefits of their own 
 improved condition. A considerable number of Indians resorted 
 to the land allotted to them by the provincial government, and 
 exchanged their wild and barbarous habits for the modes of civil 
 ized living and industry. Elliot was continually among them, 
 instructing, animating, and directing them. They felt his supe 
 rior wisdom, and saw him continually and serenely happy ; and 
 there was nothing in his exterior condition that indicated sources 
 of enjoyment from which they were debarred. On the contrary, 
 it was obvious that of every article of merely selfish comfort, he 
 was willing to divest himself, in order to communicate to them a 
 share of what he esteemed the only true riches of an immortal 
 being. The women in the new settlement learned to spin ; the 
 men to dig and till the ground ; and the children were instructed 
 in the English language, and taught to read and write. As the 
 number of domesticated Indians increased, they built a town by 
 the side of Charles river, which they called Natlck ; and they 
 
404 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 devsired Elliot to frame a system of municipal government foi 
 thorn. He directed their attention to the counsel that Jethro gave 
 - to Moses ; and in conformity with it, they elected for themselves 
 rulers of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. The provincial govern 
 ment also appointed a court, which, without assuming jurisdiction 
 over them, tendered the assistance of its judicial mediation to all 
 who might be willing to refer to it the adjustment of their more 
 difficult or important controversies. In endeavoring tc extend 
 their missionary influence among the surrounding tribes, Elliot 
 and his associates met with diversified results, corresponding to 
 the visible varieties of human character, and the invisible pre 
 determinations of the Divine will. Many Indians expressed the 
 utmost abhorrence and contempt of Christianity ; some made a 
 hollow profession of willingness to hear, and even of conviction, 
 with the view, as it afterwards appeared, of obtaining the tools 
 and other articles of value that were furnished to every Indian 
 who proposed to embrace the habits of civilized life. In spite of 
 great discouragement the missionaries persisted; and the diffi 
 culties that at first mocked their efforts, seeming at length to 
 vanish under an invisible influence, their labors were attended 
 with astonishing success. The character and habits of the lay 
 colonists promoted the efficacy of these pious endeavors, in a 
 manner which will be forcibly appreciated by all who have exam 
 ined the history and progress of missions. Simple in their man 
 ners, devout, moral and industrious in their lives, they enforced 
 the lessons of the missionaries by demonstrating their practica 
 bility and their beneficial effects, and presented a model which in 
 point of refinement was not too elevated for Indian imitation. 
 
 While Elliot and an increasing body of associates were thus 
 employed in the province of Massachusetts, Thomas Mayhew, a 
 man who combined the gentlest manners with the most ardent 
 * .and enthusiastic spirit, together with a few coadjutors, diligently 
 prosecuted the same design in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and 
 Elizabeth Isles, and the territory comprehended in the Plymouth 
 patent. Abasing themselves, that they might elevate their species 
 and promote the divine glory, they wrought with their own hands 
 among those Indians whom they persuaded to forsake savage 
 habits ; and zealously employing all the influence they acquired to 
 the communication of moral and spiritual improvement, they 
 beheld their exertions crowned with the most signal success. The 
 character and manners of Mayhew appear to have been singularly 
 calculated to excite the tenderness, no less than the veneration, 
 of the objects of his benevolence. His address derived a pene 
 trating interest from that earnest concern, and high and holy 
 
ELLIOT AND MAYHEW. 405 
 
 value, which he manifestly entertained for every member of the 
 family of mankind. Many years after his death, the Indians 
 could not hear his name mentioned without shedding tears, and 
 betraying transports of grateful emotion. 
 
 Both Elliot and Mayhew found great advantage in the practice 
 of selecting the most docile and ingenious of their Indian pupils, 
 and by especial attention to their instruction, qualifying them to 
 act as schoolmasters among their countrymen. To a zeal that 
 seemed to increase by exercise, they added insurmountable 
 patience and admirable prudence ; and steadily fixing their view 
 on the glory of the Most High, and declaring that, whether out 
 wardly successful or not in prosecuting it, they felt themselves 
 blest and happy in pursuing it ; they found its influence sufficient 
 to light them through the darkness of every perplexity and peril, 
 and finally conduct them to a degree of success and victory 
 unparalleled, perhaps, since that era when the miraculous endow 
 ments of the apostolic ministry caused multitudes to be converted 
 in a day. They were not hasty in urging the Indians to embrace 
 improved institutions ; they desired rather to lead them insensibly 
 forward, more especially in the establishment of religious ordi 
 nances. Those practices, indeed, which they accounted likely to 
 commend themselves, by their obviously beneficial effects, to the 
 natural understanding of men, they were not restrained from 
 recommending to their early adoption; and trial by jury very 
 soon superseded the savage modes of determining right, or ascer 
 taining guilt, and contributed to improve and refine the sense of 
 equity. In the dress and modes of intercourse among the savages, 
 they also introduced, at an early period, alterations calculated to 
 form and develop a sentiment of modesty, of which the Indians 
 were found to be grossly and universally deficient. But all those 
 practices which are, or ought to be exclusively the fruits of 
 renewed nature and divine light, they desired to teach entirely by 
 example, and by diligently radicating and cultivating in the 
 minds of their flock, the principles out of which alone such visible 
 fruits of piety can lastingly and beneficially grow. It was not 
 till the year 1660, that the first Indian church was founded by 
 Elliot and his fellow-laborers in Massachusetts. There were at 
 that time no fewer than ten settlements within the province occu 
 pied by Indians comparatively civilized. 
 
 Elliot had occasionally translated and printed various approved 
 theological dissertations for the use of the Indians ; and, at length, 
 in the year 1664, the Bible was printed for the first time, in the na 
 tive language of the New World, at Cambridge, in Massachusetts. 
 This, indeed, was not accomplished without the assistance of 
 
406 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 pecuniary contributions from the mother country. The colonists 
 had zealously and cheerfully cooperated with their ministers, and 
 assisted to defray the cost of their charitable enterprises ; but the 
 increasing expenses threatened at last to exceed what their narrow 
 means were competent to afford. Happily, the tidings of this 
 great work excited a. kindred spirit in the parent state, where, in 
 the year 1649, there was formed, by act of parliament, a Society 
 for propagating the Gospel in New England, whose cooperation 
 proved of essential service to the missionary cause. This society, 
 having been dissolved at the restoration, was afterwards reerected 
 by a charter from Charles the Second, obtained by the exertions 
 of the pious Richard Baxter, and the influence of the illustrious 
 Robert Boyle, who thus approved himself the benefactor of New 
 England, as well as of Virginia. Supported by its ample endow 
 ments, and the liberal contributions of their own fellow-colonists, 
 the American missionaries exerted themselves with such energy 
 and success in the work of converting and civilizing the savages, 
 that, before the close of the seventeenth century, there were 
 collected in the province of Massachusetts, more than thirty con 
 gregations of Indians, comprising upwards of three thousand 
 persons, reclaimed from a gross barbarism and degrading super 
 stition, and advanced to the comfort and respectability of civilized 
 life, and the dignity and happiness of worshippers of the true 
 God. There were nearly as many converts to religion and civiliza 
 tion in the islands of Massachusetts Bay ; there were several Indian 
 congregations in the Plymouth territories ; and among some of the 
 tribes that still pursued their wonted style of roving life, there 
 was introduced a considerable improvement in civil and moral 
 habits. 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE. Gorges and Mason's projects. Foundat on of Portsmouth. 
 New Hampshire absorbed in Massachusetts. RHODE ISLAND. Williams obtains 
 a charter for that colony. CONNECTICUT. First attempt of the Dutch at a set 
 tlement. Hartford founded by the English. Government of Connecticut. New 
 Haven. Distresses of the first settlers. Troubles with the Indians and Dutch. 
 Connecticut obtains a charter. 
 
 Founding of Portsmouth. 
 
 SIR Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason, members of the coun 
 cil of Plymouth, obtained, in 1622, a patent for Laconia, under 
 which name was then comprised all the coast from the river 
 Merrimac to the St. Lawrence. A. company was formed in Eng 
 land, under this patent, and settlements effected at Portsmouth and 
 Dover, in 1623. The colony, however, made but little progress ; 
 the patentees got involved in territorial disputes with their Massa 
 chusetts neighbors, and wasted their efforts in suits at law, the 
 poorest means of helping the growth of an estate. Fifteen years 
 later, the whole coast of New Hampshire and Maine is described 
 as a mere wilderness, with a few huts scattered here and there 
 along the shore ; and at the end of thirty years, Portsmou th con 
 tained only fifty or sixty families. Mason took out a new pa ent, 
 but his American estate became ruined. Neither the proprietor 
 nor the king paid any attention to this colony, and the New 
 
408 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Hampshire settlers were left to take care of themselves. The 
 colony was absorbed into Massachusetts in 1641, and continued 
 to form a part of that state till 1677, when a committee of the 
 privy council, having examined all the colonial charters, de 
 cided that Massachusetts had no jurisdiction over this terri 
 tory. New Hampshire then became a royal province. The 
 history of this state is so closely connected throughout with that 
 of Massachusetts, that they cannot be separated without impair 
 ing the unity of our narrative of general events. 
 
 The foundation of the province of Rhode Island was laid by 
 Roger Williams, whom we have already seen leaving the settle 
 ments at Massachusetts Bay, and going into exile in the wilder 
 ness. Williams first established himself at Seekonk, but finding 
 the spot within -the limits of Plymouth, he removed across the 
 river, and made a permanent settlement at Providence in 1638. 
 He bought the land of the Narraganset Indians, and his infant 
 colony was undisturbed by disputes with the natives. The 
 friends of Anne Hutchinson sought shelter here, and the colony 
 increased to such a degree that a constitution was established in 
 1641. Williams remained here upwards of forty years, and in 
 1643, he went to England, where, by the interest of Sir Henry 
 Vane, he obtained a parliamentary charter, by which the colony 
 was governed till the restoration of Charles II. That monarch 
 favored the Rhode Islanders ; and the liberal terms of the charter 
 which he granted the colony in 1663, form a theme of unbounded 
 praise with the historians of the time. Under .this charter the 
 state continued to be governed down to the year 1842. 
 
 In our narrative of the Indian wars in the preceding chapter, 
 we have alluded to the early establishment of the Dutch and 
 English on Connecticut river. In the year 1635, and the subse 
 quent years, several distinct English settlements were made. 
 One group of these settlers, led by Mr. Hooker, with their families, 
 stock and property, travelled in about fourteen days from Massa 
 chusetts Bay to Hartford, across the intermediate trackless wil 
 derness. They had no guide but their compass ; no covering but 
 the heavens; and their chief subsistence was the milk of their 
 cows, which they drove before them. By these and other settlers 
 from Old and New England, two colonies, named Connecticut and 
 New Haven, we're formed, and continued distinct for about thirty 
 years, but were then united. These early settlements were formed 
 by voluntary associations of persons who purchased the soil from 
 the natives, and the right of settling there from the old Plymouth 
 company in England. 
 
 The constitution of the colony called Connecticut, was estab- 
 
CONNECTICUT. 409 
 
 lished by a convention of all the freemen of Windsor, Hartford, 
 and Wethersfield, which met at Hartford, in January, 1639. It 
 ordained that there should be annually two general courts or legis 
 lative assemblies, one in April and the other in September ; that 
 in the first, all public officers should be chosen ; that a governor 
 should be annually appointed ; that no one should be chosen to 
 this office unless he had been a magistrate, and also a member of 
 some church ; that the choice of officers should be by ballot, and 
 by the whole body of freemen ; and that every man was to be 
 considered as a freeman, who had been received as a member of 
 any of the towns, and had taken the oath of fidelity to the com 
 monwealth ; that each of the three towns should send four depu 
 ties to the general court; and that, when there was an equal 
 division of votes, the governor should have the casting vote. 
 John Haynes was chosen the first governor, and henceforward 
 the general court proceeded to enact laws. A free representative 
 government was thus established in New England, one hundred 
 and thirty-seven years before the American revolution. 
 
 The planters of Q,uinipiack, afterwards called New Haven, con 
 tinued more than a year without any other constitution than their 
 plantation covenant. In this they had solemnly engaged to be 
 governed, as well in their civil as their religious concerns, by the 
 rules of Scripture. In June, 1639, they held a convention to lay 
 the foundation of their polity. It was resolved that the Scriptures 
 afford a perfect rule for the discharge of all duties, and that they 
 would be governed by them ; that church members only should 
 be free burgesses, and that they only should choose magistrates 
 among themselves to manage their affairs. They met in court 
 and admitted into their body all the members of the churches. 
 To this succeeded the election of officers. Theophilus Eaton was 
 chosen governor, and with him were joined four magistrates. It 
 was at the same time agreed that there should be a general court 
 annually in October, at which all the officers of the colony should 
 be chosen, and that the word of God should be the sole rule for 
 regulating the affairs of the commonwealth. 
 
 Connecticut, when first settled, was a vast wilderness. In it 
 were neither fields, gardens, public roads, nor cleared ground; 
 but much valuable timber and wild fruit; a great variety of 
 water-fowl and other birds. In its waters there was an abun 
 dance of fish of different kinds. In no part of New England were 
 the Indians so numerous, in proportion to territory, as in Connec 
 ticut. For thirty or forty years after its settlement, they were 
 computed to be to the white population, in the proportion of 
 nineteen to one. 
 
 35 z2 
 
410 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The settlement of this cold country was injudiciously begun in 
 October. By the 15th of the next month, Connecticut river was 
 frozen from side to side. The snow was deep and the season 
 tempestuous. In the following month, December, provisions gen 
 erally failed. Famine and even death were anticipated by many. 
 Some, impelled by hunger, attempted to return through the 
 wilderness, to Massachusetts. Others abandoned their habita 
 tions. Seventy persons were obliged, in the extremity of winter, 
 to go to the mouth of the riyer, to meet their provisions, as the 
 only expedient to preserve their lives. They who kept their sta 
 tions suffered extremely. After all the help they could obtain by 
 hunting and from the Indians, they were obliged to subsist on 
 acorns, malt and grains. 
 
 It is difficult to describe the distresses of this first doleful winter. 
 These first settlers, exposed to all the horrors of a dreary wilder 
 ness, were encompassed with numerous and cruel tribes of sava 
 ges, who could at pleasure destroy them. They had neither 
 bread for themselves nor their children; neither habitations nor 
 convenient clothing. Whatever emergency might occur, they 
 were cut off, both by land and water, from either succor or retreat. 
 Their second year was also a season of great and various labors. 
 Many of the planters had to remove themselves and effects from 
 a considerable distance. It was also incumbent on them to culti 
 vate the earth, and raise a crop, to prevent a repetition of the dis 
 tresses which took place the preceding year. It was necessary to 
 erect and fortify their houses ; to prepare food and shelter for their 
 cattle ; to make roads between their settlements, that on any emer 
 gency, they might assist each other. These various labors were 
 of difficult accomplishment in a new and unsettled country. The 
 planters had not been accustomed to cutting down trees, to clearing 
 and cultivating new lands. They were strangers in the country, 
 and knew not what kinds of grain would be most congenial with 
 its soil; nor had they any experience how the ground must be 
 cultivated, that it might yield a plentiful crop. They had few 
 oxen or implements of husbandry. Everything was to be .pre 
 pared or brought from a great distance and at a dear rate, 
 Besides all these labors and difficulties, much time was taken 
 up in constant watchings, trainings and preparations for the 
 defence of themselves and children. 
 
 In addition to all these difficulties, they could neither hunt, fish, 
 nor cultivate their fields, nor travel, nor even walk out from home, 
 but at the peril of their lives. They were obliged to keep a con 
 stant watch by night and day ; to go armed to their daily labors, 
 and to public worship. But nothing could discourage men who 
 
UNION OF THE COLONIES. 411 
 
 were determined to sacrifice every worldly comfort to secure 
 liberty of conscience, the privileges of a pure church, and the 
 propagation of religion and liberty in America. 
 
 Besides these troubles from Indians, the first settlers of Connec 
 ticut and New Haven had well-founded apprehensions of dangers 
 from their neighbors, the Dutch in New Amsterdam, who had been 
 settled there upwards of twenty years, and urged claims to a great 
 part of Connecticut, as the property of the United Netherlands. 
 At this time, England, convulsed with a civil war between the 
 king and parliament, could afford no aid to fyer American colonies. 
 Surrounded with dangers and enemies, the inhabitants of Con 
 necticut and New Haven confederated with their neighbors and 
 brethren of Massachusetts and Plymouth, in a league offensive 
 and defensive. They henceforward took the name of the United 
 Colonies of New England. 
 
 This was an union of the highest consequence to the New Eng 
 land colonies. It made them formidable to the Dutch and Indians 3 
 and respectable among their French neighbors. It was happily 
 adapted to maintain a general harmony among themselves, and to 
 secure the peace and rights of the country. It was one of the 
 principal means of the preservation of the colonies during the 
 civil wars and unsettled state of affairs in England. The Indians 
 were so hostile, that its whole influence was necessary to prevent 
 a general war. The Indians at this period were beginning to 
 acquire the use of fire-arms. The French, Dutch, and others, for 
 the sake of gain, sold them arms and ammunition. Laws were 
 made to restrain this traffic ; but, from the avarice of individuals, 
 they were not carried into full effect. 
 
 The Dutch, at Hartford, maintained a distinct and independent 
 government, and resisted the English laws. A war of epistles, 
 protests and proclamations, was carried on between their gov 
 ernors, each of whom criminated the opposite party, while the 
 borderers on the territories of both made reciprocal incursions 
 into, and depredations on, the settlements of each other. Charges 
 of a serious nature were made by Connecticut against Stuyve- 
 sant, the Dutch governor of New Amsterdam, as having leagued 
 with the Indians to extirpate the English. This charge was 
 principally supported by the evidence of Indians. Their credi 
 bility was admitted by one party, but denied by the other. Three 
 fourths of the commissioners urged a declaration of war against 
 their Dutch neighbors; but Massachusetts, contrary to the articles 
 of union, would not cooperate with the other three colonies. 
 These applied to Cromwell for aid ; but he was too much occupied 
 at home to attend to the wishes of his distant friends. The Dutch 
 
112 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 were also too fully employed in Europe, to aid their colonies in 
 North America. Nothing serious was attempted on either side , 
 but representations continued to be made by the New Englanders 
 to the ruling powers of England, against the Dutch in New Am 
 sterdam ; and their subjugation was incessantly urged, as essen 
 tial to the security of English America. These were seconded 
 from an unexpected quarter. Stuyvesant, having retaken New 
 castle, reduced the fort at Christiana, and compelled the submis 
 sion of all the Swedes near the Delaware. The proprietor of 
 Maryland, uneasy at the extension of Dutch conquests, as en 
 croaching on his province, joined in urging the necessity of fitting 
 out an expedition against New Amsterdam. England, convulsed 
 by a civil war, could not immediately attend to their request ; but 
 Charles the Second, soon after he was restored to the throne of his 
 ancestors, listened to the joint wishes of his subjects in Maryland 
 and New England. Before any effectual measures were adopted 
 for this purpose, Connecticut applied to the restored king for a 
 royal charter. This was granted in 1662. New Haven was 
 incorporated into the colony of Connecticut in 1665. The sub 
 sequent history of this charter, and of the Indian wars of which 
 this state was the theatre, will be found related in the history of 
 the United Colonies. 
 
CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 NEW YORK Henry Hudson's discoveries. First settlement of the Dutch in 
 America. Manhattan. Albany. The colony of New Amsterdam founded. 
 Troubles with the Connecticut settlers. The English conquer the New Nether 
 lands. Administration of Nichols. The Dutch recover the province. The 
 English again acquire it. Leisler's usurpation. Civil war. Governor 
 Slaughter. Defeat and execution of Leisler. General state of the colony of 
 New York. 
 
 Discovery of the Hudson River. 
 
 NEW YORK was first settled by the Dutch, who claimed the 
 country by right of discovery. Henry Hudson, an English 
 man in the Dutch service, made a voyage to this coast in 1609, 
 and, on the 3d of September, entered the mouth of that great 
 river, which now bears his name. He ascended the stream above 
 the point where Albany is now situated, but made no settlement, 
 as his chief object was the discovery of a northwest passage 
 to India. On a subsequent voyage, in the same pursuit, in the 
 Northern Seas, he discovered Hudson's Bay, where he was turned 
 adrift in a boat by his mutinous crew, and never heard of after 
 wards. 
 
 The Dutch East India Company, under whose auspices Hudson 
 
 had made his voyage to America, claimed the territory in the 
 
 neighborhood of the newly-discovered river and Delaware Bay, 
 
 for the United Provinces of Holland. Another voyage was made 
 
 35* 
 
414 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 by the merchants of Amsterdam, in 1610; a profitable trade was 
 carried on with the natives, and the Dutch repeated their visits. 
 A few huts were erected on Manhattan Island in 1613, and this 
 was the foundation of the city of New York, although there was 
 no regular attempt to establish a colony till some years later. 
 Mouses were built at Albany as early as 1615. Connecticut river 
 appears to have been first discovered by the Dutch. The settle 
 ment on Manhattan Island was called New Amsterdam, and 
 the whole province received the name of the New Netherlands. 
 
 Determined at length on the settlement of a colony, the States 
 General made a grant of the country, in 1621, to the West India 
 Company. Wouter Van Twiller arrived at New Amsterdam, 
 and took upon himself the government in 1529. The New Eng- 
 landers having commenced a settlement in New Haven, Kieft, the 
 second governor of New Netherlands, protested against them ; but 
 his protest, being unsupported, was disregarded. In the same 
 year the Dutch protested against a settlement of the Swedes, 
 which had lately been made on the banks of the Delaware. In 
 1640, the English, who had overspread the eastern part of Long 
 Island, advanced to Oyster Bay. Kieft broke up their settlement 
 in 1642, and fitted out two sloops to drive the English out of 
 Schuylkill, of which the Marylanders had lately possessed them 
 selves. 
 
 Peter Stuyvesant was the third and last Dutch governor, and 
 began his administration in 1647. The inroads and claims upon 
 his government kept him constantly employed. New England on 
 the east, and Maryland on the west, excited his fears. About 
 the same time, Captain Forrester, a Scotchman, claimed Long 
 Island for the dowager of Stirling. The Swedes, too, were pro 
 ceeding in their settlements near the Delaware. Governor Stuy 
 vesant was a faithful servant to the West India Company. He 
 early and earnestly stated to his employers the embarrassments 
 he daily experienced from the New Englanders, the Marylanders, 
 and the Swedes; and pointed out to them the probability of 
 a formidable attack from England. His representations were 
 unavailing. No preparations were made against the gathering 
 storm. Maryland on the one side, and Connecticut on the other, 
 i^rged upon their mother country the necessity of an expedition 
 against the Dutcfh, who separated the southern from the northern 
 English colonies. Their representations were listened to by Charles 
 the Second. In 1664, he gave to his brother James, duke of York 
 and Albany, a patent, which included what is now called New York 
 and New Jersey, a part of Connecticut, and part of what is now 
 called Pennsylvania, and the State of Delaware. To reduce this 
 
NEW NETHERLANDS CONQUERED BY THE ENGLISH. 415 
 
 country, part of which was in peaceable possession of the Dutch, 
 to the obedience of the Duke of York ; to gratify the colonies of 
 Connecticut and Maryland, and to consolidate, in continuity, the 
 English colonies, king Charles the Second despatched three armed 
 vessels, having on board three hundred soldiers. They reached 
 the harbor of New York in August, 1664. Governor Stuyvesant 
 sent a respectable deputation of citizens with a letter, desiring to 
 be informed of the reason of their approach and continuance in 
 the harbor. Colonel Nichols, the commander of the expedition, 
 answered with a summons to surrender all fortified places to the 
 king of England, and, at the same time, gave assurance to the 
 inhabitants, that all who submitted to the English government 
 should be confirmed in their rights to estate, life and liberty. 
 Stuyvesant promised an answer to the summons the next morn 
 ing ; and in the meantime convened the council and burgomasters. 
 The Dutch governor was a good soldier, and had lost a leg in the 
 service of the states. He would have willingly made a defence, 
 and therefore refused a sight of the summons, both to the inhabi 
 tants and burgomasters, lest the easy terms offered might induce 
 them to capitulate. The latter, however, insisted upon a copy, 
 that they might communicate it to the late magistrates and 
 principal burghers. They called together the inhabitants at 
 the stadt-house, and acquainted them with the governor's refusal. 
 Winthrop, the governor of Connecticut, at the same time wrote 
 to the director and his council, strongly recommending a surren 
 der. On the 22d of August, the burgomasters came again into 
 council, and desired to know the contents of the English mes 
 sage from Governor Winthrop ; which Stuyvesant still refused to 
 communicate. They continued their importunity, and he, in a 
 fit of anger, tore it to pieces ; upon which they protested against 
 the act and all its consequences. Determined upon a defence of 
 the country, Stuyvesant wrote a letter in answer to the summons. 
 In this he vindicated the right of the Dutch to the country, on 
 the ground of prior possession. He in particular asserted that 
 they had, without control and in peace, enjoyed Fort Orange for 
 forty-eight or fifty years; the Manhattans about forty-one or 
 forty- two years; the South river for forty, and Fresh Water 
 river for thirty-six years. In the meantime, Nichols published a 
 proclamation in the country, encouraging the inhabitants to sub 
 mit, and promising them the king's protection, and all the privi 
 leges of subjects. Stuyvesant was induced to write another letter ; 
 wherein he declared, "that he would stand the storm: yet, to 
 prevent the spilling of blood, he had sent a deputation to consult, 
 if possible, on accommodation." Nichols, who knew the disposi- 
 
416 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 tion of the people, answered immediately, that "he would treat 
 about nothing but a surrender." The Dutch governor, the next 
 day, agreed to a treaty and surrendered. 
 
 The town of New Amsterdam, upon the reduction of the island 
 of Manhattan, took the name of New York. Hudson and the 
 South river were however still to be reduced. Sir Robert Carr 
 commanded the expedition to Delaware, and Carteret was com 
 missioned to subdue the Dutch at Fort Orange. The garrison 
 capitulated on the 24th of September ; and he called it Albany, in 
 honor of the duke. Sir Robert Carr was equally successful on 
 South river; for he compelled both the Dutch and Swedes to 
 capitulate, and deliver up their garrisons, on the 1st of October, 
 1664. On that day fell the Dutch power upon the continent of 
 North America ; and the whole New Netherlands became subject 
 to the English crown. Before these conquests were completed, 
 the Duke of York had granted a portion of the territory ceded to 
 him by Charles the Second, to Lord Berkeley and Sir George 
 Carteret. This is now called New Jersey. 
 
 Though the New Netherlands were reduced, very few of the 
 inhabitants removed from the country. Governor Stuyvesant 
 held his estate and died there. His posterity still survive and 
 maintain a respectable rank among the citizens of the United 
 States. Nichols, being now possessed of the country, took upon 
 himself its government. He permitted the city to be ruled as 
 before, by a scout, burgomasters and schepens ; but gradually 
 introduced the English government. 
 
 After an administration of three years, Nichols returned to 
 England. The time, during his short residence, was almost 
 wholly taken up in confirming the ancient Dutch grants. He 
 erected no courts of justice ; but took upon himself the sole deci 
 sion of all controversies whatever. Complaints came before him 
 by petition, upon which, he gave a day to the parties ; and after 
 a summary hearing, pronounced judgment. His determinations 
 were called edicts, and executed by the sheriffs he had appointed. 
 It is much to his honor, that, notwithstanding all this plenitude 
 of power, he governed the province with integrity and moderation. 
 
 Colonel Francis Lovelace was appointed by the duke to suc 
 ceed Nichols in the government of the province. The people 
 lived very peaceably under him, till his powers were rendered 
 inefficient by the re-surrender of the colony. This was effected 
 in 1673, by the treachery of John Manning, who had at that time 
 the command of the fort. He, by a messenger, sent down to the 
 commander of a few Dutch ships, which had recently arrived, 
 and lay under Staten Island, and made his peace. On the same 
 
EDMUND ANDROS. 417 
 
 day the Dutch ships came up, moored under the fort, and landed 
 their men, who entered the garrison, without giving or receiving a 
 shot. On the surrender of the capital, all the magistrates from the 
 adjacent country were summoned to New York- and the major 
 part of them swore allegiance to the States General, and the 
 Prince of Orange. 
 
 View of New York. 
 
 The Dntch governor enjoyed his office but a very short season ; 
 for, in 1674, a treaty of peace between England and the States 
 General was signed, which restored this country to the English. 
 The Duke of York, to remove all controversy respecting his prop 
 erty, obtained a new patent from the king, for the same lands 
 which had been granted to him ten years before ; and, two days 
 afterwards, he commissioned Edmund Andros, as governor of his 
 territories in America. 
 
 New York, being a conquered country, was governed as such, 
 by the duke's governors, and their councils, who, from time to 
 time, made rules and orders, which were esteemed to be bind 
 ing as laws. This state of things continued till 1653, when, for 
 the first time, deputies from the several towns and villages assem 
 bled to deliberate on the civil condition of the country. But the 
 representative system was not made perfect in a popular leg 
 islative body till 1683. A dissatisfaction with the government 
 soon became general. Papists began to settle in the province, 
 under the smiles of the officers appointed by the duke. Several 
 public characters openly avowed the Roman Catholic religion. 
 The cry that the Protestant religion was in danger became uni 
 versal. In this state of general alarm, intelligence arrived that 
 a revolution was on the point of taking place in England. The 
 hopes of the disaffected were elevated ; but none chose to act, till 
 the Bostonians had set the example. Sir Edmund Andros, who 
 
 A3 
 
418 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 was devoted to the arbitrary measures of king James, by his 
 tyranny in New England, had drawn upon himself the universal 
 odium of a people animated with the love of liberty ; and there 
 fore, when they could no longer endure his despotic rulo, they 
 seized and imprisoned him, and afterward sent him to England. 
 Upon the news of these events, several captains of militia civn- 
 vened, to concert measures in favor of the Prince of Orange. 
 Among these, Jacob Leisler was the most active. He was a man 
 in esteem among the people, and of a moderate fortune ; but des 
 titute of every qualification necessary for conducting the grand 
 enterprise which he undertook. Milborne, his son-in-law, an 
 Englishman, directed all his councils. 
 
 Their first object was the seizure of the garrison in New York. 
 Leisler entered -it with forty-nine men, and having got possession, 
 determined to hold it till the whole militia should join him. Being 
 in complete possession of the fort, he sent an address to king 
 William and queen Mary. This was followed by a private letter 
 from Leisler to king William, which informed his majesty of the 
 state of the garrison, and the temper of the people ; and concluded 
 with strong protestations of sincerity, loyalty and zeal. 
 
 Leisler's sudden investiture with supreme power over the prov 
 ince, and the probable prospects of king William's approbation of 
 his conduct, excited the envy and jealousy of the late council 
 and magistrates, who had refused to join in the glorious work of 
 the revolution. Leisler, on the other hand, fearful of their 
 influence, and wishing to extinguish the jealousy of the people, 
 admitted several trusty persons to a participation of that power, 
 which the militia had committed solely to himself. In conjunction 
 with these, he exercised the government, assuming to himself 
 only the honor of being president in their councils. This model 
 continued, till a packet arrived with a letter from the lords Car- 
 rnarthen, Halifax and others, directed to " Francis Nicholson Esq., 
 or, in his absence, to such as, for the time being, take care for 
 preserving the peace and administering the laws in their majesties' 
 province of New York, in America." 
 
 Nicholson, who had acted as lieutenant-governor, under king 
 James, having absconded when this packet came to hand, Leisler 
 considered the letter as directed to himself; and from ihat time 
 executed all lands of commissions in his own name, assuming the 
 title, as well as the authority of lieutenant-governor. Except the 
 eastern inhabitants of Long Island, all the southern part of the 
 colony cheerfully submitted to Leisler's commands. The people 
 of Albany, in the meantime, were determined to hold the garrison 
 
410 
 
 and city for king William, independent of Leisler, and formed 
 themselves into a convention for that purpose. 
 
 Taking it for granted, that Leisler at New York, and the con 
 vention at Albany were equally well affected toward the revolution, 
 nothing could be more unwise than the conduct of both parties, 
 who, by their uncompromising temper, threw the province into 
 convulsions, and sowed the seeds of mutual hatred and animosity. 
 When Albany declared for the prince of Orange, there was noth 
 ing more that Leisler could properly require. Rather than sacrifice 
 the public peace of the province to the trifling honor of resisting 
 a man, who had no evil designs, the people of Albany ought, in 
 prudence, to have delivered the garrison into his hands, till the 
 king's definitive order should arrive; but while Leisler, on the 
 one hand, was inebriated with his newly-gotten power, so, on the 
 other, Bayard, Cortlandt, Schuyler, and their associates, could 
 not brook a submission to the authority of a man, mean in his 
 abilities, and inferior in his degree. 
 
 Jacob Milborne was commissioned for the reduction of Albany. 
 Upon his arrival there, a great number of the inhabitants armed 
 themselves. In these circumstances, Milborne thought proper to 
 retreat, and soon afterwards departed from Albany. In the spring, 
 he commanded another party upon the same errand ; and the dis 
 tress of the country, occasioned by an Indian irruption, gave him all 
 the desired success. No sooner was he possessed of the garrison, 
 than most of the principal members of the convention absconded ; 
 upon which, their effects were arbitrarily seized and confiscated. 
 
 Colonel Henry Sloughter, who had a commission from king 
 William to be governor of the province, arrived and published it 
 on the 19th of March, 1691. Never was a governor more neces 
 sary to the province than at this critical conjuncture ; but either 
 through the hurry of the king's affairs, or the powerful interest of 
 a favorite, a man was sent over, utterly destitute of every quali 
 fication for government ; licentious in his morals, avaricious and 
 poor. If Leisler had delivered the garrison to Colonel Sloughter, 
 as he ought to have done, upon his first landing, he would doubt 
 less have attracted the favorable notice both of the governor and 
 the crown ; but, being a weak man, he was so intoxicated with 
 the love of power, that, though he had been well informed of 
 Slough ter's appointment, he not only shut himself up in the fort 
 with Bayard and Nichols, whom he had imprisoned, but refused 
 to deliver them up or to surrender the garrison. From this 
 moment, he lost all credit with the governor, who joined the party 
 against him. On the second demand of the fort, Milborne and 
 Delanoy, came out, under pretence of conferring with his excel- 
 
420 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 lency ; but in reality, to discover his designs. Sloughter, who 
 considered them as rebels, threw them both into jail. Leisler, 
 upon this event, thought proper to abandon the fort, which Colonel 
 Sloughter immediately entered. Bayard and Nichols were now 
 released from their confinement, and sworn as members of the 
 privy council. Leisler, having thus ruined his cause, was appre 
 hended, with many of his adherents, and a commission of oyer 
 and terminer issued for their trials. 
 
 In vain did they plead the merit of their zeal for king William, 
 since they had so lately opposed his governor. Leisler endeav 
 ored to justify his conduct, insisting that Lord Nottingham's letter 
 entitled him to act in the quality of lieutenant-governor. Leisler 
 and his son were condemned to death for high treason. These 
 violent measures drove many of the inhabitants, who were fearful 
 of being apprehended, into the neighboring colonies. Tranquillity 
 was not completely restored, till an act of general indemnity was 
 passed. 
 
 Colonel Sloughter proposed, about this time, to set out for 
 Albany ; but, as Leisler' s party were enraged at his imprisonment 
 and the late sentence against him, his enemies were afraid new 
 troubles would spring up, in the absence of the governor ; for this 
 reason, both the assembly and council advised that the prisoners 
 should be immediately executed. Sloughter chose rather to delay 
 such a violent step; being fearful of cutting off two men, who 
 had vigorously abetted the cause of the king, and so signally con 
 tributed to the revolution. Nothing could be more disagreeable to 
 Leisler' s enemies, whose interest was deeply concerned in his de 
 struction ; and, therefore, when no other measures could prevail 
 with the governor, tradition informs us that a sumptuous feast was 
 prepared, to which Colonel Sloughter was invited. When his ex 
 cellency's reason was drowned in his cups, the entreaties of the 
 . company prevailed with him to sign the death-warrant. Before 
 he recovered his senses, the prisoners were executed. The bodies 
 of these unhappy sufferers were afterwards taken up, and interred 
 with great pomp in the old Dutch church, in the city of New 
 York. Their estates were restored to their families ; and Leisler' s 
 descendants in the public estimation were rather dignified than 
 disgraced by the fall of their ancestor. The severity on both 
 sides irritated one half the people against the other, teisleriahs 
 and anti-Leislerians, became the names of two parties, who, for 
 many years, hated and opposed each other, to the great disturb 
 ance of the colony. 
 
 The revolution being established, governors were appointed by 
 the new order of British sovereigns. As they were good or bad, 
 
NEW YORK AND CANADA. 
 
 421 
 
 the people were happy or otherwise. About this time, the French 
 schemes of joining Canada and Louisiana, and limiting the Eng 
 lish colonies to the Atlantic coast, began to be unfolded. The 
 governor of Canada built forts, and otherwise encroached on the 
 limits of New York. He also began to make and extend a com 
 munication from the St. Lawrence to the lakes of Canada ; and 
 gradually to approach the head waters of the Ohio. The friend 
 ship of the confederacy of Indians known by the name of the Six 
 Nations, was courted by both. Roman Catholic missionaries from 
 Canada were sent among them, ostensibly to convert them to Chris 
 tianity ; but really to secure their attachment to France. Severe 
 laws were passed in New York, to punish them as intruders. A 
 great trade was carried on between Albany and Canada, for goods 
 saleable among the Indians. Burnet, governor of New York, with 
 the view of keeping the Six Nations dependent on the English 
 for their supplies, procured acts of the legislature for restraining 
 this trade ; but in this he was thwarted by the selfishness of the 
 merchants. To secure the friendship of the Indians, to obtain 
 the command of the lakes, and of the country between New 
 York and Canada, were the objects pursued by both, from an 
 early period of the eighteenth century, or rather from the year 
 1692. Governor Burnet, who commenced his administration in 
 1720, was the first who sounded a general alarm, and stirred up 
 the colonists to be on their guard; but reciprocal schemes of 
 counteraction had been previously projected by the Canadians and 
 New Yorkers, against each other ; by the latter for security ; by 
 the former, in subserviency to their grand scheme of uniting 
 Canada with Louisiana. 
 
CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 NEW JERSEY settled. Berkeley and Carteret. William Penn. Foundation of 
 PENNSYLVANIA. Government of the colony. Philadelphia founded. Penn 
 sylvania united to New York. Revolutions of the government, Settlement of 
 DELAWARE by the Swedes. Conquest by the Dutch. Final transition to the 
 English. Colonization of MARYLAND. Lord Baltimore. Tranquillity of the 
 province. Religious liberty. Loyalty of the inhabitants. Party violence.' 
 General state of the colony. Settlement of NORTH and SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 Locke's constitution, its anomalous and impracticable character. Settlement of 
 GEORGIA. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 NEW JERSEY was a portion of the New Netherlands when that 
 territory came into possession of the English. A trading station 
 of the Dutch seems to have existed at Bergen, as early as 1618, 
 but the country was for a long time neglected. In 1664, some 
 Quakers settled near Raritan Bay, and in the same year a number 
 of New England puritans, dwelling on Long Island, obtained of 
 the Indians a deed of a large tract on Newark Bay, having pre 
 viously enjoyed the permission of the Dutch to settle in New 
 Jersey. This was called the " Elizabethtown purchase," and led 
 the way to interminable suits of law. The Duke of York sold ; in 
 1664, the New Jersey portion of his patent to Lord Berkeley and 
 Sir George Carteret. Emigrants were brought over from England 
 by the new proprietors, and the foundation of a capital was laid, 
 
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA. 423 
 
 which received the name of Elizabethtown, from Lady Carteret. 
 The first legislative assembly was held there in 1668. The 
 colony received further accessions from Connecticut, and the quiet 
 of the settlers was not disturbed by Indian wars. When the 
 Dutch recovered the New Netherlands, in 1673, the New Jersey 
 colony acknowledged their authority for fifteen months. Berke 
 ley and Carteret were thus reinstated in their possessions. In 
 1674, Berkeley sold his half of the territory to a company of 
 Quakers in England, who formed a settlement at Salem the next 
 year. Carteret soon after parted with his claims, to William Penn 
 and others, and a charter or constitution for West New Jersey 
 was formed in 1677. The colony now rapidly increased by the 
 emigration of Quakers. East and West Jersey were for many years 
 under separate governments ; and both territories were at one time, 
 according to king James's plans, annexed to New England. They 
 continued disunited till 1702, but their history is not marked by 
 any events that can interest the general reader, till the period of 
 the American revolution. 
 
 William Penn making a treaty nith the Indians. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA was founded by William Penn, a Quaker, who 
 had become one of the proprietors of New Jersey. He was the 
 son of Admiral Penn, the conqueror of Jamaica, and embraced 
 the principles of the Quakers while a student at Oxford. The 
 Quakers were persecuted in England, and Penn was repeatedly 
 imprisoned. The spirit of religious enquiry, and an abhorrence 
 of persecution for conscience sake, took complete possession of his 
 
424 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 soul, and it was reserved for this excellent man to make a suc 
 cessful experiment of these just maxims, by establishing a colony 
 in the Western World, on the most liberal principles of toleration, 
 while the oldest nations of enlightened Europe were attempting to 
 reduce the minds of men to an absurd uniformity in articles of 
 faith and modes of worship. Determined to seek an asylum for 
 himself and his persecuted sect in America, he made use of a claim 
 upon the government for sixteen thousand pounds, bequeathed 
 him by his father, to obtain a grant of territory. Charles II., 
 always embarrassed for money, assigned him a tract of land upon 
 the Delaware, to which he gave the name of Pennsylvania. The 
 charter for this colony was drawn up by Penn himself, and bears 
 the date of 1681. The settlement was begun the same year, by 
 Markham, an agent of Penn's. The Duke of York laid claim to 
 a portion of the territory comprised within his patent, and held 
 actual possession of the western shores of Delaware Bay, where 
 settlements of Dutch, English and French, had for some time 
 been established. 
 
 In August, 1682, Penn, after long solicitations, obtained from 
 the Duke of York a conveyance of the town of Newcastle, with 
 the territory twelve miles around it, and that tract of land extend 
 ing thence southward on the Delaware, to Cape Hen] open. This 
 is now the state of Delaware. He soon after set out for America, 
 accompanied by about two thousand emigrants; and in the Octo 
 ber following, landed at New Castle, on the banks of the Delaware, 
 where, in addition to the colonists sent out by himself, he found 
 settlements consisting of about three thousand persons, composed 
 of Swedes, Dutch, Finlanders and English. He cultivated with 
 care, the good will of the natives and purchased from them, at a 
 satisfactory price, such lands as were necessary for the present 
 use of the colony. Within the space of a year after the requisites 
 for a regular settlement were obtained, between twenty and thirty 
 sail, with passengers, arrived in the province. The banks of 
 the Delaware were rapidly settled, from the Falls of Trenton, 
 down to Chester. Most of these primitive settlers were orderly, 
 religious people, chiefly of the Quaker persuasion; and several 
 of them were wealthy. They were from England, Wales, Ire 
 land and Germany. Emigrants from the last, settled German- 
 town in 1682. 'On their landing they set about procuring shelter. 
 Some lodged in the woods, under trees; some in caves, which 
 were easily dug in the high banks of the west side of the Dela 
 ware; others in huts, erected in the most expeditious manner. 
 The difference between the finely improved countries they had 
 left, and the wild, woody desert, on which they were about to fix 
 
NEW JERSEY. 425 
 
 themselves, was immense ; but the soil was fertile, the air clear 
 and healthy, and the streams of water good and plentiful. There 
 was an abundance of wood for fuel and building. Tools, for 
 cutting it down, and working it up, were brought from England. 
 The anticipation of future comforts from these natural advan 
 tages, together with the recollection of their honorable views 
 in making the settlement, enabled them to bear up under all 
 difficulties. They soon cleared ground and planted it with 
 Indian corn and wheat. Though nearly three thousand people 
 came the first year, they were all provided for. Deer, wild 
 turkeys, fish and Indian corn, were in great plenty. A deer 
 could be purchased for about two shillings, and other articles 
 in a relative proportion. Tradition informs us that in partic 
 ular seasons, wild pigeons were in such abundance, as to be 
 easily taken, and to be extensively contributory to the support of 
 the settlers. In this situation, to be strong, healthy, active, and 
 capable of bearing fatigue, was of much more consequence than 
 high birth or pompous titles. He fared the best who was most 
 expert in the various practical arts directly subservient to the 
 procurement of food, clothing and shelter, from the woods, waters, 
 and surface of an uncultivated country. Even that delicacy of 
 habit, which results from close application to study and mental 
 improvement, was inconvenient; for it abated that capacity for 
 labor which their situation required. Hands were much more in 
 demand than heads. Servants and the lower class of people, who 
 had been used to work hard and fare scantily, prospered more 
 than those who had been accustomed to live at their ease, and 
 brought property with them. In a society thus constituted, 
 opinions favorable to liberty, equality and the rights of man, 
 were of spontaneous growth. 
 
 The first assembly was held at Upland, now called Chester, in 
 1682 ; and, in a short session of three days, it despatched much 
 important business. They agreed upon an act of settlement, in 
 the nature of a constitution, or form of government; or rather 
 consented to one offered to them by Penn for their consideration. 
 The Dutch, Swedes, Finlanders and others, who had previously 
 settled in the vicinity of the Delaware, were naturalized. Every 
 foreigner who should join them, and promise allegiance to the 
 king and obedience to the proprietors, was declared a freeman. 
 The territories, for so was the late purchase from the Duke of 
 York denominated, were annexed to the province; and to the 
 former, all the privileges of the latter were communicated; but 
 some time afterward, they were detached, and continued a sepa- 
 
 B 3 
 
426 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 rate colony, with one and the same governor, but a different 
 assembly. 
 
 The following principles were adopted in the early government 
 of Pennsylvania : " That children should be taught some useful 
 irade, to the end that none may be idle ; that the poor may work 
 to live, and the rich, if they became poor ; factors, wronging their 
 employers, to make satisfaction and one third over." It was also 
 declared, that everything "which excites the people to rudeness, 
 cruelty and irreligion, should be discouraged and severely pun 
 ished;" and, "that none acknowledging one God, and living 
 peaceably in society, should be molested for his opinions or his 
 practice, or compelled to frequent or maintain any ministry what 
 soever." To these regulations, which were established as funda 
 mental, must be attributed the rapid improvement of this colony, 
 and the spirit of diligence, order and economy, for which the 
 Pennsylvanians have been at all times so justly celebrated. 
 
 Penn, dissatisfied with the act .of settlement, though formed by 
 himself, proposed a second frame of government. To this, with 
 his usual address, he easily procured the assent of the assembly. 
 For the encouragement of aliens, it declared, "that in case of 
 death, without naturalization, their lands should descend to their 
 heirs." In order that the inhabitants might be accommodated 
 with such food as Providence had freely afforded, "liberty was 
 given to every one to hunt on uninclosed lands, and to fish in all 
 waters belonging to the province." The assembly of April, 1683, 
 established various salutary regulations. Abrogating the common 
 law, with regard to the descent of lands, it enacted, " that the 
 estates of intestates should be disposed of, one third of the per 
 sonal property absolutely, and one third of the lands during life 
 to the widow, and two-thirds among the children, the eldest 
 son having a double share." 
 
 Py the promulgation of these and similar laws, the growing 
 prosperity of the colony was promoted. Their beneficial effects 
 were felt long after their legislative energy had ceased. While 
 Pennsylvania prospered, by the wisdom of her regulations, Penn, 
 in 1684, went to England. He left his province in profound peace, 
 under the administration of five commissioners, chosen from the 
 provincial council, at the head of whom was President Lloyd. 
 
 In the year 1682, the foundation of Philadelphia, the metropo 
 lis of the province, was laid. Within twelve months from its 
 commencement, it contained one hundred houses, and rapidly 
 increased. In ninety-four years it became the capital of an inde 
 pendent empire; and in it, audience was given to a minister 
 plenipotentiary from the court of France, on the very spot where, 
 
PENNSYLVANIA. 427 
 
 a century before, wild beasts prowled, and wild men roamed. At 
 the same time, Pennsylvania, grown to great consequence, held 
 in her hands the balance between six independent states on the 
 north and as many on the south, as often as they were equally 
 divided on national questions. 
 
 View of Philadelphia. 
 
 Penn had been so eminently favored by Charles the First and 
 Charles the Second, that his enemies represented him as a Jesuit, 
 disguised under the garb of Quakerism. Having been a friend of 
 James, he was supposed to be an enemy to William. After his 
 return from America, in 1684, he was detained in Europe, and 
 at four different times imprisoned on vague suspicions and 
 unfounded charges; but his upright, virtuous character stood 
 the test of the severest scrutiny. He declared, " that he loved 
 his country and the Protestant religion above his life, and that he 
 had never acted against either; but that King James had been 
 his friend, and his father's friend, and he thought himself bound, 
 in justice and gratitude, to be a friend to him." The jealous 
 policy of that day had no ear for sentiments of the heart. Penn 
 was among the last to acknowledge the prince and princess of 
 Orange ; and the government of Pennsylvania was carried on for 
 one or two years, in the name of King James, after his abdica 
 tion. These and other grounds of suspicion were urged with so 
 much zeal against Penn, as to induce King William to deprive 
 him of his government. Pennsylvania, without any respect to 
 its charter, was, in 1692, annexed to New York, and subjected to 
 the administration of Fletcher, governor of that province. Penn, 
 having vindicated his character, and established himself in the 
 good opinion of King William, soon regained his province, and 
 appointed William Markham lieutenant-governor, to take care of 
 
428 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 its interests. This storm had scarcely blown over, when another 
 began to lour. Early in the eighteenth century, measures were 
 agitated in England for reducing all proprietary governments in 
 America into regal ones ; and a bill for that purpose was brought 
 into the House of Lords. By the address of the friends of Penn 
 and of Pennsylvania, this project was given up. 
 
 Though Penn was a wise and good man, and the people he led 
 ' to Pennsylvania were, in general, orderly and well-disposed, yet 
 there were almost constant bickerings between him and them. 
 He changed the form of government two or three times, and each 
 change was apparently for the better, and more to the satisfaction 
 of the inhabitants ; yet there was seldom any reciprocal satisfac 
 tion between the parties. From Moses, the legislator of Israel, to 
 Penn, the leader of the Quakers, it has been the lot of all men 
 who have undertaken to conduct emigrants from one country to 
 another, to fail in satisfying the people, whose benefit was one of 
 the primary objects of the emigration. Between the opposition 
 Penn had to encounter in England, and the difficulties he had to 
 combat in Pennsylvania, his life was a continued scene of suc 
 cessive vexations. His private fortune was materially injured by 
 his advances to promote the infant settlement, particularly to pre 
 serve the friendship and good will of the Indians. His province, 
 for some considerable time, was subjected to a mortgage. After 
 being harassed by his creditors, he was obliged to submit to a 
 temporary loss of his personal liberty. It was his lot, in common 
 with many illustrious benefactors of mankind, to meet with very 
 improper returns for great philanthropic exertions. He lived 
 poor, but died rich, leaving an inheritance to his children, which, 
 at the commencement of the American revolution, was of immense 
 value. 
 
 DELAWARE was first explored by the Swedes and Finns, about 
 the year 1627. They purchased from the natives the land on 
 both* sides the bay from Cape Henlopen to the falls. Gustavus 
 Adolphus urged his subjects to make settlements in this country, 
 and an association was formed under his patronage, called the 
 West India Company. A settlement was made on Christiana 
 creek, and the colony received the name of New Sweden. Lew- 
 istown, Tinicum and Chester were also founded soon after by the 
 Swedes, and fortifications built at these places in apprehension of 
 hostilities with the Dutch at New Amsterdam. TlTe chancellor 
 Oxenstiern patronised the new colony, and it was owing to his 
 endeavors that the Swedes remained here. New emigrants were 
 sent over, and the English were expelled from Elsingburg, a fort 
 which they had built on the Jersey side of the Delaware. The 
 
MARYLAND. 429 
 
 Swedes established themselves on the spot, and in 1651, captured 
 also a fort erected by the Dutch, on the Delaware. This aggres 
 sion was fatal to the colony of New Sweden. The Dutch gover 
 nor of New Amsterdam raised a force of six hundred men, sailed 
 with a fleet up the Delaware, and reduced the Swedish settle 
 ments, one after another, without bloodshed. The colony had 
 existed seventeen years, and, at the time of its surrender, con 
 tained about seven hundred souls. From 1655 to 1664, it was 
 incorporated with the Dutch territory. It afterwards passed into 
 the hands of William Penn, and was also claimed by Lord Balti 
 more, as a part of Maryland. Until 1703, it formed a part of Penn 
 sylvania, when it received a separate legislative assembly, but 
 one governor presided over both provinces. 
 
 Maryland was the third English colony settled in North 
 America; but the first which, from its beginning, -was erected 
 into a province of the kingdom. The first emigrants to Maryland, 
 consisting of about two hundred persons, chiefly of the Roman 
 Catholic religion, landed on the banks of the river Potomac, in 
 the beginning of the year 1634. Calvert, their leader, purchased 
 the rights of the aborigines, and with their consent, took posses 
 sion of a town, which he called St. Mary's. He continued care 
 fully to cultivate their friendship, and lived with them on terms 
 of perfect amity. The lands, which had been thus ceded, were 
 planted with facility, because they had already undergone the 
 discipline of Indian tillage. Food was therefore easily procured. 
 The Roman Catholics, unhappy in their native land, and desirous 
 of a peaceful asylum, went over in great numbers to Maryland. 
 Lord Baltimore, to whom the province had been granted, laid the 
 foundation of its future prosperity on the broad basis of security 
 to property, and of freedom in religion. The wisdom of these 
 measures converted a dreary wilderness into a prosperous colony ; 
 because men exert themselves in their several pursuits, in propor 
 tion as they are assured of enjoying in safety those blessings 
 which they wish for most. Never did a people enjoy more hap 
 piness than the inhabitants of Maryland, under Cecilius, the father 
 of the province. While Virginia persecuted the puritans, her 
 severity compelled many to pass over into this new province, the 
 assembly of which had enacted, "that no person professing to 
 believe in Christ Jesus, should be molested in respect of their 
 religion, or in the free exercise thereof." The prudence of the 
 one colony acquired what the folly of the other had thrown 
 away. Mankind then beheld a new scene on the theatre of 
 English America. They saw in Massachusetts, the Puritans 
 abridging the rights of various sects ; and the Church of England 
 
430 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 in Virginia, actuated by the same spirit, harassing those who dis 
 sented from the established religion ; while the Roman Catholics 
 of Maryland tolerated and protected the professors of all denomi 
 nations. In consequence of this liberal policy, and other prudent 
 measures adopted by the rulers of this province, it rapidly 
 increased in wealth and population. 
 
 The annals of Maryland are barren of those striking events 
 which enliven the page of history. This is probably the reason 
 that so little of its history has been published. Its internal peace, 
 in the period of infancy, was but little disturbed either by Indians 
 or insurgents, though not wholly exempt from either. Its early 
 settlers loved their king and their proprietary. They were not 
 given to change, but attached to ancient forms, their native coun 
 try and its constitution. It affords the first example in colonial 
 history, of the dismemberment of an ancient colony, by the forma 
 tion of a new one out of it, with separate and equal rights. This 
 occasioned disputes between the original state, Virginia, and that 
 dissevered portion of it called Maryland ; and also between persons 
 claiming rights from different sources; but these controversies 
 were adjusted without serious consequences. Their first assembly 
 was convened in 1634, and was probably composed of all the 
 freemen of the province. In 1638, representation was introduced. 
 In the year 1650> their constitution was improved, by a division 
 of the legislature into two distinct branches, sitting and deliber 
 ating apart. Those who were called by special writs, formed the 
 upper house. Those who were chosen by the hundreds, composed 
 the lower house. 
 
 The internal peace of the province was seriously disturbed 
 while the civil wars raged in England. A majority of the chief 
 men in Maryland were attached to the cause of royalty. But the 
 opposition was so strong as to end in a civil war. After various 
 skirmishes, fought with alternate success, a decisive engagement 
 took place. The party attached to Oliver Cromwell prevailed. 
 Stone, the governor of the province, was taken prisoner, and from 
 the violence of party rage, ordered to be hanged. He suffered a 
 long imprisonment ; but it does not appear that the sentence was 
 executed. He had administered the government with so much pro 
 priety, as to be respected by good men of both parties. Cromwelj 
 appointed commissioners to settle the affairs of .the province 
 In 1658, they surrendered the government to Josias Feudal, who 
 had been appointed governor by the proprietary ; but the public 
 peace remained unsettled, till the restoration of king Charles gave 
 a permanent superiority to the friends of royalty. Notwithstand 
 ing various distractions and revolutions in these times of civil 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 431 
 
 war, when men had cast off the usual restraints of law and order, 
 the province continued to increase in numbers, industry and 
 wealth. At the restoration, in 1660, it contained about twelve 
 thousand persons. 
 
 The efforts of Charles the Second and James the Second, to 
 consolidate the colonies, did not effect anything against the 
 charter of Maryland. This province, then in its infancy, was 
 happily neglected, or forgotten, so long, that judgment was not 
 obtained against it ; but the introductory process had commenced 
 in the year before the revolution. With the exception of the 
 three or four years that followed the defeat of Braddock, in 1 775, 
 Maryland was generally in possession of peace and orderly gov 
 ernment, from 1663 till 1775. In these one hundred and thirteen 
 years immediately preceding the American revolution, Maryland 
 enjoyed a great share of prosperity. When that event took place, 
 she with all her increased resources, heartily joined her sister 
 colonies, in contending for their common rights. At this period, 
 Maryland had increased her population, from twelve thousand, to 
 three hundred and ten thousand one hundred and seventy-four. 
 
 Scene in North Carolina. 
 
 The first visits of the English to NORTH CAROLINA have been 
 related in the history of Virginia. About 1650, some planters 
 from Virginia settled in the county of Albermarle, and this 
 appears to have been the first permanent establishment in the 
 province. In 1661, another settlement was made at Cape Fear, 
 by a number of adventurers from Massachusetts. They bought 
 the land from the natives, but had no patent from the crown. 
 Both these settlements were voluntary, and their government 
 
432 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 no more than but a spontaneous association of the people. Their 
 nearest civilized neighbors were the Spaniards at St. Augustine. 
 In 1663, Charles II. made a grant of Carolina to Lord Clarendon 
 and others. They sent over emigrants, and placed the province 
 under the superintendence of Sir William Berkely, governor of 
 Virginia. A constitution was framed for North Carolina, and the 
 first assembly was held in 1669. The province was at first 
 divided into two distinct colonies, the Cape Fear settlers giving 
 their territory the name of Clarendon ; but this separation contin 
 ued only for a short time. The war with the Tuscarora Indians, 
 which happened many years afterwards, will be related in another 
 chapter. SOUTH CAROLINA was held by the same proprietors as 
 her sister province. The first settlement made within the limits 
 of the present state was at Beaufort, in 1670. The settlement 
 went on so slowly and quietly as to offer little for the pen of the 
 historian. For nearly a century the colonists had not penetrated 
 above eighty miles into the interior. 
 
 The celebrated Locke was employed by Lord Shaftesbury, one 
 of the proprietors, to frame a constitution for Carolina. This 
 scheme of government, the most remarkable ever projected for 
 the Anglo-American colonies, established two orders of nobility, 
 landgraves and caciques, who were to enjoy the hereditary pos 
 session of two fifths of all the land. The plebeian landholders 
 were to be adscripts of the soil under the jurisdiction of their 
 lords. The elective franchise was confined to the landholders. 
 The legislature was a parliament, composed of the ' four estates,' 
 the proprietors, the landgraves, the caciques and the commons. 
 The whole judicial, executive and legislative power was indepen 
 dent of the people. The government was organized by the pro 
 prietors, and Monk, Duke of Albermarle, appointed ruler, with the 
 title of Palatine. This strange scheme of government, however, 
 wa t s found to be totally impracticable. 
 
 GEORGIA was originally comprised in the Carolina patent, and 
 was the last settled province of the original thirteen. As late as 
 1732, there was not a European within its limits. In that year 
 George II. made a grant of the territory to a company who 
 brought over settlers and the next year founded Savannah. Gen 
 eral Oglethorpe, was the conductor of the enterprise. The lands 
 were distributed- as military fiefs, and entailed on^ the male pos 
 terity of the holders. The importation of blacks w'as prohibited. 
 These regulations hindered the growth of the colony and drew 
 the settlers into Carolina. The charter was surrendered in 1752, 
 and a government similar to those of the neighboring provinces 
 was established. 
 
CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 THJE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. The first American confederacy. 
 Its policy and effects. The Massachusetts charter attacked. Resistance of the 
 colonists. Bigotry of the New England Puritans. Persecution of Anabaptists 
 and Quakers. Faults of the Quakers. The civil war in England. The charter 
 again attacked. Philip j s war. Ravages committed by the Indians. Defeat and 
 death of Philip. 
 
 Philip's mar. 
 
 THE success of the colonists in their war with the Pequods, led 
 them to perceive the benefits which would flow from a more sys 
 tematic and permanent combination of their plans. Hitherto the 
 respective governments of Massachusetts. Plymouth, Connecticut 
 and New Haven, had been independent of each other, but in 
 1637, the scheme of a confederacy was proposed. Massachusetts, 
 as the most powerful state of the four, was to take the leading 
 station, which somewhat offended the scrupulous pride of Con 
 necticut, and she insisted that each state should possess a negative 
 on the proceedings of the whole body. This was opposed with 
 good reason by Massachusetts, as likely to defeat the main object 
 of their joint counsels. Connecticut was hard pressed, at that 
 moment, by the Dutch of the New Netherlands, and at length 
 waived her scruples. In 1643, the UNITED COLONIES of NEW ENG 
 LAND bound themselves by a mutual league to render each other 
 protection and assistance. 
 
 37 c3 
 
434 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Each colony reserved its own local jurisdiction. The affairs 
 of the confederacy were intrusted to a body of commissioners, 
 consisting of two from each colony. What may be termed the 
 " foreign relations" of the union, the intercourse and wars with 
 the Indians, were specially assigned to their care. They were 
 authorized to make internal improvements at the common charge, 
 and to assess the common expenses according to population. They 
 declared war, levied troops, and decided all questions that arose 
 among the confederated states. Neither New Hampshire nor 
 Rhode Island were members of this league ; the former was ex 
 cluded as not sufficiently conforming to the Puritan model ; and 
 the latter for refusing to acknowledge the jurisdiction of Plymouth. 
 The New England Union was unsanctioned by the authority of 
 the crown, and might reasonably have excited the jealousy of 
 Charles I., had he been at leisure to bestow his attention upon his 
 transatlantic colonies, yet this confederacy was allowed to continue 
 many years. It survived the jealousies of the long parliament, 
 received the approbation of Cromwell, and escaped animadversion 
 on the restoration of the Stuarts. 
 
 When the long parliament established its authority in England 
 that body determined to introduce its rule into all the foreign 
 dependencies of England. A mandate arrived in Massachusetts, 
 in 1651, ordering the governor and assembly to send their charter 
 to London and wait for a new patent from the keepers of the 
 liberties of England. The General Court of Massachusetts replied 
 with a petition and remonstrance, and conducted their measures 
 so skilfully that the parliament was completely foiled in this 
 attempt against the liberties of the colony. The accession of 
 Cromwell to the supreme power was a favorable event for New 
 England. He made no attempt to molest the people in their rights ; 
 and his exertions speedily relieved the Connecticut settlers from 
 aW fears of the Dutch at New Amsterdam. > On the conquest of 
 Jamaica by the English, Cromwell made a proposal to the inhab 
 itants of Massachusetts to transport them to that island, that they 
 might carry the sword of the gospel into the very heart of the 
 territories of popery. This offer, as well as another proposition 
 to remove to Ireland was rejected. 
 
 We have seen the jealous watchfulness with which the NGW 
 England colonists maintained their political rights, and the sacri 
 fices which they had made to secure the enjoyment of their 
 religious opinions. Yet, so full of contradictions is the human 
 character, that the same men did not hesitate to display the most 
 rigid intolerance towards the dissenters from their own creed. 
 Bigotry was cherished as the safeguard of religious truth by those 
 
THE QUAKERS. 435 
 
 who fled from their homes to enjoy liberty of conscience and 
 freedom of religious inquiry. Laws were made against secta 
 rianism ; heretics were banished ; a neglect of established forms 
 of worship was punished as a civil offence. The strongest Mirrent 
 of persecution set against the Anabaptists and Quakers. These 
 sectarians promulgated doctrines, which, as the puritans believed, 
 were of disorganizing tendency, and were incompatible with the 
 safety of society. They were fined, imprisoned, banished, and 
 some of them hanged. 
 
 These deplorable proceedings have been considered a disgrace 
 ful blot on the annals of New England, and in truth like all other 
 persecutions, they are not to be defended. Yet, on a closer scru 
 tiny into the temper and circumstances of the times, we shall find 
 ample materials for the explanation of these strange anomalies in 
 the puritan character. The Quakers of that day were not the 
 same peaceful, moderate men, whom we see at present. The 
 doctrines they preached were hostile to all regulated forms, order 
 and discipline, civil and ecclesiastical. Instead of preaching the 
 gospel, they raised their voices against everything that was most 
 highly approved and revered in the doctrine of the provincial 
 churches. Their imprudence, extravagance and fanaticism, ren 
 dered them objects of general apprehension and horror. They 
 were first banished from the colony, but swarms of them returned; 
 violent and impetuous in provoking persecution and disturbing 
 the peace of society. They profanely interrupted divine service, 
 and committed acts of folly, frenzy and indecency, hardly credi 
 ble. It is no wonder that these scandalous outrages irritated the 
 sober Puritans, and drove them to severe measures against their 
 disturbers. By degrees the wild extravagances of the Quaker 
 spirit subsided, and the laws against them were relaxed. The 
 persecution ceased at the end of three or four years, and since 
 1660, the Quakers have never disturbed the repose of the Ameri 
 can colonies, or been themselves molested. 
 
 Free commerce had been enjoyed by the colonists under the 
 administration of Cromwell; but the restoration of Charles II. 
 threatened them with an abridgement of their privileges. Virginia 
 inclined towards royalty, and made a premature declaration for 
 the king. Massachusetts temporized, and received the two regi 
 cides, Whalley and Goffe, who sought an asylum on her shores, 
 a deed which brought upon her the bitter reproaches of the 
 restored monarch. When the royal authority was established, 
 the General Court of Massachusetts sent an address to the king, 
 deprecating any interference in colonial affairs. The answer was 
 a demand for the arrest of Whalley and Goffe, who immediately 
 
436 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 absconded, doubtless with the connivance of the Massachusetts 
 authorities. They sought a more secluded asylum in Connec 
 ticut, where they lived many years, successfully eluding the 
 researches of their pursuers. 
 
 The colonists, learning that their commercial privileges had 
 been abridged, drew up a declaration of rights, amounting to 
 little short of a declaration of hostilities, in case of an invasion of 
 their political privileges by the royal authority. Agents were 
 despatched to England to plead their cause, and their negotia 
 tions were so successful, that little molestation was given them 
 for some years. Massachusetts, however, never enjoyed the sin 
 cere favor of Charles II., and a contest was carried on for some 
 time, which at length, in 1683, produced a writ of quo warranto, 
 by which the charter of Massachusetts was taken away. This 
 event struck consternation into the people of the province, who 
 were now totally at the mercy of the crown. 
 
 Portrait of Philip. 
 
 The most destructive Indian war, sustained by the infant 
 colonies, began in the year 1675, by Philip, sachem of the Wam- 
 panoags, who lived in Rhode Island. For some years he. had 
 been preparing for hostilities. The warriors, under his own 
 immediate command, were about five hundred ; but by alliances, 
 he had increased his force to three thousand. Believing, as he 
 did, that nothing short of the entire destruction^ the English 
 would rescue the Indians from total ruin, he exerted his utmost 
 energies in prosecuting a war of extermination. Murder, iire 
 and destruction, marked the route of his followers. There was 
 scarcely an English family that did not suffer in property, or by 
 the loss of relatives. 
 
437 
 
 The war commenced June, 1675, in the following manner: 
 Sausaman, an Indian friendly to the English, gave them notice 
 of the hostile intentions of Philip's Indians. He was soon after 
 wards murdered by his own countrymen. The fact being sub 
 stantiated in a court of justice, his murderers were convicted, and 
 suffered death. Philip, thereupon, prepared for war. He began 
 by killing the cattle and rifling the houses of the English settlers. 
 One of these sufferers shot an Indian. The Indians retaliated by 
 killing all the English that were in their power. Eight or nine 
 were slain in one day, at Swanzey and its vicinity. Skirmishes 
 followed with various success. The Indians retreated into a 
 swamp, from which they fired and killed several of the English. 
 The former retired deeper into the swamp. The latter, finding 
 they attacked the Indians in the swamps under great disadvan 
 tages, resolved to starve them; but the Indians found means to 
 escape. 
 
 Captain Hutchinson, with twenty horsemen, while pursuing the 
 Indians, fell into an ambuscade, and lost almost all his men. 
 A few escaped, but were closely pursued by the Indians, who 
 assaulted the town to which the vanquished had fled. The 
 pursuing savages set fire to every house excepting one, to which 
 all the inhabitants had gathered for security. When they had 
 nearly succeeded in firing that also,. Major Willard arrived with 
 forty-eight dragoons, and dispersed them. The Hadley Indians 
 were attacked at a place called Sugar-loaf Hill, and about twenty- 
 six of them were slain, as were also about half of the assailants. 
 These Indians rallied, and, obtaining new associates, fell upon 
 Deer field, killed one man, and laid most of the town in ashes. 
 On the same day, Hadley was alarmed by the Indians in the 
 time of public worship, and the people thrown into the utmost 
 confusion ; but the enemy were repulsed by the valor and good 
 conduct of an aged, venerable man, who, suddenly appearing in 
 the midst of the affrighted inhabitants, put himself at their head, 
 led them to the onset, and instantly dispersed the enemy. This 
 deliverer of Hadley, supposed by some to be an angel, was Gen 
 eral Goffe, one of the Judges of Charles the First, who was at 
 that time concealed in the town. 
 
 The Springfield Indians, though previously friendly to the 
 English, perfidiously concurred with Philip's Indians to burn 
 the town of Springfield, and actually proceeded so far as to burn 
 thirty-two houses ; but the remainder of the town was saved. 
 The confederation of the New England towns was now found of 
 great service. The war, on the part of the Indians, was con 
 ducted with so much ability, vigor and perseverance, as to require 
 37* 
 
438 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the united efforts of the confederated colonies. They severally 
 furnished their quotas, and marched with their combined forces 
 into the Narraganset territory. The Indians, apprised of an 
 armament intended against them, had fortified themselves very 
 strongly within a swamp. The English, without waiting to 
 draw up in order of battle, marched forward in quest of their 
 enemy's camp. Some Indians, appearing at the edge of the 
 swamp, were no sooner fired upon by the English, than they 
 returned the fire and fled. The whole army now entered the 
 swamp, and followed the Indians to their fortress. It stood on a 
 rising ground, in the midst of the swamp, and was composed of 
 palisades, which were encompassed by a thick hedge. It bad but 
 one practicable entrance, which was over a log, four or five feet 
 from the ground, and that aperture was guarded by a block 
 house. The English captains entered it at the head of their 
 companies. The two first, Johnson and Davenport, with many 
 of their men, were shot dead at the entrance. Four other cap 
 tains, Gardner, Gallop, Siely, and Marshal, were also killed. 
 When the troops had effected an entrance, they attacked the 
 Indians, who fought desperately, and beat the English out of 
 the fort. After a hard fought battle of three hours, the English 
 became masters of the place, and set fire to the wigwams. In the 
 conflagration many Indian men and women perished. The sur 
 viving Indian men fled into a cedar swamp at a small distance, 
 and the English retired to their quarters. Of the English, there 
 were killed and wounded about two hundred and thirty. Of the 
 Indians, one thousand are supposed to have perished. 
 
 On the 10th February, 1676, several hundreds of the Indians 
 fell upon Lancaster; plundered and burned the greatest part of* 
 the town, and killed or captured forty persons. Two or three 
 hundred of the Narraganset and other Indians, not long after, sur 
 prised Medfield, and burned nearly one half of the town. On 
 the 25th of February, the Indians assaulted Weymouth, and 
 burned seven or eight houses and barns. On the 13th of March, 
 they burned the whole town of Groton, excepting four garrisoned 
 houses ; and on the 17th, they entirely burned Warwick, with the 
 exception of one house. On the 26th of March, they laid most of 
 the town of Marlborough in ashes. On the same day, Captain 
 Peirce, of Scrtuate, who had been sent out by the governor and 
 council of Plymouth colony, with about fifty **white men and 
 twenty friendly Indians, of Cape Cod, was cut off by the enemy, 
 with most of his party. Two days afterwards, the Indians fell 
 upon Rehoboth, and burned forty dwelling houses and about 
 thirty bams, and the day after, about thirty houses in Providence. 
 
PHILIP'S WAR. 439 
 
 Early in April, they did much mischief at Chelmsford, Ando- 
 ver, and in the vicinity of those places. Having, on the 17th of 
 the same month, burned the few deserted houses at Marlborough, 
 they immediately afterward violently attacked Sudbury, burned 
 several houses and barns, and killed ten or twelve of the English, 
 who had come from Concord, to the assistance of their neighbors. 
 Capt. Wadsworth, who had been sent at this juncture from 
 Boston, with about fifty men, to relieve Marlborough, learning 
 that the enemy had gone through the woods towards Sudbury, 
 turned immediately back in pursuit of them. When the troops 
 were within a mile of the town, they spied, at no great distance, 
 a party of Indians, apparently about one hundred, who, by retreat 
 ing as if through fear, drew the English above a mile into the 
 woods ; when a large body of the enemy, supposed to be about five 
 hundred, suddenly surrounded them, and precluded the possi 
 bility of their escape. The gallant leader and his brave soldiers 
 fought with desperate valor, but were completely defeated. The 
 few who were taken alive, were destined to tortures unknown to 
 their companions, who had the happier lot to die in the field of 
 battle. 
 
 About the same time, the Indians burned nineteen houses 
 and barns at Scituate; but they were bravely encountered and 
 repulsed by the inhabitants. On the 8th of May, they burned 
 and destroyed seventeen houses and five barns; and two days 
 afterwards, they burned seven houses and two barns in that 
 town, and the remaining houses in Nantasket. 
 
 Several large bodies of Indians having assembled on Connecti 
 cut river, in the vicinity of Deerfield, the inhabitants of Hadfield, 
 Hadley and Northampton, combined to attack them. One hun 
 dred and sixty men marched silently twenty miles in the dead of 
 night, and, a little before the break of day, surprised the Indians, 
 whom they found asleep and without guards. The first notice 
 that they gave of their approach was by a discharge of their 
 guns into the wigwams. Some of the Indians, in their conster 
 nation, ran directly into the river, and were drowned. Others 
 betook themselves to their bark canoes, and having in their 
 hurry forgotten their paddles, were hurried down the falls, and 
 dashed against the rocks. Many of them, endeavoring to secrete 
 themselves under the banks of the river, were discovered and 
 slain. In this action, distinguished by the name of the Hale 
 fight, the Indians lost three hundred men, women and children ; 
 but recovering from their surprise, and attacking the rear of the 
 English on their return, they killed Captain Turner, commander 
 of the expedition, and thirty-eight of his men. 
 
440 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 On the 30th of May, a great body of Indians, supposed to be 
 sfx or seven hundred, appeared before Hatfield. Having bunted 
 twelve houses and barns without the fortification, they attacked 
 the houses in the centre of the town, that were surrounded with 
 palisadoes; but twenty-five resolute young men of Hadley ad 
 venturing over the river and boldly charging the Indians, they 
 instantly fled from the town, with the loss of twenty-five of their 
 men. 
 
 Though Massachusetts was the chief theatre of the war, Con 
 necticut, her sister colony, was active in the suppression of the 
 common enemy. Volunteer companies had been formed early in 
 the year, principally from New London, Norwich and Stonington, 
 which associated with them a number of Mohegan, Pequot and 
 Narraganset tribes. These companies ranged the Narraganset 
 country and harassed the hostile Indians. Between the spring 
 and the succeeding autumn, the volunteer captains, with their 
 flying parties, made ten or twelve expeditions, in which they 
 killed and captured two hundred and thirty of the enemy, took 
 fifty muskets, and brought in one hundred and sixty bushels of 
 their corn. They drove all the Narraganset Indians, excepting 
 those of Nimyset, out of their country. 
 
 The assembly of Connecticut raised three hurdred and fifty 
 men, who were to be a standing army, to defend the country and 
 harass the enemy. Major John Talcot was appointed to the 
 chief command. Early in June, he marched from Norwich, with 
 two hundred and fifty soldiers, and two hundred Mohegan and 
 Pequot Indians, into the Wabaquasset country ; but found it 
 entirely deserted. On the 5th of June, the army under his com 
 mand marched to Chanagongum, in the Nipmuck country, where 
 they killed nineteen Indians, and took thirty-three prisoners ; and 
 thence marched by Quaboag to Northampton. On the 12th of 
 June, four days after their arrival at Northampton, about seven 
 hundred Indians made a furious attack upon Hadley ; but Major 
 Talcot, with his gallant soldiers, soon appeared for the relief of 
 the garrison, and drove off the enemy. 
 
 On the 3d of July, the same troops, on their march towards 
 Narraganset, surprised the main body of the enemy, by the side 
 of a large cedar swamp, and attacked them so suddenly, that a 
 considerable nuiriber of them were killed and taken on the spot. 
 Others escaped to the swamp, and were immediately surrounded 
 by the English, who, after an action of two or three hours, killed 
 and took one hundred and seventy of the enemy. Shortly after- 
 waids, they killed and captured sixty-seven, near Providence and 
 
DEATH OF PHILIP. 441 
 
 Warwick. About the 5th of July, they returned to Connecticut, 
 and on their way took sixty prisoners. 
 
 The enemy, thus pursued, and. hunted from one lurking place 
 to another, straitened for provisions, and debilitated by hunger 
 and disease, became divided, scattered and disheartened. In July 
 and August, they began to come in and surrender themselves to 
 the mercy of their conquerors. Philip, who had fled to the Mo 
 hawks, having provoked that warlike nation, had been obliged to 
 abandon their country, and was now with a large body of Indians 
 lurking about Mount Hope. The Massachusetts and Plymouth 
 soldiers were vigilant and intrepid in pursuit of him; and on 
 the 2d of August, Captain Church, with about thirty English 
 soldiers, and twenty friendly Indians, surprised him in his quar 
 ters, killed about one hundred and thirty of his men, and took 
 his wife and son prisoners ; but Philip escaped. 
 
 About ten days after this surprise, an Indian deserter brought 
 information to Captain Church that Philip was at Mount Hope 
 Neck, and offered to guide him to the place and help to kill him. 
 Church instantly set out in pursuit of him, with a small company 
 of English and Indians. On his arrival at the swamp, he made a 
 disposition of his men at proper stations, so as to form an ambus 
 cade, putting an Englishman and an Indian together, behind 
 coverts. These commenced a fire on the enemy's shelter, which 
 was on the margin of the swamp. It was open, in the Indian 
 manner, on the side next the swamp, to favor a sudden flight. 
 Philip, at the instant of the fire from the English, seized his gun, 
 and fled towards the thickets ; but ran in a direction towards an 
 English soldier and an Indian, who were at the station assigned 
 them by Captain Church. The Englishman snapped his gun, but 
 it missed fire. He then bade the Indian fire ; and he instantly 
 shot him dead. 
 
 The death of Philip was the signal of complete victory. The 
 Indians in all the neighboring country now generally submitted 
 to the English, or fled and incorporated themselves with distant 
 and strange nations. In this short but terrible war, about 
 six hundred of the inhabitants of New England, composing its 
 principal strength, were either killed in battle or murdered by the 
 Indians. Twelve or thirteen towns were entirely destroyed, and 
 about six hundred buildings, chiefly dwelling houses, were burnt. 
 In addition to these calamities, the colonies contracted an enor 
 mous debt, while, by the loss of their substance, from the ravages 
 of the enemy, their resources were essentially diminished. 
 
 The fall of Philip was then considered as the extinction of a 
 virulent and implacable enemy. It is now viewed as the fall of 
 
 D3 
 
442 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 a great warrior, a penetrating statesman, and a mighty prince. 
 It then excited universal joy and congratulation, as a prelude to 
 the close of a merciless war. It now awakens sober reflections 
 on the instability of empire, the peculiar destiny of the aboriginal 
 race, and the inscrutable decrees of Heaven. The patriotism of 
 the man was then overlooked in the cruelty of the savage; and 
 little allowance was made for the natural jealousy of the sover 
 eign, on account of the barbarities of the warrior. Philip, in the 
 progress of the English settlements, foresaw the loss of his terri 
 tory, and the extinction of his tribe ; and he made one mighty 
 effort to prevent these calamities. He fell ; and his fall contrib 
 uted to the rise of the United States. Joy for this event should 
 be blended with regret for his misfortunes, and respect for his 
 patriotism and, talents. 
 
 In this distressing war, the New En glanders comforted them 
 selves with the reflection that it was unprovoked on their part. 
 The worthy governor, Winslow, in a letter dated May 1st, 1676, 
 observed: "I think I can clearly say that before these present 
 troubles broke out, the English did not possess one foot of land in 
 this colony, which was not fairly obtained by honest purchase 
 from the Indian proprietors." 
 
 
 Death of Philip. 
 
CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 The Massachusetts charter revoked. Accession of James II. His arbitrary char 
 acter. Establishment of tyranny in New England. Administration of Andros. 
 Policy of James. Remonstrances of the colonists. The charter of Rhode 
 Island surrendered. Andros at Hartford. Attempts to seize the charter of 
 Connecticut. Oppressive government of Andros. 
 
 Wadsnorth concealing the charter of Connecticut in the oak. 
 
 CHARLES II. was so eager to complete the execution of his 
 design against the liberties of Massachusetts, that immediately 
 after the court of King's Bench had given its decision against 
 the charter, in November, 1684, he proceeded to arrange a new 
 government for the colony. Colonel Kirke, a man infamous for 
 his bloody excesses, was appointed governor of Massachusetts, 
 New Hampshire, Maine and Plymouth. No representative system 
 was to exist, but a governor and council, appointed by the king, 
 were to exercise the whole control. Had this arbitrary scheme 
 been persisted in, the colonists would most surely have taken up 
 arms, and the American revolution might have been accelerated 
 by a century. Horror and dismay took possession of the minds 
 of people at the first tidings of this audacious design against 
 them ; but in the midst of their alarm the sudden death of the 
 king was announced at Boston. This somewhat relieved the 
 apprehensions of the colonists, although they could have scanty 
 hopes of favor from his bigoted and arbitrary successor, James II., 
 
444 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 who was proclaimed in the capital of New England with melan 
 choly solemnity. 
 
 James, indeed, was too much enamored of arbitrary power to 
 be deterred from the indulgence of it by any obstacle inferior to 
 invincible necessity ; and, accordingly, after some temporary ar 
 rangements, without paying the slightest regard to opinions 
 supported only by the pens of lawyers, he determined to establish 
 a complete tyranny in New England, by combining the whole 
 legislative and executive authority in the persons of a governor 
 and council, to be named by himself. Kirke had been found too 
 useful, as an instrument of terror in England, to be spared to 
 America. But Sir Edmund Andros, who had signalized his 
 devotion to arbitrary power, in the government of New York, was 
 now appointed captain-general, and vice-admiral of Massachusetts, 
 New Hampshire, Maine, New Plymouth, and certain dependent 
 territories during the pleasure of the king. He was empowered, 
 with the consent of a board of counsellors, to make ordinances 
 for the colonies, not inconsistent with the laws of England, and 
 which were to be submitted to the king for his approbation or 
 dissent, and to impose taxes for the support of government. He 
 was directed to govern the people according to the, tenor of his 
 commission, of a separate letter of instructions with which he 
 was at the same time furnished, and of the laws which were then 
 in force or might be afterwards enacted. The governor and 
 council were also constituted a court of record ; and from their 
 decisions an appeal to the king was to be allowed. The greater 
 part of the instructions that were communicated to Andros are 
 of a nature that would do honor to the patriotism of the king, if 
 the praise of this virtue were due to a barren desire to promote 
 the welfare of the people, accompanied with the most effectual 
 exertions to strip them of every security by which their welfare 
 migfyt be guarded. Andros was directed to promote no persons to 
 offices of trust, but colonists of fair character and competent 
 estate, and to displace none without sufficient cause ; and to re 
 spect and administer the existing laws of the country, in so far as 
 they were not inconsistent with his commission or instructions ; to 
 dispose of the crown lands at moderate quit rents; "to take 
 away or to harm no man's life, member, freehold or goods, but 
 by established laws of the country, not repugnant to^ those of the 
 realm ;" to discipline and arm the inhabitants for the defence of 
 the country, but not to obstruct their attention to their own private 
 business and necessary affairs ; to encourage freedom of commerce 
 by all proper means ; to check the excessive severity of masters 
 to their servants, and to punish with death the slayers of Indians 
 
JAMES H. AND NEW ENGLAND. 445 
 
 or negroes ; to allow no printing press to exist, and to grant uni 
 versal toleration in religion, but special encouragement to the 
 Church of England. Except the restraint of printing, (which, 
 though enjoined, appears not to have been carried into effect,) 
 there are none of these instructions that express a spirit of des 
 potism ; and yet the whole system was silently pervaded by that 
 spirit ; for as there were no securities provided for the accomplish 
 ment of the king's benevolent directions, so there was no check 
 established to restrain the abuse of the powers with which the 
 governor was entrusted. The king was willing that his subjects 
 should be happy, but not that they should be free., or enabled to 
 pursue a scheme of happiness independent of his agency or con 
 trol ; and this conjunction of a desire to promote human welfare, 
 with an aversion to the means most likely to secure it, suggests 
 the explanation, perhaps the apology, of an error to which de 
 spotic sovereigns are inevitably liable. Trained in habits of 
 indulgence of their own will, and in sentiments of respect for its 
 force and efficacy, they learn to consider it as what not only 
 ought to be, but must be, irresistible ; and feel no less secure of 
 ability to make men happy without their own concurrence, than 
 of the right to balk the natural desire of mankind to be the pro 
 viders and guardians of their own welfare. The possession of 
 absolute power renders self-denial the highest effort of virtue; 
 and the absolute monarch who should demonstrate a just regard 
 to the rights of his fellow-creatures, would deserve to be honored 
 as one of the most magnanimous of human beings. Furnished 
 with the instructions which we have seen for the mitigation of 
 his arbitrary power, and attended with a few companies of sol 
 diers for its support, Andros arrived in Boston; and presenting 
 himself as the substitute for the dreaded and detested Kirke, 
 and commencing his administration with many gracious express 
 ions of good will, he was at first received more favorably than 
 might have been expected. But his popularity was short-lived. 
 Instead of conforming to his instructions, he copied, and even 
 exceeded, the arbitrary conduct of his master in England, and 
 committed the most tyrannical violence and oppressive exactions. 
 Dudley, the late president, and several of his colleagues, were 
 associated as counsellors of the new administration, which was 
 thus loaded, in the beginning of its career, with the weight of 
 their unpopularity, and in the end involved themselves in deeper 
 odium and disgrace. 
 
 It was the purpose of James to consolidate the strength of ah 
 the British colonies in one united government : and Rhode Island 
 and Connecticut were now to experience that their destiny was 
 38 
 
446 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 involved in the fate of Massachusetts. The inhabitants of Rhode 
 Island, on learning the accession of the king, immediately trans 
 mitted an address, congratulating him on his elevation, acknowl 
 edging themselves his loyal subjects, and begging his protection 
 for their chartered rights. Yet the humility of their supplications 
 could not protect them from the consequences of the plans he had 
 embraced for the general government of New England. Articles 
 of high misdemeanor were exhibited against them before the 
 lords of the committee of colonies, charging them with breaches 
 of their charter, and with opposition to the acts of navigation ; 
 and before the close of the year 1685, they received notice of the 
 institution of a process of quo warranto, against their patent. 
 Without hesitation, they resolved that they would not contend 
 with their sovereign, and passed an act, in full assembly, formally 
 surrendering their charter and all the powers it contained. By a 
 fresh address, they "humbly prostrated themselves, their privi 
 leges, their all, at the gracious feet of his majesty, with an entire 
 resolution to serve him with grateful hearts." These servile 
 expressions dishonored but did not avail them; and the king, 
 accounting legal solemnities a superfluous ceremony with persons 
 so devoted to his will, proceeded, without further delay, to impose 
 the yoke which the people sought to evade by deserving it. His 
 eagerness, however, to accomplish his object with rapidity, though 
 it probably inflicted a salutary disappointment on this community 
 at the time, proved ultimately beneficial to their political interests, 
 by preserving their charter from legal extinction ; and this benefit, 
 which a similar improvidence afforded to the people of Connec 
 ticut, was ascertained at the era of the British revolution. In 
 consequence of the last address that had proceeded from Rhode 
 Island, Andros had been charged to extend his administration to 
 that province ; and in the same month that witnessed his arrival 
 at Boston, he visited Rhode Island, when he dissolved the pro 
 vincial corporation, broke its seal, and, admitting five of the 
 inhabitants into his legislative council, assumed the exercise of 
 all the functions of government. 
 
 Connecticut had also transmitted an address to the king on his 
 accession, and vainly solicited the preservation of her privileges. 
 When the articles of misdemeanor were exhibited against Rhode 
 Island, a measure of similar import was employed against the 
 governor and assembly of Connecticut, who were reproached with 
 making laws contrary in tenor to those of England ; of extorting 
 unreasonable fines ; of administering an oath of fidelity to their 
 own corporation, in contradistinction to the oath of allegiance: of 
 intolerance in ecclesiastical polity, and of denial of justice. These 
 
JAMES H. AND NEW ENGLAND. 447 
 
 charges, which were supposed to infer a forfeiture of the charter, 
 were remitted to Sawyer, the Attorney General, with directions to 
 expedite a writ of quo warranto against the colony. The writ 
 was issued, and Randolph, the general enemy of American lib 
 erty, offered his services to carry it across the Atlantic. The 
 governor and the assembly of Connecticut had for some time 
 beheld the storm approaching, and knowing that resistance was 
 vain, they endeavored, with considerable address, to elude what 
 they were unable to repel. After delaying as long as possible 
 to make any signification of their intentions, the arrival of Sir 
 Edmund Andros at Boston, and his conduct in Rhode Island, 
 convinced them that the designs of the king were to be rigor 
 ously pursued, and that they could not hope to be allowed to 
 deliberate any longer. They wrote accordingly to the Secretary 
 of State, expressing a strong desire to retain their present consti 
 tution ; but requesting, if it were the irrevokable purpose of their 
 sovereign to dispose otherwise of them, that they might be incor 
 porated with Massachusetts, and share the fortunes of a people 
 with whom they had always maintained a friendly correspon 
 dence, and whose principles and manners they understood and 
 approved. This was hastily construed by the British government 
 into a surrender of the provincial constitution ; and Andros was 
 commanded to annex this province also to his jurisdiction. Ran 
 dolph, who seems to have been qualified, not less by genius 
 than inclination, to promote the execution of tyrannical designs, 
 advised the English ministers to prosecute the quo warranto to a 
 judicial issue ; assuring them that the government of Connecticut 
 would never consent to do, nor acknowledge that they had done, 
 what was equivalent to an express surrender of the rights of the 
 people. It was matter of regret to the ministers and crown law 
 yers of a later age, that this politic suggestion was not adopted. 
 But the king was too eager to snatch the boon that was within 
 his reach, to wait the tedious formalities of the law; and no 
 farther proceedings ensued on the quo warranto. In conformity 
 with his orders, Andros marched at the head of a body of troops 
 to Hartford, the seat of the provincial government, where he 
 demanded that the charter should be delivered into his hands. 
 
 The people had been extremely desirous to preserve, at least, the 
 document of rights, which the return of better times might enable 
 them to assert with advantage. The charter was laid on the 
 table of the assembly, and some of the principal inhabitants 
 addressed Andros at considerable length, relating the exertions 
 that had been made, and the hardships that had been incurred, 
 in order to found the institutions which he was come to destroy ; 
 
448 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 entreating him yet to spare them, or at least to leave the people in 
 possession of the patent, as a testimonial of the favor and happi 
 ness they had enjoyed. The debate was earnest but orderly, and 
 protracted till a late hour in the evening. As the day declined, 
 lights were introduced into the hail, which was gradually sur 
 rounded by a numerous concourse of the bravest and most 
 determined men in the province, prepared to defend their repre 
 sentatives against the apprehended violence of Andros and his 
 armed followers. At length, finding that their arguments were 
 ineffectual, a measure, supposed to have been previously con 
 certed by the inhabitants, was coolly, resolutely and successfully 
 conducted. The lights were extinguished, as if by accident ; and 
 Captain Wadsworth, laying hold of the charter, disappeared with 
 it, before they could be rekindled. He conveyed it securely 
 through the crowd, who opened to let him pass, and closed 
 their ranks as he proceeded, and deposited it in the hollow of 
 an ancient oak tree, which retained the precious deposit until the 
 era of the English revolution, and was long regarded with venera 
 tion by the people, as the memorial and associate of a transaction 
 so interesting to their liberties. Andros, finding all his efforts 
 ineffectual to recover the charter, or ascertain the person by 
 whom it had been secreted, contented himself with declaring 
 that its institutions were dissolved ; and assuming to himself the 
 exercise of supreme authority, he created two of the principal 
 inhabitants members of his general legislative council. Having 
 thus united all the New England States under one comprehensive 
 system of arbitrary government, Andros, with the assistance of 
 his grand legislative council, selected from the inhabitants of the 
 several provinces, addressed himself to the task of enacting laws 
 and regulations calculated to fortify his authority. An act restor 
 ing the former taxes, obtained the assent of the council ; and yet 
 even this indispensable provision was obstructed by the reluctance 
 with which the counsellors, though selected by Andros himself, 
 consented to become the instruments of riveting the shackles 
 of their country. The only further opposition which he expe 
 rienced, proceeded from the inhabitants of the county of Essex, 
 in Massachusetts, who, insisting that they were freemen, refused 
 to pay the contingent assessed upon them of a taxation which 
 they deemed unconstitutional. But their resistance was easily 
 overpowered, and many of them were severely punished. Andros 
 soon discovered that the revenues of the ancient government were 
 inadequate to the support of his more costly administration ; and 
 while he signified this defalcation to the king, he declared, at the 
 same time, with real or affected humility, that the country was so 
 
JAMES II. AND NEW ENGLAND. 449 
 
 much impoverished with the effects of the Indian war, by recent 
 losses at sea and by scanty harvests, that an increase of taxation 
 could hardly be endured. But James, who had exhausted his 
 lenity in his letter of instructions, answered this communication 
 by a peremptory mandate to raise the taxes to a level ^with the 
 charges of administration ; and Andros, thereupon, either stifling 
 his tenderness for the people, or discarding his superfluous re 
 spect to the moderation of the king, proceeded to exercise his 
 power with a rigor and injustice that rendered his government 
 universally odious. The weight of taxation was oppressively 
 augmented, and the fees of all public functionaries screwed up to 
 an enormous height. The ceremonial of marriage was altered, 
 and the celebration of that rite, which had hitherto been com 
 mitted to the magistrates, was confined to the ministers of the 
 church of England, of whom there was only one in the province 
 of Massachusetts. The fasts and thanksgivings appointed by 
 the congregational churches, were arbitrarily suppressed by the 
 governor, who maintained that the regulation of such matters 
 belonged entirely to the civil power. He took occasion frequently, 
 and with the most offensive insolence, to remark, in presence of; 
 the council, that the colonists would find themselves greatfy mis 
 taken, if they supposed that the privileges of Englishmen followed 
 them to the extremity of the earth ; and that the only difference 
 between their condition and that of slaves, was that they were 
 neither bought nor sold. It was declared unlawful for the colo 
 nists to assemble in public meetings, or for any one to quit the 
 province without a passport from the governor; and Randolph, 
 now at the summit of his wishes, was not ashamed to boast, in 
 letters to his friends, that the rulers of New England were " as 
 arbitrary as the great Turk." While Andres mocked the people 
 with a semblance of trial by jury, he contrived, by intrigue and 
 partiality in the selection of jurymen, to convict and wreak his 
 vengeance upon every person who offended him, as well as to 
 screen the misdeeds of his own dependents from the punishment 
 they deserved. And, as if to heighten the discontent excited by 
 such tyrannical insolence, he took occasion to question' the validity 
 of the existing titles to landed property, pretending that the rights 
 acquired under the ancient government were tainted with its 
 vices and obnoxious to its fate. New grants or patents from the 
 governor, it was announced, were requisite to mend the defective 
 titles to lands ; and writs of intrusion were issued against all who 
 refused to apply for such patents, and to pay the large fees that 
 were charged for them. Most of the landed proprietors were 
 compelled to submit to this extortion, in order to save their 
 38* E3 
 
450 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 estates from confiscation, an extremity which, however, was 
 braved by one individual, Colonel Shrimpton, who preferred the 
 loss of his property to the recognition of a principle which he 
 deemed both oppressive and dishonorable to this country. The 
 king, indeed, had now encouraged Andros to consider the people 
 whom he governed as a society of felons or rebels; for lie trans 
 mitted to him express directions to grant his majesty's most 
 gracious pardon to as many of the colonists as should apply for 
 it. But none had the meanness to solicit the grace that exclu 
 sively befitted the guilty. The only act of the king that was 
 favorably regarded by the inhabitants of the colony, was his 
 declaration of indulgence, which excited so much discontent in 
 Britain, even among the Protestant dissenters, who shared its 
 benefit. Notwithstanding the intolerance that has been imputed 
 to New Englan^, this declaration produced general satisfaction 
 there, though some of the inhabitants had discernment enough to 
 perceive that the sole object of the king was the gradual intro 
 duction of the Catholic church into Britain. 
 
CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 Sir William Phipps. His origin and fortunes. Attempts unsuccessfully to 
 restore the charier. Discontent of the New Englanders. Indian hostilities. 
 Exasperation of the people against Andros. Insurrection at Boston., Andros 
 deposed, and the ancient government restored. War with the French and 
 Indians. Conquest of Acadie by Sir William Phipps. Expedition against 
 Quebec. Miscarriage of the attempt. Endeavors of the colonists to regain the 
 ancient charter. Opposition of King William. The new charter and aug 
 mented jurisdiction of Massachusetts. End of the Plymouth colony. Phipps, 
 the colonial governor. III success of his administration. Expedition to Pema- 
 quid. Unpopularity of Phipps. 
 
 Deposition of Sir Edmund Andros. 
 
 SIR William Phipps, whose fruitless interposition had been 
 exerted in behalf of the deputation from Massachusetts at the 
 court of England, was himself a native of this province; and 
 notwithstanding a scanty education and obscure birth, had 
 ascended, by the mere force of superior genius, to a conspicuous 
 rank, and gained a high reputation for spirit, capacity and suc 
 cess. He followed the employment of a shepherd at his native 
 place, till he was eighteen years of age, and was afterwards 
 apprenticed to a ship-carpenter. When he was freed from his 
 indentures, he pursued a seafaring life, and attained the station 
 of captain of a merchant vessel. An account, which he happened 
 to peruse of a Spanish ship loaded with bullion, wrecked near the 
 
452 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Bahama Islands, about fifty years before, inspired him with the 
 bold design of extricating the buried treasure from the bowels of 
 the deep; and, transporting himself to England, he stated his 
 scheme so plausibly, that the king was struck with it, and, in 
 1683, sent him with a vessel to make the attempt. It proved 
 unsuccessful, and all his urgency could not induce James to 
 engage in a repetition of it. But the Duke of Albermarle, resum 
 ing the project, equipped a vessel for the purpose, and gave the 
 command of it to Phipps, who now succeeded in accomplishing 
 his project, and achieved the recovery of specie, to the amount of 
 at least three hundred thousand pounds, from the bottom of the 
 ocean. Of this treasure he obtained a portion sufficient for his 
 own enrichment, with a still greater meed of consideration and 
 applause. The king was exhorted by some of his courtiers to 
 confiscate the whole of the specie thus recovered, on pretence 
 that he had not received a fair representation of the project ; but 
 he declared that the representation had been perfectly fair, and 
 that nothing but his own misgivings and the timorous counsels 
 and mean suspicions of those courtiers themselves, had deprived 
 them of the riches which this honest man had sought to procure 
 for him. He conceived a high regard for Phipps, and conferred 
 on him the rank of knighthood. Sir William employed his influ 
 ence at court for the benefit of his country ; and his patriotism 
 seems never to have harmed him in the opinion of the king. 
 Finding that he could not prevail so as to obtain the restoration of 
 the chartered privileges, he solicited and received the appointment 
 of high sheriff of New England, in the hope that, by remedying 
 the abuses that were committed in the impannelling of juries, he 
 might create a barrier against the tyranny of Andros. But the 
 governor and his creatures, incensed at this interference, hired 
 ruffians to attack his person, and soon compelled him to quit the 
 prpvince and take shelter in England. James, shortly before his 
 own abdication, among the other attempts he made to conciliate 
 his subjects, offered Phipps the government of New England; but 
 he refused to accept this appointment from a falling tyrant, 
 and under a system which, instead of seeking any longer to miti 
 gate, he hoped speedily to see entirely overthrown. 
 
 The discontent of the people of New England continued 
 meanwhile to increase, insomuch that every act of government, 
 however innocent, or even laudable, was viewe'd through the 
 perverting medium of a fixed and inveterate jealousy. In order 
 to discredit the former provincial authorities, Andre? and Ran 
 dolph had sedulously inculcated the notion that the Indians had 
 hitherto been treated with a cruelty and injustice, to which all the 
 
ADMINISTRATION OF ANDROS. 453 
 
 hostilities of these savages ought reasonably to be imputed ; and 
 had vaunted their own ability to pacify and propitiate them by 
 gentleness and equity. But this year their theory and their policy 
 were alike disgraced by the furious hostilities of the Indians on 
 the eastern frontiers of New England. The movements of these 
 savages were excited, on this, as on former occasions, by the 
 insidious artifices of the French, whose suppleness of character 
 and demeanor, contrasted with the grave, unbending spirit of the 
 English, gave them in general a great advantage in the competi 
 tion for the favor of the Indians; and who found it easier to 
 direct and employ, than to check or eradicate the treachery and 
 ferocity of their savage allies. The English colonists offered 
 to the natives terms of accommodation, which at first they seemed 
 willing to accept; but the encouragement of the French soon 
 prevailed with them to reject all friendly overtures, and their 
 native fierceness prompted them to signalize this declaration 
 by a series of unprovoked and unexpected massacres. Andros 
 published a proclamation, requiring that the murderers should be 
 delivered up to him ; but the Indians treated him and his procla 
 mation with contempt. In the depth of winter he found himself 
 obliged to march with a considerable force against these enemies ; 
 and though he succeeded in occupying and fortifying positions 
 which enabled him somewhat to restrain their future incursions, 
 he inflicted but little injury upon them, and lost a great many of 
 his own men, who perished in vain attempts to follow the Indians 
 into their fastnesses in the most rigorous season of the year. So 
 strong and so indiscriminating was the dislike he had excited 
 among the people of New England, that this expedition was 
 unjustly ascribed to a deliberate purpose to destroy the troops 
 whom he conducted, by cold and famine. Every reproach, how 
 ever groundless, stuck fast to the hated characters of Andros and 
 Randolph. 
 
 At length the smothered rage of the people broke forth. In the 
 spring some vague intelligence was received, by letters from Vir 
 ginia, of the proceedings of the Prince of Orange, in England. 
 The ancient magistrates and principal inhabitants of the province, 
 though they ardently wished and secretly prayed that success 
 might attend the prince's enterprise, yet determined, in so great a 
 cause, to incur no unnecessary hazard, and quietly await a revo 
 lution which they believed that no movement of theirs could 
 either promote or retard. But New England was destined to 
 accomplish, by her own efforts, her own liberation ; and the 
 inhabitants of Massachusetts were now to exercise the gallant 
 privilege, which, nearly a century after, and in a conflict still more 
 
454 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 arduous, their children again were ready to assert of being the 
 foremost in resisting oppression, and vindicating the rights and 
 honor of their country. The cautious policy and prudential dis 
 suasions from violence that were employed by the wealthier and 
 more aged co'onists, were contemned by the great body of the 
 people, whose spirit and courage prompted them to achieve the 
 deliverance which they were less qualified, by foresight and 
 patience, to await. Stung with the recollection of past injuries, 
 their patriotic ardor, on the first prospect of relief, could not be 
 restrained. In seasons of revolution, the wealthy and eminent 
 mingle with their public spirit a less generous concern for their 
 valuable private interests, and their prospect of sharing in official 
 dignities. The poor have no rich private fortunes in their posses 
 sion ; no dazzling preferments within their reach ; and consequently 
 less restraint on the full flow of their social affections. All at 
 once, and apparently without any preconcerted plan, an insurrec 
 tion broke forth in the town of Boston ; the drums beat to arms ; 
 the people flocked together ; and in a few hours the revolt became 
 universal, and the energy of the people so overpowering, that 
 every purpose of resisting their will was abandoned by the 
 government. The scruples of the more wealthy and cautious 
 inhabitants were completely overcome by the obvious necessity 
 of interfering to calm and regulate the fervor of the populace. 
 
 Andros, Dudley, and others, to the number of fifty of the most 
 obnoxious, fled into the citadel on Port Hill; but the citizens 
 stormed the fortress, and they were seized and imprisoned. On 
 the first intelligence of the tumult, Andros sent a party of soldiers 
 to apprehend Simon Bradstreet ; a measure that served only to 
 suggest to the people who their chief ought to be, and to antici 
 pate the unanimous choice by which this venerable man was 
 reinstated in the office he had held when his country was deprived 
 of her liberties. Though now bending under the weight of ninety 
 years, his intellectual powers had undergone but little decay ; "he 
 retained," says Cotton Mather, " a vigor and wisdom that would 
 have recommended a younger man to the government of a greater 
 colony.' 7 As the tidings of the revolt spread through the province, 
 the people eagerly flew to arms, and hurried to Boston to cooper 
 ate with their insurgent countrymen. To the assembled crowds 
 a proclamation was read from the balcony of .the court-house, 
 detailing the grievances of the colony, and imputing the whole to 
 the tyrannical abrogation of the charter. A committee of safety 
 was appointed by general consent; and an assembly of represen 
 tatives being convened soon after, this body, by J* unanimous 
 vote, and with the hearty concurrence of the -whole province, 
 
AFFAIRS IN NEW ENGLAND IN 1690. 455 
 
 declared their ancient charter and its constitution to be resumed ; 
 reappointed Bradstreet and all the other magistrates who had 
 been in office in the year 1686 ; and directed those persons, in all 
 things, to conform to the provisions of the charter, " that this 
 method of government may be found among us, when oides shall 
 come from higher powers in England." They announced that 
 Andros and the counsellors who had been imprisoned along with 
 him, were detained in custody to abide the directions that might 
 be received concerning them from his highness the Prince of 
 Orange, and the English parliament. What would be the extent 
 of the revolution that was in progress in the parent state, and to 
 what settlement of affairs it would finally conduct, was yet un 
 known in the colonies. The example of Massachusetts was 
 followed by the other New England provinces, and news shortly 
 after having been received of the establishment of William and 
 Mary on the throne, they were proclaimed at Boston, with great 
 solemnity and rejoicing. The king and queen wrote a letter, 
 addressed to "the colony of Massachusetts," sanctioning their 
 proceedings, and authorizing them to continue their provisional 
 government till measures could be taken to establish it upon a 
 permanent basis. Andros was sent to England for trial, in 1690. 
 In the midst of these proceedings, war broke out between Eng 
 land and France. The rupture between the two parent states 
 extended itself to their possessions in America ; and the colonies 
 of New England and New York were now involved in bloody 
 and desolating warfare with the forces of the French in Canada 
 and their Indian auxiliaries and allies. The hostilities that were 
 directed against New York belong to another branch of this his 
 tory. In concert with the French, various attacks were made by 
 consideraoie bodies of the Indians, in the conclusion of the present 
 year, on the settlements and forts of New Hampshire and Maine ; 
 and proving successful in some instances, they were productive 
 of the most horrid extremity of savage cruelty. Aware that 
 these depredations originated in Canada and Acadia, the general 
 court of Massachusetts prepared, during the winter, an expedition 
 against Port Royal and Quebec. The command of it was en 
 trusted to Sir William Phipps, who, on the dissolution of the late 
 arbitrary government, had returned to New England, in the hope 
 of being able to render some service to his countrymen. Eight 
 small vessels, with seven or eight hundred men, sailed under his 
 command in the following spring, and almost without opposition 
 took possession of Port Royal, and of the whole province of Aca 
 dia ; and within a month after its departure, the fleet returned, 
 loaded with plunder enough to defray the whole expense of the 
 
456 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 expedition. But Count Frontignac, the governor of Canada, 
 retorted by sharp and harassing attacks on the remote settlements 
 of New England; and stimulating the activity of his Indian 
 allies, kept the frontiers in a state of incessant alarm, by their 
 predatory incursions. Letters had been written, by the general 
 court of Massachusetts, to king William, urging the importance 
 of the conquest of Canada, and soliciting his aid in an expedition 
 for that purpose ; but he was too much occupied in Europe to 
 extend his exertions to America ; and the general court determined 
 to prosecute the enterprise without his assistance. New York 
 and Connecticut engaged to furnish a body of men, who were to 
 march overland to attack Montreal, while the troops of Massa 
 chusetts should repair by sea to Quebec. The fleet destined for 
 this expedition consisted of thirty-five vessels, the largest of 
 which carried forty-four guns ; and the number of troops on board 
 amounted to two thousand. The command of this armament 
 was entrusted to Sir William Phipps, who, in the conduct of the 
 enterprise, demonstrated his usual courage, and every military 
 qualification, except that which experience alone can confer, and 
 without which, in a warfare with a civilized enemy, all others 
 commonly prove unavailing. The troops of Connecticut and 
 New York, retarded by defective arrangements, and disappointed 
 of the assistance of the friendly Indians who had engaged to fur 
 nish them with canoes for crossing the rivers they had to pass, 
 were compelled to retire without attacking Montreal ; and in con 
 sequence the whole force of Canada was concentrated to resist 
 the attack of Phipps. His armament arrived before Quebec so 
 late in the season, that only an immediate assault could have 
 enabled him to carry the place ; but by unskilful delay, the time 
 for such an attempt was irretrievably lost. The English were 
 worsted in various sharp encounters, and compelled at length to 
 make a precipitate retreat; and the fleet, after sustaining great 
 damage in the voyage homeward, returned to Boston. Such was 
 the unfortunate issue of an enterprise which involved Massachu 
 setts in an enormous expense, and cost the lives of at least a 
 thousand of her people. The French had so strongly foreboded 
 its success, that they scrupled not. to ascribe its discomfiture to the 
 immediate interposition of Heaven, in confounding the devices of 
 the enemy, arid depriving them of common sense; arid, under 
 this impression, the citizens of Quebec established an annual pro 
 cession in commemoration of their deliverance. That the conduct 
 of Phipps, however, had been no way obnoxious to censure, may 
 be safely inferred from the fact that a result so disastrous brought 
 no blame upon him, and deprived him in no degree of the favor 
 
NEW ENGLAND. 457 
 
 of his countrymen. And yet the disappointment, in addition to 
 the mortification which it inflicted, was attended with very injuri 
 ous consequences. The general court of Massachusetts had not 
 even anticipated the possibility of miscarriage, and had expected 
 to derive from the success of the expedition, the same reimburse 
 ment of expenses, of which their former enterprises had been 
 productive. "During the absence of the forces," says Cotton 
 Mather, with an expression too whimsical for a matter of so 
 much solemnity, "the wheel of prayer of them in New England 
 had been kept continually going round;" and this attempt to re 
 inforce the expedition by spiritual cooperation, had been pursued 
 in combination with an entire neglect of provisions applicable to 
 the possibility of an unsuccessful result. The returning army, 
 finding the government unprepared to satisfy their claims, were 
 on the point of mutinizing for their pay; and it was found neces 
 sary to issue bills of credit, which the troops consented to accept 
 in place of money. The colony was now in a very depressed 
 state. Hoping to turn to religious account the calamities which 
 they were unable to avoid, the government endeavored to pro 
 mote the increase of piety and the reformation of manners; and 
 pressed upon the ministers and the people the duty of strongly 
 resisting that worldliness of mind, which the necessity of con 
 tending violently for temporal things is apt to engender. The 
 attacks of the Indians on the eastern frontiers were attended with 
 a degree of success and barbarity that diffused general terror; 
 and the colonists were expecting in this quarter to be driven from 
 their settlements, when, all at once, those savages, of their own 
 accord, proposed a peace of six months, which was accepted by 
 the provincial government with great willingness and devout 
 gratitude. As it was clearly ascertained that the hostile proceed 
 ings of the Indians were continually fostered by the intrigues, and 
 rendered more formidable by the counsel and assistance of the 
 French authorities in Canada, the conquest of this province began 
 to be considered by the people of New England as indispensable 
 to their safety and tranquillity. In the hope of prevailing with 
 the king to sanction and embrace this enterprise, as well as for 
 the purpose of aiding the other deputies in the no less interesting 
 application for the restoration of the provincial charter, Sir 
 William Phipps, soon after his return from Quebec, by desire of 
 his countrymen, repaired to England. 
 
 King William was unwilling to restore the old charter. A new 
 
 instrument was drawn up, incorporating Massachusetts, Maine, 
 
 Plymouth and Nova Scotia into one jurisdiction. The governor 
 
 and some other officers were appointed by the crown. The 
 
 39 F3 
 
THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 representatives were chosen by the people, but the governor had 
 a negative on the choice of the counsellors, and could convoke, 
 adjourn, or dissolve the legislature at pleasure. He also nominated 
 all military officers, and, with the consent of his council, all the 
 judges and law officers. He had, moreover, a veto on the acts of 
 the legislature, and every law was to be sent to England for the 
 royal approbation. Such was the new government of Massachu 
 setts, which excited great discontent, and led the way, by constant 
 struggles between the colonial and the regal power, to the war of 
 independence. The British ministers were aware how unwel 
 come these innovations were to the people of Massachusetts, and 
 in order to soften the measure at the outset, procured the appoint 
 ment of a native American, Sir William Phipps, for governor of 
 the province. < As he was held in high esteem by the inhabitants, 
 his appointment had some effect in softening their ill humor. 
 
 Yet his administration, on the whole, was unprosperous ; for 
 although he might give his sanction, as governor, to popular 
 laws, it was not in his power to guard them from being rescinded 
 by the crown ; and this fate soon befel a law that was passed by 
 the provincial assembly, declaring the colonists exempt from all 
 taxes but such as should be imposed by their own representatives, 
 and asserting their right to share all the privileges of Magna 
 Charta. He found the province involved in a distressing war 
 with the French and Indians, and in the still more formidable 
 calamity of that strange delusion Avhich has been termed the New 
 England witchcraft, and which will be described at length in the 
 next chapter. When the Indians were informed of the elevation 
 of Sir William Phipps to the office of governor of Massachusetts, 
 they were struck with amazement at the fortunes of the man, 
 whose humble origin they perfectly well knew, and with whom 
 they had familiarly associated but a few years before in the 
 obscurity of his primitive condition. Impressed with a high 
 opinion of his courage and resolution, and a superstitious dread 
 of that fortune that seemed destined to surmount every obstacle, 
 and prevail over every disadvantage, they would willingly have 
 made peace with him and his countrymen, but were induced to 
 continue the war by the artifices and intrigues of the French. A 
 few months after his arrival, the governor, at the head of a small 
 army, marched' to Pemaquid, on the Penobscot river, and there 
 caused to be erected a fort of considerable strength, calcula 
 ted by its situation to form a powerful protection to the province, 
 to overawe the neighboring tribes of Indians, and interrupt their 
 mutual communication. The beneficial effect of this operation 
 was experienced in the following year, when the Indian? sent 
 
WITCHCRAFT. 
 
 459 
 
 ambassadors to the fort at Pemaquid, and there at length con 
 cluded, with English commissioners, a treaty of peace, by which 
 they renounced forever the interests of the French, and pledged 
 themselves to perpetual amity with the inhabitants of New 
 England. The colonists, who had suffered severely from the 
 recent depredations of these savages, and were still laboring 
 under the burdens entailed on them by former wars, were not 
 slow to embrace the first overtures of peace . and yet they mur 
 mured, with great discontent and ill humor, at the measure to 
 which they were principally indebted for the deliverance they had 
 so ardently desired. The expense of building the fort, and 
 maintaining its garrison and stores, occasioned an addition to the 
 existing taxes, which provoked their impatience. The party who 
 had opposed submission to the new charter, eagerly promoted 
 every complaint against the operation of a system which they 
 regarded with rooted aversion; and labored so successfully on 
 this occasion to vilify the person and government of Sir William 
 Phipps, in the eyes of his countrymen, that his popularity sus 
 tained a shock from which it never afterwards entirely recovered. 
 The people were easily induced to regard the increase of taxation 
 as the eifect of the recent abridgement of their political privileges, 
 and to believe that if they had retained their ancient control over 
 the officers of government, the administration of their affairs 
 might have been more economically conducted. But another 
 cause, which we have already mentioned, and must now more 
 attentively consider, rendered the minds of the colonists, at this 
 time, unusually susceptible of gloomy impressions, and of sus 
 picions equally irritating and unreasonable. 
 
CHAPTER XLVIII 
 
 "Witchcraft in Europe. First symptoms of this belief in America. The Boston 
 witchcraft. The Salem witchcraft. Propagation of the delusion. Influence 
 and credulity of the clergy. Particulars of the various trials and executions. 
 Illegality of the judicial proceedings. Absurdities uttered by the witnesses. 
 Cotton Mather. Increase of the delusion. Consternation of the people. Revo 
 lution in the public mind, and cessation of the trials. Inexplicable character 
 of these occurrences. 
 
 WITCHCRAFT had been a matter of serious belief in Europe from 
 time immemorial. In 1484, Pope Innocent issued a bull, directing 
 the inquisitors to be vigilant in searching out and punishing all 
 who were guilty of this crime. In 1515, more than five hundred 
 persons were burned at Geneva, for witchcraft, in three months. 
 Above a thousand were put to death in the diocese of Como 
 within a single year, and above one hundred thousand, in Ger 
 many alone, were executed for this crime, during the persecutions 
 consequent upon the papal bull. In the reign of Elizabeth and 
 James I., statutes against this offence were enacted in England, 
 and within the gpace of one hundred and fifty years, it is esti 
 mated that thirty thousand individuals suffered death on this 
 account. As late as 1647, more than a hundred executions in 
 England attested the general belief in this crime still existing in 
 that enlightened country. Witches were hanged in England as 
 late as 1716, and in Scotland till 1722. 
 
WITCHCRAFT. 461 
 
 The early settlers of New England could hardly be expected to 
 be free from this portion of the current superstition of the age ; 
 and, in accordance with the opinion of their countrymen in the 
 Old World, they regarded it with great abhorrence and indig 
 nation. In America, however, as in England, there were not 
 wanting men of sense and discernment whose understanding was 
 above this vulgar error. In the year 1693, as we shall see pres 
 ently, Robert Calef, a merchant of Boston, was bold enough to 
 contradict the reigning opinions on this delicate subject. His 
 courageous and manly reasoning, and the pungent sarcasm of his 
 language, provoked the hottest ire of the New England clergy, 
 with Cotton Mather at their head. It is worthy of remark, that, 
 more than half a century after this, the learned and acute jurist, 
 Blackstone, asserted, in the hall of a British university, that the 
 existence of witchcraft and sorcery was a truth to which every 
 nation in the world had borne testimony ! an opinion which he 
 has given to the world in his well known commentaries on the 
 laws of England. 
 
 Holding these long-established notions, the colonists of New 
 England naturally looked upon the savages as worshippers of 
 evil spirits, and their priests or powows as necromancers. The 
 first mention of witchcraft occurs about 1645, but no executions 
 took place till 1650, when three persons suffered death at Boston, 
 all protesting their innocence. About the same time, or a little 
 later, there were trials for this offence in New York, but no per 
 sons were executed. A period of nearly thirty years elapsed 
 from the first executions in Boston, without the occurrence of any 
 new case. But in 1688, witchcraft again attracted notice, in con 
 sequence of the publication of a book containing a circumstantial 
 account of the previous cases and arguments, tending to show the 
 reality of the crime. The effect of this work was immediately 
 apparent. Four of the children of John Goodwin, a serious and 
 respectable man in the north part of Boston, were suspected of 
 being bewitched. These children were intelligent, pious and 
 moral; the eldest was not above fourteen. She had accused a 
 washer-woman with purloining some of the family linen. The 
 mother of this woman was an Irish female, of bad character, and 
 abused the girl in harsh terms; soon after which, the girl fell 
 into fits, which were thought to be produced by diabolical means. 
 One of her sisters and two brothers followed her example, and 
 according to the story, were tormented in the same part of their 
 body at the same time, although they were kept separate. All 
 their complaints were in the day-time, and they slept comfortably 
 all night ; but this was only an additional marvel in the popular 
 39* 
 
462 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 estimation. They were struck speechless at the sight of the 
 Assembly's Catechism, Cotton's Milk for Babes, and sundry other 
 books of the same stamp ; but could read profane, popish, quaker 
 and episcopalian books, without any trouble. At times they lost 
 their sight, hearing and speech. Their tongues would be drawn 
 down their throats, and then stuck out upon their chins. Their 
 joints would be dislocated, and they would utter piteous outcries 
 of burnings, incisions, beating, &c., and show their wounds. 
 
 These occurrences created a general alarm in Boston, and the 
 ministers kept a day of fasting and prayer, at the house of the 
 sufferers ; after which the youngest child made no more com 
 plaints. The others continued to be afflicted, and the magistrates 
 judged it time to interpose. The Irish woman underwent an 
 examination, but would neither confess nor deny, and appeared 
 to be out of her senses. The physicians, decided that she was of 
 sound mind, and she was hanged, declaring that the children 
 should not be relieved from their complaints. The eldest was 
 taken into Cotton Mather's family, where, after some time, she fell 
 again into her convulsions, but the matter went no further in this 
 instance. All the children subsequently returned to their ordi 
 nary behavior. 
 
 The great tragedy in this deplorable delusion was acted at 
 Salem. It began in 1692, in the house of Samuel Parris, a 
 minister of that place. His daughter, niece, and two other girls, 
 all of tender age, began to make similar complaints to those 
 mentioned in the case of Goodwin's children. The physicians, 
 not knowing how to explain the facts, instead of suspecting 
 foolish tricks in the children, pronounced them bewitched. An 
 Indian woman in the family tried some experiments, which she 
 pretended to have learned among her own people, to find out the 
 witch. The children heard of this, and we cannot be surprised 
 that their next proceeding was to cry out against the poor Indian, 
 ancl pretend that she was pinching, pricking and tormenting them. 
 Straightway they fell into fits ; but Tituba, the Indian, resolutely 
 denied that she was a witch, although she confessed that she knew 
 how to discover one. Private fasts were kept at the minister's 
 house, and as the alarm increased, these became public, and at 
 length a general fast was proclaimed throughout the colony. 
 
 At this distance of time the increase of this wretched delusion 
 may be easily explained; but at the period of which we are 
 speaking, natural means and ordinary motives were not likely to 
 be assigned as the causes of events which could be ascribed to 
 superhuman agency. The great notice which people took of the 
 children, with the sympathies of the persons who visited them, 
 
WITCHCRAFT. 463 
 
 tended not only to confirm them in their impositions, but to draw 
 others into the same frauds. The number of the bewitched soon 
 increased, and the contagion spread from children to grown 
 people. These, too, had their spasms and convulsions, and laid 
 their charges, not only against Tituba, but two other women, 
 named Osborn and Good, one of whom was crazy, and the other 
 bed-ridden. Tituba at length confessed herself a witch, and the 
 other women her confederates. The three were put in jail. 
 Three weeks afterwards, two other women, of good character 
 and church-members, named Corey and Nurse, were charged 
 with witchcraft. On their approach the children fell into fits, 
 but the women denied everything, and were imprisoned. The 
 charge then fell upon a child of five years old, the daughter of 
 the above-mentioned Sarah Good, who had haunted and bitten 
 the bewitched persons; in evidence of which the print of small 
 teeth were exhibited on their arms. The infatuation increased, 
 and those whose duty it was to check it, used their utmost 
 exertions to spread the alarm more widely. Parris preached an 
 inflammatory sermon from the text, "Have I not chosen you 
 twelve, and one of you is a devil?" At this, Sarah Cloyse, sister 
 to one of the accused, rose and left the meeting, which of course 
 caused her to be charged with witchcraft, and imprisoned. About 
 the same time, Elizabeth Procter incurred the same charge ; and 
 her husband having the hardihood to accompany his wife to the 
 examination, fell under a similar accusation, which ultimately 
 cost him his life. 
 
 The public attention was now absorbed in the subject. The 
 deputy governor, with five other magistrates, went to Salem in 
 April Sarah Cloyse and Elizabeth Procter underwent an exam 
 ination. Parris, who officiated on the occasion, appears to have 
 excited all the charges. The first witness, John, the Indian, 
 husband to Tituba, was rebuked as a grievous liar. Sarah 
 Cloyse was accused of having been at the witches' sacrament. 
 Struck with horror and amazement at this absurd charge, she 
 fainted away. The possessed impostors cried out, " Her spirit is 
 gone to prison, to her sister Nurse ! " The niece of Parris charged 
 Elizabeth Proctor with attempting to persuade her to sign the 
 devil's book; to which she calmly replied, " Dear child, it is not 
 SOj there is another judgment, dear child." This availed noth 
 ing in her favor, and the accusers, turning towards her husband, 
 declared that he, too, was a wizard. All three were thrown into 
 prison, No wonder that the whole country was in a conster 
 nation, when persons of sober life and unblemished character 
 were committed to prison upon evidence like this. Nobody 
 
464 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 was safe; and the most effectual way to avoid an accusation 
 was to become an accuser. Accordingly the number of the 
 bewitched increased every day, and the number of the accused 
 in proportion. 
 
 Hitherto no one of the accused, except Tituba, had confessed ; 
 and hints were thrown out that by confession they might save 
 themselves. This had its effect, and a woman named Hobbs, 
 owned everything charged against her, and was left unharmed. 
 Thus it was that the monstrous doctrine began to be promulgated 
 that the gallows was to be set up, not for those who professed 
 themselves witches, but for those who rebuked the delusion, not 
 for the guilty, but for the unbelieving. But in all cases of epi 
 demic madness, nothing is more offensive to the popular taste than 
 moderation and scepticism. As might be expected, confessions 
 rose in importance, as being the only avenue of escape. Exami 
 nations and commitments followed daily, and the land was shaken 
 with such terror and alarm as cannot be easily described. The 
 purest life, the strictest integrity, the most solemn assertions of 
 innocence, were of no avail. Husband was torn from wife, 
 parent from children, brother from sister, and in some cases the 
 unhappy victims saw in their accusers their nearest and dearest 
 friends. In one instance a wife and daughter accused the hus 
 band and father, to save themselves ; and in another, a girl, seven 
 years old, testified against her mother. 
 
 Two individuals appear to have been mainly instrumental in 
 strengthening and upholding these lamentable delusions, Parris, 
 above mentioned, and Cotton Mather ; the latter, a compound of 
 ignorance and learning, of bigotry, spiritual pride and inquisitorial 
 malice. Parris was present at all the examinations of the acciised, 
 taking the matter into his own hands, putting leading questions, 
 and artfully entrapping the witnesses into contradictions, by 
 which they became confused, and were charged as guilty of the 
 imputed offence. In some cases confessions were extorted by the 
 most cruel methods. Two young men persisted in maintaining 
 their innocence, till they were tied together neck and heels, and 
 then they accused their own mother. Margaret Jacobs being art 
 fully beguiled into a confession, accused Mr. Burroughs, minister 
 of Salem, and afterwards her own grandfather. Burroughs was 
 condemned to be hanged, on which she was struck with horror 
 and remorse, and recanted her confession, choosing "rather to lose 
 her life than to persist in accusing an innocent person. She 
 begged forgiveness of Burroughs before his execution, and retracted 
 all she had said against her grandfather ; but this did not save his 
 life. 
 
WITCHCRAFT. 465 
 
 The prisoners had been increasing from the middle of February 
 until June. The jails of Essex and the neighboring counties were 
 full. In May, the new charter and the royal governor, Sir Wil 
 liam Phipps, arrived at Boston. The governor, a firm believer 
 in witchcraft, finding the prisons filled with victims charged with 
 this offence, and urged on by the seeming emergency of the occa 
 sion, issued his special commission, constituting the persons named 
 in it, a court for Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex. This court, which 
 was an illegal tribunal, because the governor had no shadow of 
 authority to establish it, consisted of seven judges, namely : Wil 
 liam Stoughton, the lieutenant-governor, chief justice Nathaniel 
 Saltonstal, who refused to act, and was replaced by Jonathan 
 Curwin, John Richards, Bartholomew Gedney, Wait Winthrop, 
 Samuel Sewall and Peter Sergeant. The date of their commis 
 sion was June 2d, 1692, and on the same day the court convened 
 at Salem. It was a popular tribunal ; there was not a lawyer 
 concerned in its proceedings. Stoughton and Sewall had been 
 educated clergymen ; Withrop and Gedney, as physicians ; Rich 
 ards was a merchant ; Sergeant was a man of influence in the 
 colony. The general course of proceedings at these trials was 
 quite consistent with the character of the court and the nature of 
 the offence. After pleading to the indictment, if the prisoner 
 denied his guilt, the afflicted persons were first brought into court 
 to swear as to who afflicted them. Then those of the accused 
 who voluntarily confessed, were called upon to tell what they 
 knew of the accused. Proclamation was then made for all who 
 could give any testimony, however foreign to the charge, to come 
 into court, and whatever any one volunteered to tell, was admit 
 ted as evidence. The next process was to search for " witch 
 marks," the doctrine being that the devil affixed his mark to 
 those in alliance with him, and that this spot on the body became 
 callous and dead. This duty was performed by a jury of men 
 or women, according to the sex of the prisoner. A wart or mole 
 was often conclusive evidence, when the other proof was doubtful. 
 It was a strong sign of witchcraft to make an error in the Lord's 
 prayer, which the accused, on their examination, were required to 
 repeat, and if they committed a single slip of the tongue, even in 
 the pronouncing of a syllable, it was fatal to them. 
 
 As a specimen of the absurdities that were uttered as testimony 
 against the accused, we will cite the following from the trial of 
 Bridget Bishop. One witness testified that in the course of some 
 little controversy with the prisoner about her fowls, he went to 
 bed well one night, awoke by moonlight, and saw the clear like 
 ness of this woman grievously oppressing him, in which misera- 
 
466 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ble condition she held him, unable to help himself, till near day. 
 He told her of this, but she utterly denied it, and threatened him 
 very much. Quickly after this, being at home on a Lord's day, 
 with the doors shut about him, he saw a black pig approach him, 
 and on endeavoring to kick it, the spectre vanished away. Im 
 mediately after, sitting down, he saw a black thing jump in at 
 the window and come and stand before him. The body was like 
 that of a monkey, the feet like a cock's, but the face much like a 
 man's. He being so extremely affrighted that he could not speak, 
 this monster spoke to him and said, " I am a messenger sent unto 
 you, for I understand that you are in some trouble of mind, and if 
 you will be ruled by me you shall want for nothing in this world.' ? 
 Whereupon, he endeavored to clap his hands upon it, but he could 
 feel no substance, and it jumped out of the window again, but 
 immediately came in by the porch, though the doors were shut, 
 and said, " You had better take my counsel." He then struck at 
 it with a stick, but hit only the groundsel. The arm with which 
 he struck was presently disabled, and the spectre vanished away. 
 He presently went out at the back door, and spied this Bridget 
 Bishop in her orchard, going towards her house, "but he had not 
 power to set one foot forward unto her." Upon this, returning 
 into the house, he was immediately accosted by the monster he 
 had seen before, which goblin was going to fly at him ; whereat 
 he cried out, " The whole armor of God be between me and you ! " 
 So it sprung back and flew over the apple-tree, shaking many 
 apples off in its passage. In making the leap it flung dirt with 
 its feet against the stomach of the man, whereupon he was struck 
 dumb, and so continued for three days together! 
 
 Two other witnesses testified that being employed by the pris 
 oner to help take down the cellar wall of the old house wherein 
 she formerly lived, they did, in holes of the said old wall, find 
 -several poppets, made up of rags and hog's bristles, with headless 
 pins in them, the points being outward, u whereof the prisoner 
 could now give no account unto the court that was reasonable or 
 tolerable." 
 
 On evidence of this sort, she was convicted of witchcraft, and 
 sentenced to be hanged, which sentence was carried into execution 
 on the 10th r of June. " As she was under guard," says Cotton 
 Mather, "passing by the great and spacious -meeting-house of 
 Salem, she gave a look towards the house ; and immediately a 
 demon, invisibly entering the meeting-house, tore down a part of 
 it ; so that though there was no person to be seen there, yet the 
 people, at the noise, running in, found a board, which was strongly 
 
NEW ENGLAND. 467 
 
 fastened with several nails, transported into another quarter of 
 the house." 
 
 There was one species of evidence which was of great effect 
 in these prosecutions, and which it was impossible to avoid or 
 rebut. Witnesses were allowed to testify to certain acts of the 
 accused when they were not present in the body, tormenting 
 their victims by apparitions and spectres, which pinched them, 
 robbed them of their goods, caused them to languish and pine 
 away, and pricked them with sharp pins ; the bewitched persons 
 often producing the identical pins with which this was done. It 
 was thought that an invisible and impalpable fluid darted from 
 the eyes of the witch and penetrated the brain of the person be 
 witched. A touch by the witch attracted back the malignant fluid, 
 and the sufferers recovered their senses.* 
 
 After the condemnation of Bridget Bishop, the court adjourned 
 to the 30th of June, and the governor and council thought proper, 
 in the meantime, to take the opinion of several ministers on the 
 state of affairs. This opinion, drawn up by Cotton Mather, con 
 tained many cautions against precipitancy, but concluded with a 
 strong recommendation of " speedy and vigorous prosecution of 
 such as have rendered themselves obnoxious." This recommen 
 dation unfortunately received vastly more attention than the 
 cautions which preceded it. The prosecutions were carried on 
 with all possible vigor. At the next session of the court, five 
 women were brought to trial, condemned and executed. There 
 was some difficulty in the case of Rebecca Nurse, one of the 
 number ; she was a member of the church, and bore a good char 
 acter. The jury pronounced her not guilty. The accusers made 
 a great clamor, and the court expressed much dissatisfaction. 
 They said the jury must have disregarded the words the prisoner 
 used when two female witnesses appeared against her, namely, 
 " they used to come among us," which the court interpreted to 
 refer to a witch meeting. The jury again retired, "but could not 
 tell how to take her words against her " till she had explained 
 them. The prisoner, being informed of the use which had been 
 made of her words, gave in her declaration to the court that she 
 meant only that the witnesses were prisoners as well as herself 
 and that, being hard of hearing and full of grief, she found it 
 difficult to explain herself. After her condemnation, the governor 
 showed a disposition to grant her a reprieve, but this was met by 
 a violent opposition. An organized committee in Salem, whose 
 
 * It has been suggested that many of the alleged marvels attending these cases, 
 resemble the appearances said to be displayed at the exhibitions of mesmerism. 
 
468 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 special object it was to carry on these prosecutions, was said to 
 have defeated the reprieve in this case. The unfortunate woman 
 was taken in chains to the meeting-house, on the next communion 
 day, to be excommunicated by Mr. Noyes, her minister, and she 
 was hanged on the 19th of July. " But her life and conversation 
 had been such, that the remembrance thereof, in a short time 
 after, wiped off all the reproach occasioned by the civil or ecclesi 
 astical sentence against her!" 
 
 At the trial of Sarah Good, it is said that one of the afflicted 
 persons fell into a fit, and after recovery cried out, "that the 
 prisoner had stabbed her and broke her knife in doing it," and a 
 piece of the knife was found upon the afflicted person. But a 
 young man declared that, the day before, he broke that very knife 
 and threw away the piece in presence of the afflicted person. 
 The court took so much notice of this impostor as to bid her tell 
 no more lies, but still proceeded to use her as a witness against 
 other prisoners. When Sarah Good came to be executed, Noyes, 
 her minister, urged her to confess, telling her she was a witch, 
 and knew she was a witch. She replied, "You are a liar; I am 
 no more a witch than you are a wizard ; and if you take away 
 my life, God will give you blood to drink." For many years 
 afterwards the people of Salem had a tradition that the curse of 
 this poor woman was verified, Mr. Noyes having been choked 
 to death with blood. 
 
 At the next adjournment of the court, on the 5th of August, 
 six persons were brought to trial. John Proctor and his wife, 
 and John Willard, of Salem village, George Jacobs, of Salem, 
 Martha Currier, of Andover, and George Burroughs, of Wells, in. 
 the province of Maine. Willard had been an officer employed in 
 arresting witches; but becoming sensible of the imposition, he 
 declined the service. For this he was maliciously denounced, 
 prosecuted and condemned. Proctor begged for another court to 
 be tried in, knowing he was foredoomed by the one at which he 
 was arraigned; his prayer was disregarded, and his conviction 
 followed immediately. Burroughs was confronted by witnesses 
 who pretended to be dumb. The chief justice asked, "Who 
 hinders these witnesses from giving their testimonies?" "I sup 
 pose the devi^" answered Burroughs. " How comes the devil," 
 asked the judge, " so loath to have any testimony borne against 
 you?" This question was considered decisive against him. The 
 delusion or malice of the witnesses, on this and other trials, is 
 unaccountable. Different persons testified solemnly to the ap 
 pearance of Burroughs to them, during the night, accompanied 
 with spectres in winding-sheets, a "little black-headed man in 
 
WITCHCRAFT. 469 
 
 dark apparel, with a book written in lines as red as blood ;" black 
 cats and other necromantic accompaniments. Burroughs was 
 hanged, notwithstanding his eloquent protestations of innocence, 
 which went to the hearts of all the spectators. It is useless to 
 add to this melancholy catalogue of sufferers. Already twenty 
 persons had been put to death, and fifty or sixty had been tor 
 tured into confession of witchcraft. The consternation of the 
 people was universal. 
 
 It was impossible for these fanatical atrocities to be longei 
 endured, or such monstrous absurdities longer to find belief. 
 The jails were full, hundreds were under suspicion, the law de 
 manded more victims, but the popular feeling, stronger than 
 judicial authority, revolted against this unreasonable and bloody 
 business. Fraud and imposture began to be visible oehind the 
 veil of mystery which had hitherto shrouded these matters in 
 darkness. Where were these horrors to end? Corrupt means 
 had been used to tempt people to become accusers, and charges 
 were made against the most virtuous and exalted characters 
 in the country. People exclaimed "Who can think himself safe, 
 if these things are allowed to continue?" It was clearly seen that 
 the trials were not fair, but served only as a form for condemning 
 the accused. Such a state of things could not long continue, and 
 at length the juries refused to convict. The force of public senti 
 ment was too powerful, and Stoughton, the chief justice, finding 
 it in vain to procure any further convictions, retired from the 
 bench. 
 
 The change in the public mind was soon complete and universal. 
 Lamentations and bitter repentance followed these horrid pro 
 ceedings, among all who had acted a part in the tragedy. The 
 indignation of the people was deep and strong against those who 
 had been particularly active in these enormities. Parris, the 
 minister, who had been the chief agent in the beginning of this 
 frenzy, and who, beyond all question, made use of the popular 
 feeling to gratify his own malignity against individuals whom he 
 disliked, was compelled to leave his people. Cotton Mather, by 
 artful appeals and publications, in which he seemed to suppress 
 the truth, succeeded for a while in deceiving the public as to the 
 encouragement he had given to the proceedings at Salem. Yet, 
 still eager to "lift up a standard against the infernal enemy," 
 he got up a case of witchcraft in his own parish; but the 
 imposture was promptly exposed by the unlettered, yet sensible 
 and intelligent, Robert Calef, whom Mather stigmatizes as a 
 malignant calumniator, and a "coal from hell." Mather was 
 severely judged, even by his own generation, for his share in these 
 40 
 
470 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 proceedings, and his own diary shows that he did not altogether 
 escape the compunctions of conscience. The members of the juries 
 which had acted in these cases, published solemn declarations of 
 regret for what they had done, and begged the forgiveness of the 
 people. Many of the witnesses confessed their error, and the 
 general court made all the reparation possible to the sufferers. 
 None of the persons, however, who had so unscrupulously sworn 
 away the lives of their neighbors, were ever brought to trial ; 
 there was no disposition to renew the remembrance of these 
 deplorable scenes. 
 
 Such were the occurrences which form one of the most curious 
 chapters in the history of the human mind. After making every 
 allowance for the spirit of religious fanaticism, popular delusion, 
 and panic, the subject in some respects still remains inexplicable. 
 The moral phenomena which attended it have never been satisfac 
 torily explained. Time has rather obscured than thrown light 
 upon it ; and after all our scrutinies, we must place the New Eng 
 land witchcraft among those well-attested historical facts which 
 most strongly excite our curiosity, but for which it is impossible 
 to account. Fraud and imposture, no doubt, were mixed up in 
 it, and popular credulity and panic frenzy certainly had an abun 
 dant share in the propagation of the excitement. But it is no 
 less certain that it was not all fraud and imposition, and that it 
 was indebted to other means than mere credulity and fright for its 
 influence. Deeds were done and appearances exhibited, which it 
 is impossible to explain upon any principles of natural philosophy 
 then or now known. We do not hold that every marvellous tale 
 of the New England witchcraft is true, and at the same time we 
 cannot reject the incontrovertible testimony which establishes 
 some of the most unaccountable of these facts. Rejecting alike 
 the extremes of credulity and scepticism, we must come to the 
 conclusion that this is among the strangest facts in psychology, 
 and that it still remains shrouded in a mystery which the pro- 
 foundest scrutiny has been unable to remove. 
 
CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 Political state of New England at the end of the seventeenth century. State of 
 morals and religion. Decline of the puritanical rigor. Literature of New 
 England. The primitive historians. Characteristics of their writings. Works 
 of Cotton Mather. Early growth of letters in New England. State of educa 
 tion. Prosperity and happiness of the people. 
 
 AT the end of the seventeenth century, the people of New Eng 
 land were united among themselves, and enriched with an ample 
 stock of experience of both good and evil. When Lord Bellamont 
 arrived in Massachusetts, as governor, in 1699, the recent heats 
 and animosities had entirely subsided ; he found the inhabitants 
 generally disposed to harmony and tranquillity, and he contribu 
 ted to cherish this disposition, by a policy replete with wisdom, 
 integrity and moderation. The virtue that had so signally dis 
 tinguished the original settlers of New England, was now seen to 
 shine forth among their descendants with a lustre less dazzling, 
 but with an influence in some respects more amiable, refined and 
 humane, than had attended its original display. 
 
 One of the causes, perhaps, that conduced to the restoration of 
 harmony and the revival of piety among this people, was the 
 publication of various histories of the New England settlements, 
 written with a spirit and fidelity well calculated to commend to 
 the minds of the colonists the just results of their national expe 
 rience. The subject was deeply interesting; and, happily, the 
 treatment of it was undertaken by writers whose principal object 
 was to render this interest subservient to the promotion of piety 
 and virtue. Though New England might be considered as yet in 
 a state of political infancy, it had passed through a great variety 
 of fortunes. It had been the adopted country of many of the 
 most excellent men of the age in which its colonization began, 
 and the native land of others who had inherited the character of 
 their ancestors, and transmitted it in unimpaired vigor and with 
 additional renown. The history of man never exhibited an effort 
 of more resolute and enterprising virtue than the original migration 
 of the puritans to this distant and desolate region ; nor have the 
 annals of colonization ever supplied another instance of the 
 foundation of a commonwealth, and its advancement, through a 
 period of weakness and danger, to strength and security, in 
 
472 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 which the principal actors have left behind them a reputation 
 more illustrious and unsullied, with fewer memorials calculated 
 to pervert the moral sense or awaken the regret of mankind. 
 The relation of their achievements had a powerful tendency to 
 animate hope and perseverance in brave and virtuous enterprise. 
 They could not indeed boast, as the founders of the settlement of 
 Pennsylvania have done, that, openly professing non-resistance 
 of injuries, and faithfully adhering to that profession, they had 
 so fully merited and obtained the Divine protection, by an exclu 
 sive dependence on it, as to disarm the ferocity of barbarians, 
 and conduct the establishment of their commonwealth without 
 violence and bloodshed. But if they were involved in numerous 
 wars, it was the singular and honorable characteristic of them all, 
 that they were invariably the offspring of self-defence against the 
 unprovoked malevolence of their adversaries, and that not one 
 of them was undertaken from motives of conquest or plunder. 
 Though they considered these wars as necessary and justifiable, 
 they sincerely deplored them ; and more than once the most dis 
 tressing doubts were expressed, at the close of these hostilities, if 
 it were lawful for Christians to press even the right of self-defence 
 to such fatal extremity. They behaved to the Indian tribes with 
 as much good faith and justice as they could have shown to a 
 powerful and civilized people, and were incited, by the manifest 
 inferiority of those savage neighbors, to no other acts than a series 
 of magnanimous and lawful endeavors to instruct their ignorance 
 and improve their condition. 
 
 The histories that were now published were the compositions 
 of the friends, associates and successors of the original colonists, 
 and written with an energy of just encomium, that elevated every 
 man's ideas of his ancestors and his country, and of the duties 
 which arose from these natural or patriotic relations, and excited 
 universally a generous sympathy with the characters and senti 
 ments of the fathers of New England. The writers, nevertheless, 
 were too conscientious, and too enlightened, to confound the 
 virtues with the defects of the character they described; and 
 while they dwelt apologetically upon the causes by which perse 
 cution had been provoked, they lamented the infirmity that 
 (under any degree of provocation) had betrayed good men into 
 conduct so oppressive and unchristian. 
 
 These representations could not fail to produce a beneficial 
 effect upon the people of New England. They saw that the 
 glory of their native land was associated with principles that 
 could never coalesce with or sanction intolerance ; and that every 
 instance of persecution with which their annals were stained, 
 
LITERATURE IN NEW ENGLAND. 473 
 
 was a dereliction of those principles, and an impeachment of their 
 country's claims to the admiration of mankind. Inspired with 
 the warmest attachment to the memory, and the highest respect 
 for the virtues of their ancestors, they were forcibly admonished, 
 by the errors into which they had fallen, to suspect and repress in 
 themselves those infirmities from which even virtues of so high 
 an order had been found to aiford no exemption. From this time 
 the religious zeal of the people of New England was no longer 
 perverted by intolerance, or disgraced by persecution; and the 
 influence of Christianity, in mitigating enmity and promoting 
 kindness and indulgence, derived a freer scope from the growing 
 conviction, that the principles of the gospel were utterly irrecon 
 cilable with violence and severity ; and that, revealing to every 
 man his own infirmity much more clearly than that of any other 
 human being, they were equally adverse to confidence in himself 
 and to condemnation of others. Cotton Mather, who recorded 
 and reproved the errors of the first colonists, lived to witness the 
 success of his monitory representations, in the charity and liber 
 ality of their descendants. 
 
 New England, having been colonized by men not less eminent 
 for learning than piety, was distinguished, at an early period, by 
 the labors of her scholars, and the dedication of her literature to 
 the nurture of religious sentiment and principle. The theological 
 works of John Cotton, Hooker, the Mathers, and other New Eng 
 land divines, have always enjoyed a high degree of esteem and 
 popularity, not only in New England but in every protestant 
 country of Europe. The annals of the various states, and the 
 biography of their founders, were written by cotemporary histo 
 rians with a minuteness which was very agreeable and interest 
 ing to the first generation of their readers, and to which the 
 writers were prompted, in some measure at least, by the conviction 
 they entertained that their country had been honored with the 
 signal favor and especial guidance and direction of Divine Prov 
 idence. This conviction, while it naturally betrayed those writers 
 into the fault of prolixity, enforced by the strongest sanctions the 
 accuracy and fidelity of their narrations. Recording what they 
 considered the special dealings of God with a people peculiarly 
 his own, they presumed not to disguise the infirmities of their 
 countrymen; nor to magnify the Divine grace in the infusion 
 of human virtues, above the Divine patience in enduring human 
 frailty and imperfection. Nay, the errors and failings of the 
 illustrious men, whose lives they related, gave additional weight 
 to the impression, which above all they desired to convey, that 
 the colonization of New England was an extraordinary work of 
 40* H3 
 
t 
 
 474 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Heaven ; that the counsel and virtue by which it had been con 
 ducted and achieved were not of human origin; arid that the 
 glory of God had been displayed, no less in imparting the strength 
 and wisdom, than in controlling the weakness and perversity of 
 the instruments which he condescended to employ. The most 
 considerable of these historical works is the Magnalia Christi 
 Americana, or history of New England, by Cotton Mather. Of 
 this work the arrangement is exceedingly faulty ; and its vast 
 bulk must continue to render its exterior somewhat repulsive to 
 modern readers. The continuity of the narrative is frequently 
 broken by the introduction of long discourses, epistles, and theo 
 logical reflections and dissertations ; biography is intermixed with 
 history ; and events of local or temporary interest are related with 
 tedious superfluity of detail. It is not so properly a single or 
 continuous historical narration, as a collection of separate works, 
 illustrative of the various scenes of New England history, under 
 the heads of Remarkable Providences Remarkable Trials, and 
 numberless other subdivisions. A plentiful intermixture of puns, 
 anagrams and other barbarous conceits, exemplifies a peculiarity, 
 the offspring partly of bad taste, and partly of superstition, 
 which was very prevalent among the prose writers, and especially 
 the theologians of that age. Notwithstanding these defects, the 
 work will amply repay the labor of every reader. The biograph 
 ical portions, in particular, possess the highest excellence. Cotton 
 Mather was the author of a great many other works, some of 
 which have been highly popular and eminently useful. One of 
 them bears the title of Essays to do Good, and contains a lively 
 and forcible representation, conveyed with more brevity than 
 the author usually exemplifies, of the opportunities which every 
 rank and every relation of human life will present to a devout 
 mind of promoting the glory of God and the good of mankind. 
 Dr. Franklin, in the latter years of his active and useful life, 
 declared that all the good he had ever done for his country or his 
 fellow-creatures must be ascribed to the impressions produced on 
 his mind by perusing that little work in his youth. History and 
 divinity were the chief but not the only subjects which exercised 
 the labors of the scholars of New England. John Sherman, an 
 eminent puritan divine, who was one of the first emigrants from 
 Britain to Massachusetts, where he died in 1685, ^obtained a high. 
 and just renown as a mathematician and astronomer. He left at 
 his death, a large manuscript collection of astronomical calcula 
 tions; and for several years published an almanac, which was 
 interspersed with pious reflections and admonitions. 
 
NEW ENGI AND AT THE CLOSE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 475 
 
 A traveller who visited Boston in 1686, mentions a number of 
 booksellers there who had already made fortunes by their trade. 
 The learned and ingenious author of the History of Printing in 
 America, has given a catalogue of the works published by the 
 first New England printers, in the seventeenth century. Consid 
 ering the circumstances and numbers of the people, the catalogue 
 is amazingly copious. One of the printers of that age was an 
 Indian, the son of one of the first Indian converts. 
 
 The education and habits of the people of New England prepared 
 them to receive the full force of those impressions which their 
 national literature was fitted to produce. In no country have 
 the benefits of education been more highly prized or more generally 
 diffused. Institutions for the education of youth were coeval with 
 the foundation of the first provincial community, and were pro 
 pagated with every accession to the population and every exten 
 sion of the settlements. Education was facilitated in New England 
 by the peculiar manner in which its colonization was conducted. 
 In many other parts of America the planters dispersed themselves 
 over the face of the country ; each residing on his own farm, and 
 in choosing the spot where his house was to be placed, guided 
 merely by considerations of agricultural convenience. The ad 
 vantages resulting from this mode of inhabitation, were gained at 
 the expense of such dispersion of dwellings as obstructed the 
 erection of churches and schools, and the enjoyment of social 
 intercourse. But the colonization of New England was conducted 
 in a manner much more favorable to the improvement of human 
 character and manners. 
 
 Perhaps no country in the world was "ever more distinguished 
 than New England was at this time for the general prevalence of 
 those sentiments and habits that render communities respectable 
 and happy. Sobriety and industry pervaded all classes of the 
 inhabitants. The laws against immoralities of every description 
 were extremely strict, and not less strictly executed; and being 
 cordially supported by public opinion, they were able to render 
 every vicious and profligate excess alike dangerous and discredit 
 able to the perpetrator. We are assured, by a well informed 
 writer, that at this period there was not a single beggar in all 
 New England ; and a gentleman of unquestioned veracity, who 
 had resided there seven years, declared that, during all that period, 
 he had never heard a profane oath, nor witnessed an instance of 
 inebriety. Labor was so valuable, land so cheap, and the elective 
 franchise so widely extended, that every industrious man might 
 acquire a stake in the soil, and a voice in the civil administration 
 of his country. The general diffusion of education caused the 
 
476 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 national advantages, which were vigorously improved, to be 
 justly appreciated ; and a steady and ardent patriotism knit the 
 hearts of the people to each other and to their country. 
 
 The state of society in New England, the circumstances and 
 habits of the people, tended to form among their leading men a 
 character more solid than brilliant, not, as some have imagined, 
 to discourage the cultivation or exercise of talent, but to repress 
 its idle display, and train it to its legitimate and respectable end, 
 of giving efficacy to wisdom, prudence and virtue. Yet this 
 state of society was by no means inconsistent either with polite 
 ness of manners or with innocent hilarity. Lord Bellamont was 
 agreeably surprised with the graceful and courteous demeanor of 
 the gentlemen and clergy of Connecticut, and confessed that he 
 found the aspect and address, which he had thought peculiar to 
 nobility, in a land where this aristocratical distinction was un 
 known. From Dunton's account of his residence in Boston, 
 1686, it appears that the inhabitants of Massachusetts were at 
 that time distinguished in a very high degree by their cheerful 
 vivacity, their hospitality and courtesy. 
 
CHAPTER L. 
 
 Indian wars in the south. The Tuscaroras. Plot againsi te Ttfffl Carolina 
 settlers. Massacre at Roanoke. BarnwelVs expedition. Influence of the French 
 and Spaniards in exciting Indian hostilities. Characteristics of Indian warfare. 
 Conspiracy of the Yamassees. Attack on the colony of South Carolina. 
 Defeat of the Yamassees and their expulsion into Florida. 
 
 Massacre at Roanoke. 
 
 IN the year 1712, the Tuscarora Indians in North Carolina, 
 alarmed at the increasing population of the whites, formed a plan 
 for cutting them off by a general and instantaneous massacre. 
 Twelve hundred bow-men were concerned in this horrid plot. All 
 of them had agreed to begin their murderous operations on the same 
 night. When that night came, they entered the planters' houses ; 
 demanded provisions, affected to be displeased with them, and 
 then murdered men, women and children, without mercy or dis 
 tinction. To prevent the alarm spreading through the settlement, 
 they ran from house to house, slaughtering the scattered families 
 wherever they went. None of the colonists, during that fatal 
 night, knew what had befallen their neighbors, until the assailants 
 reached their own doors. 
 
 The destruction at Roanoke was great. One hundred and 
 thirty-seven of the settlers were put to death in a few hours. 
 
478 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 These who escaped were collected together, and guarded by 
 the militia, until assistance was received from their neighbors. 
 Colonel Barnwell, of South Carolina, was detached with six hun 
 dred militia and three hundred and sixty-six Indians, to their relief. 
 He had to march through an intermediate wilderness of two hun 
 dred miles. On his arrival he attacked the Indians of North 
 Carolina with great resolution and success. Of them three hun 
 dred were killed and one hundred taken prisoners. The survivors 
 sued for peace ; but many of them abandoned the country, and 
 uniting with the five nations, made the sixth of that confederacy. 
 These several Indian wars seem to have been systematic attempts 
 of the aborigines to rid their country of the new comers. The 
 rapidly increasing population, and regular encroachments of the 
 latter on the* former, gave a serious alarm to the ancient lords of 
 the soil, who discovered, when it was too late, that their destruc 
 tion was likely to result from their having too readily permitted 
 strangers to take possession of their lands. These and other less 
 important wars were purely Indian; but, from about the year 
 1690, the Indians, in addition to private and personal sources of 
 contention, were stirred up to hostilities against their white neigh 
 bors, by the French and Spaniards, whose colonies were con 
 tiguous. The morality of civilized Christian kings did not 
 restrain them from employing the heathen savages of the wilder 
 ness to harass and destroy the settlements and Christian subjects; 
 of each other. 
 
 The particulars of the early Indian wars have already been 
 given sufficiently in detail. A general view of the subject may 
 now be proper. These wars took place, more or less, along the 
 whole western frontier of the colonies, from New Hampshire to 
 Georgia, and from the year 1690, to the peace of Paris, 1763. 
 Through that wide range, and for that long period of seventy-three 
 years, with occasional intermissions, Indian hostilities, fomented by 
 the French at the north and the Spaniards in the south, disturbed 
 the peace and stinted the growth of the English colonies. The 
 mode in which these wars were waged was very different from 
 that usual among civilized nations. The Indians were seldom or 
 never seen before they did execution. They appeared not in the 
 open field, but achieved their exploits by surprise, chiefly in the 
 morning, keeping themselves hid behind logs aud bushes, near 
 the paths in the woods, or the fences contiguous to the doors of 
 houses. Their lurking holes could be known only by the report 
 of their guns. They rarely assaulted a house, unless they knew 
 there would be little resistance. It has been afterwards known 
 that they had lain in ambush for days together, watching the 
 
INDIAN WARS. 479 
 
 motions of the people at their work, without daring to discover 
 themselves. 
 
 Their cruelty was chiefly exercised upon children and such 
 aged, infirm, or corpulent persons, as could not bear the hardships 
 of a journey through the wilderness. If they took a woman far 
 advanced in pregnancy, their knives were plunged into her 
 bowels. An infant, when it became troublesome, had its brains 
 dashed out against the next tree or stone. Sometimes, to torment 
 the wretched mother, they would whip and beat the child till 
 almost dead, and then throw it to her, to comfort and quiet it. 
 If the mother could not readily still its crying, the hatchet was 
 buried in its skull. A prisoner, wearied with his burden, was 
 often despatched the same way. If a captive appeared sad 
 and dojected, he was sure to meet with insult ; but if he could 
 sing, and dance, and laugh with his masters, he was caressed 
 as a brother. 
 
 Famine was a common attendant on these captivities. The 
 Indians, when they caught any game, devoured it all at one 
 sitting; and then, girding themselves round the waist, travelled 
 without sustenance, till chance threw more in their way. The 
 captives, unused to such canine repasts and abstinences, could not 
 support the surfeit of the one nor the craving of the other. The 
 obvious hardships of travelling, half naked and barefoot, through 
 pathless deserts, over craggy mountains, and deep swamps, 
 through frost, rain and snows; exposed by day and night to 
 the inclemency of the weather, and in summer to the venomous 
 stings of those numberless insects with which the woods abound ; 
 the restless anxiety of mind, the retrospect of past scenes of 
 pleasure, and the daily apprehension of death, either by famine 
 or the savage enemy, were a few of the horrors of an Indian 
 captivity. 
 
 On the other hand, there have been instances of justice, gener 
 osity and tenderness, during these wars, which would have done 
 honor to a civilized people. A kindness shown to an Indian was 
 remembered as long as an injury. They would sometimes carry 
 children on their arms and shoulders ; feed their prisoners with 
 the best of their provisions; and pinch themselves rather than 
 that their captives should want food. When sick or wounded, 
 they would afford them comfort and means for their recovery. 
 But the most favorable circumstance in an Indian captivity, 
 was their decent behavior to women. There is no evidence 
 that any woman who fell into their hands was ever treated with 
 the least immodesty; but testimonies to the contrary are very 
 frequent. Whatever may be the cause, the fact is certain; and 
 
480 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 it was a most happy circumstance for female captives, that, amid 
 all their distresses, they had no reason to fear from a savage foe 
 the perpetration of a crime which has too frequently disgraced, 
 not only the personal, but national character of those who make 
 large pretensions to civilization and humanity. 
 
 In the war between France and England, from 1690 to 1697, 
 the French, who were then proprietors of Canada, instigated the 
 Indians to hostilities against the English colonists. Such of 
 the latter as inhabited the eastern part of New England, were 
 severely harassed, and many of them were killed. Similar events 
 took place in the war between the same European powers, which 
 began in 1702, and ended in 1713. Excited by similar influ 
 ences, a more extensive and mischievous warfare was carried on 
 between the Indians and the inhabitants of the middle colonies, 
 in the war between the same powers which ended in 1763. 
 Hitherto, Indian excursions had proceeded from Canada, and 
 were directed against the frontier settlers of New York or New 
 England ; but from the year 1754, when the French established 
 themselves at Fort Duquesne, on the Ohio, parties of French and 
 Indians, advancing from that post, carried havoc and desolation, 
 for four years, over the western settlements of the middle colonies, 
 to the extent of many hundred miles, and to so great a degree, 
 that Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, Fredericktown, in Maryland, and 
 the Blue Ridge, in Virginia, were, in the year 1756, exposed as a 
 frontier. 
 
 The distresses of the inhabitants exceeded all description. If 
 they went into stockade forts, they suffered from want of pro 
 visions, were often surrounded and sometimes cut off. By fleeing, 
 they abandoned the conveniences of home and the means of sup 
 port. If they continued on their farms, they lay down every 
 night under the apprehension of being murdered before morning. 
 But this was not the worst. Captivity and torture were fre 
 quently their portion. To all these evils, women, aged persons, 
 and children, were equally liable with men in arms, for savages 
 make no distinction. Extermination is their object. The settle 
 ments in advance were abandoned, broken up, or drenched in 
 blood, from the repeated and sudden incursions of light parties of 
 Indians, headed by Frenchmen, who, after perpetrating extensive 
 mischief in a few days, saved themselves by rapidly retreating to 
 the Ohio. 
 
 A similar policy, on a smaller scale, had influenced the 
 Spaniards, while they possessed Florida ; from which they excited 
 the neighboring Indians to harass the most southern colonies. 
 
 In the year 1715, the Yamassees, a numerous and powerful tribe 
 
INDIAN WARS. 
 
 481 
 
 of Indians, inhabiting a considerable territory on the northeast 
 side of Savannah river, then and now known by the name of 
 Indian land, formed, under Spanish influence, a general conspi 
 racy ; in which every Indian tribe, from Florida to Cape Fear 
 river, was said to have joined. The object was the extermination 
 of the English settlements. On the 15th of April, at the dawn of 
 day, the Indians fell on the defenceless settlers, unapprehensive 
 of danger, and in a few hours massacred above ninety persons in 
 Pocotaligo. One man escaped to Port Royal, and alarmed the 
 town. The inhabitants of it generally fled to Charleston. While 
 the Yamassees were laying waste the southern frontiers of Caro 
 lina, other tribes from the northward were perpetrating similar 
 devastations in that quarter. The southern division of the 
 enemy consisted, by computation, of six thousand bow-men; 
 and the northern between six hundred and a thousand. The 
 planters, thus taken by surprise, were so dispersed, that they 
 could not assemble together, nor act in concert. They mostly 
 fled to Charleston. The intelligence they brought, magnified the 
 danger, so as to induce doubts of the safety even of the capital ; 
 for at that time it contained on the muster-roll, no more than 
 twelve hundred men fit to bear arms. A party of four hundred 
 [ndians came to Goose Creek, about twenty miles from Charles 
 ton. Every family there had fled to town, with the exception of 
 seventy white men and forty negroes, who, having surrounded 
 themselves with a slight breastwork, resolved on defence. After 
 they had resisted for some time, they incautiously agreed to terms 
 of peace. The faithless savages, being admitted within their 
 works, butchered the garrison. 
 
 The invaders spread destruction through the parish of St. 
 Bartholomew, and advancing as far as Stono, burned the church, 
 and every house on the plantations, by the way. Similar ravages 
 were committed in several other places. In this time of general 
 calamity, Governor Craven, of South Carolina, acted with spirit. 
 He proclaimed martial law, laid an embargo on all vessels in the 
 harbor, and marched out of town at the head of the militia, to 
 attack the Yamassee invaders. He guarded himself against their 
 mode of fighting from thickets and from behind trees ; and took 
 every precaution to prevent a surprise. He knew full well that 
 his followers must either conquer, or die most probably by torture. 
 The fate of the province depended on the success of his arms. 
 The event of the expedition would decide whether Carolina 
 should remain a British province, or be annexed to Florida, in 
 the occupation of the aborigines. There was no back country 
 then settled with friendly white inhabitants, to whom the settlers 
 
482 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 might fly for refuge, or from whom they might look for relief. 
 Virginia was the nearest place from which effectual aid could be 
 expected. 
 
 As Governor Craven marched through the country, straggling 
 parties of the Indians fled before him, till he reached Saltcatchers, 
 where they had pitched their camp. Here a sharp and bloody 
 contest took place. The Indians fought from behind trees and 
 bushes, alternately retreating and returning to the charge. The 
 militia, with the governor at their head, kept close to the enemy, 
 improved every advantage, and drove them from their lurking- 
 places. The pursuit was continued till the invaders were expelled 
 from Carolina, and forced to retreat over Savannah river. The 
 number of the militia lost in ttyis expedition, or of the Indians 
 killed therein, is .not known ; but, in the course of the war, four 
 hundred of the inhabitants of Carolina were murdered by the 
 invading savages. 
 
 The Yamassees, after their defeat and expulsion from Carolina, 
 went directly to the Spanish garrison at St. Augustine, where they 
 were received with so much hospitality and kindness, and had 
 such ample encouragement given them to settle in Florida, as 
 confirmed the suspicions previously entertained, that their late 
 conspiracy was contrived by Spaniards, and carried on by their 
 encouragement. 
 
 Thus, in almost every period anterior to the revolution, there 
 were occasional hostilities, and a constant expectation of them 
 kept up between the white settlers and the Indians. The arms 
 of the colonists were not suffered to rust. This state of things 
 excited anxiety, but at the same time promoted alertness. Re 
 moved, as the colonists were, from the military scenes of Europe, 
 in case of permanent domestic tranquillity, they would have been 
 indifferently prepared for the revolutionary contest. In their 
 wars with the Indians, the colonists were taught their first 
 military lessons; but before they had completed the infantile 
 period of their political existence, they had ample means of 
 instruction. 
 
 In the hundred and fifty-six years which intervened between 
 the first English settlement in North America, and the complete 
 expulsion of the French from it, there were constant bickerings 
 between their respective colonies, and frequent wars between the 
 parent nations. As far as territorial rights depended on prior 
 discovery, the English had the advantage; but as far as they 
 flowed from occupancy, the French were in some respects supe 
 rior, and in all nearly equal. The settlement of Jamestown and 
 Quebec, the first capitals of both, are so nearly contemporary as 
 
INDIAN WARS. 
 
 483 
 
 to be within fifteen months of each other. Six years had not 
 elapsed from the first settlement of either, when hostilities com 
 menced in the New World, between the two rival nations of the 
 Old, whose wars, for centuries, had furnished nearly half the 
 materials for the history of Europe. 
 
CHAPTER LI. 
 
 Progress of the French settlements. Review of the policy of the French and 
 English. The Jive nations invade Canada, and sack Montreal.^ Plans of the 
 English for the invasion of Canada. Peace of Ryswir.k. Mutual restoration 
 of conquests. Indian war in New Hampshire. LoveweWs fight. End of the 
 savage hostilities in New Hampshire. 
 
 LovervelVs Fight. 
 
 THE French, restored to all their claims on the northern part of 
 the American continent, proceeded with spirit in making settle 
 ments. To the aborigines they paid particular attention, and 
 were successful, beyond all others, in securing their affections. 
 While Englishmen generally kept at a distance from the sons of 
 the forest, Frenchmen, by conforming to their customs, inter 
 marrying with them, and coinciding with their views, obtained 
 an astonishing ascendency over their untutored minds. Peace 
 was of short duration between these nations, whose interests so 
 materially clashed; for each wished to be the predominant power 
 in North America. Wars succeeded wars, as will be more par 
 ticularly related, and treaties succeeded treaties ; but nothing was 
 accomplished which tended to peace. After years of hostilities, 
 the losses on both sides exceeded the profits. Neither had such a 
 decided superiority, as to give the law to the other; arid the 
 
FRENCH EXPEDITION AGAINST NEW YORK. 485 
 
 general termination of their wars was a reciprocal restitution of 
 conquests. In these unprofitable contests, the colonies of both 
 nations, as appendages to their respective parent states, followed as 
 they were led, and partook in the follies, losses and expenses of the 
 countries from which they respectively sprung. If the French 
 power had never been revived after its prostration, at tht end of 
 the 17th century, the colonies would have had little necessity foil 
 keeping on their armor. They would have known nothing of 
 the mechanism of armies, or of the modes which experience has 
 proved to be best adapted for drawing forth, organizing and sup 
 porting the yeomanry of their country, for military purposes ; but 
 in consequence of the treaty of Utrecht, the English colonists, in 
 contending with their French neighbors, had sufficient experience 
 of war to be alert in their own defence ; and yet were not so 
 much nor so often involved as to be materially stinted in their 
 growth. They were thus, by the wars of Europeans carried on 
 in America, prepared for the great revolutionary contest for inde 
 pendence. A review of these early colonial contests requires our 
 next attention. 
 
 In the war between France and England, which, after several 
 years' continuance, ended in 1697, the conquest of New York and 
 of Boston on the one side, and of Quebec and of Canada on 
 the other, were projected. Neither succeeded, though repeated 
 attempts were made by both parties to accomplish their wishes. 
 In the year 1688, a French fleet sailed from Rochefort, which, 
 with the aid of land forces, destined to march from Canada, was 
 intended for the attack of New York. While this expedition was 
 preparing, the Five Nations of Indians suddenly landed twelve 
 hundred men on the island of Montreal, and killed one thousand 
 of the French inhabitants, who thought themselves perfectly 
 secure These Indians continued their incursions into Canada, 
 with such horrid effect, that many of the inhabitants were killed : 
 and a scarcity ensued, from the inability of the survivors to cul 
 tivate their fields. This state of things saved New York from an 
 attack in preparation, for which considerable progress had been 
 made. These incursions into Canada, by the Indians attached to 
 the British interest, were severely retaliated, by parties of Indians 
 and French penetrating from Canada into the English settle 
 ments. One of these, after a tedious march through an uninhab 
 ited country, covered with snow, arrived, in February, 1690, about 
 midnight, at the village of Schenectady, near Albany. The 
 invaders, dividing themselves into small parties, invested every 
 house at the same time. While the inhabitants were asleep, 
 without any apprehension of danger, their doors were suddenly 
 
486 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 forced open, and an indiscriminate massacre commenced. Sixty- 
 seven persons were put to death, and twenty -seven were taken 
 prisoners. The rest fled naked through deep snow to Albany. 
 Of these, twenty-five lost their limbs, from the effects of cold. 
 
 Similar bloody excursions, often repeated, induced a general 
 eagerness among the contiguous colonies to effect the conquest of 
 Canada, which they considered as the source from which all the 
 evils of Indian warfare originated. Commissioners from these 
 colonies met at New York, and fixed on a plan of operations for 
 that purpose. A fleet of thirty-five vessels, as has been already 
 related in the history of New England, commanded by Sir 
 William Phipps, sailed from Nantasket for Quebec, on the 19th 
 of August, 1692. This fleet was to be assisted by eight hundred 
 and fifty men, who .were to march, by the way of Lake Champlain, 
 from Connecticut and New York, to Montreal. The fleet arrived 
 before Quebec, in October, when it was too late to do anything, 
 otherwise than by an immediate assault, to which their force was 
 unequal. The land army, after advancing to the lake, was 
 obliged to retreat, from the want of canoes and provisions. The 
 projected invasion was frustrated, because there was no common 
 superintending power, to give union and system to the plan of 
 combined attack. 
 
 King William, after earnest solicitation, determined to aid 
 Massachusetts in accomplishing the object of her wishes. The 
 plan was to send a British fleet and army, to reduce Martinique, 
 afterwards to proceed to Boston, and cooperate with the forces of 
 Massachusetts in the reduction of Canada. By the llth of June, 
 when the British fleet and army had reached Boston, from the 
 West Indies, they were so reduced by the disease common to that 
 tropical climate, that thirteen hundred, out of twenty-one hundred 
 soldiers, were buried. The enterprise against Canada, was, there 
 fore, from necessity, deferred. In 1696, the invasion and conquest 
 of Canada was again contemplated by Massachusetts, and the 
 assistance of England again solicited. In the same year, the 
 French formed an expedition against Boston; but both projects 
 proved abortive. 
 
 The peace of Ryswick, in 1697, for the present composed these 
 contentions ; but was very far from extinguishing the eagerness 
 of either power fcfr enlarging their possessions in the^New World. 
 By this peace, France and England reciprocally agreecf to restore to 
 each other all conquests made during the contest. Nothing being 
 settled as to the boundaries of their American territories, war soon 
 recommenced. Indian incursions into the New England colonies, 
 immediately followed. These r as usual, excited a general wish 
 
WARS WITH THE INDIANS. 487 
 
 for the conquest of Canada. An address to Queen Anne, request 
 ing her to aid an expedition for that purpose, was voted by the 
 general court of Massachusetts in 1708. This was well received, 
 and expeditions were projected, in the years 1709, 1710 and 1711, 
 for the reduction of Canada, and other adjacent French posses 
 sions; but, from the difficulty of concert in combined operations 
 between sea and land forces from England, and troops to be 
 raised by distinct American legislatures, together with bad weather 
 and a hazardous coast, nothing more was effected than the reduc 
 tion of Port Royal, in Nova Scotia, or Annapolis, as it was after 
 wards called. 
 
 In 1722, a war broke out between the Indians and the people 
 of New Hampshire. The French Jesuits had established them 
 selves among the savages in this quarter, and their pompous and 
 imposing religious ceremonies had made a much stronger impres 
 sion upon them than the simple form of worship usual among the 
 Congregationalists of New England. The Indians had a Catholic 
 church at Penobscot and another at Norridgewock, where a Jesuit, 
 named Sebastian Ralle, resided. He was a man of talents, learn 
 ing and address, and had obtained a strong influence over the 
 savage tribe. With this man the governor of Canada held a 
 close correspondence, and by his means the Indians were encour 
 aged in their hostilities against the New England settlers. At 
 the first appearance of war, a party of English marched to 
 Norridgewock, to seize Ralle, as he was well known to be the 
 
488 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 instigator of these troubles. The Jesuit escaped, hut his papers 
 were taken, which disclosed the whole of his intrigues. 
 
 The next year the Indians attacked the English settlements. 
 Dover and several other places were burnt, and many persons 
 massacred. Several companies of men were raised among the 
 frontier settlements, for the defence of the country. One of 
 these volunteer companies, under the command of Captain John 
 Lovewell, of Dunstable, was greatly distinguished, first by their 
 success, and afterwards by their misfortunes. This company 
 consisted of thirty men. On their first excursion to the northward 
 of Winnipiseogee Lake, they discovered an Indian wigwam, 
 in which were a man and a boy. They killed and scalped 
 the man, and brought the boy alive to Boston, where they 
 received the reward promised by law, and a handsome gra 
 tuity besides. 
 
 By this success, his company was augmented to seventy. 
 They marched again, and visiting the place where they had 
 killed the Indian, found his body as they had left it two months 
 before. Their provision falling short, thirty of them were dis 
 missed by lot, and returned. The remaining forty continued 
 their march, till they discovered a track which they followed. 
 They saw a smoke just before sunset, by which they judged that 
 the enemy were encamped for the night They kept themselves 
 concealed till after midnight, when they silently advanced, and 
 discovered ten Indians asleep around a fire, by the side of a frozen 
 pond. Lovewell determined to make sure work ; and placing his 
 men conveniently, ordered part of them to fire, five at a time, as 
 quick after each other as possible, and another part to reserve 
 their fire. He gave the signal by firing his own gun, which 
 killed two of the Indians. The men firing, according to order, 
 killed five more on the spot. Two of the other three, as they 
 started up from their sleep, were instantly shot dead by the 
 reserve. The other, though wounded, attempted to escape, by 
 crossing the pond ; but was seized by a dog, and held fast, till 
 they killed him. Thus, in a few minutes, the whole company 
 was destroyed, and an attempt against the frontiers of New 
 Hampshire prevented. These Indians were marching from 
 Canada, well furnished with guns and ammunition. They had 
 also a number of spare blankets, moccasins, and snow shoes, 
 for the accommodation of the prisoners whom they expected to 
 take. The pond, where this exploit was performed, has since 
 been called Love well's pond. 
 
 This company, with the ten scalps stretched upon hoops, 
 and elevated on poles, entered Dover in triumph, and proceeded 
 
WARS WITH THE INDIANS. 489 
 
 / 
 
 thence to Boston, where they received from the public treasury, 
 the bounty of one hundred pounds for each. 
 
 Encouraged by this success, Lovewell marched, in April, 1725, 
 intending to attack the village of Pigwacket. His company at 
 that time consisted of forty-six, including a chaplain and surgeon. 
 They halted, and built a stockade fort, for a place of retreat in 
 case of misfortune. Here the surgeon was left with a sick man, 
 and eight of the company for a guard. The number was now 
 reduced to thirty-four. These advanced to the northward, and 
 were attacked about ten o'clock. Captain Lovewell and eight 
 more were killed. Several of the Indians fell ; but, being supe 
 rior in number they endeavored to surround the party; who, 
 perceiving their intention, retreated, hoping to be sheltered by a 
 point of rocks. In this forlorn place, they took their station. 
 On their right was the mouth of a brook, at that time unfordable ; 
 on their left was the rocky point ; their front was partly covered 
 by a deep bog, and partly uncovered ; and the pond was in their 
 rear. The enemy galled them in front and flank, and had them 
 so completely in their power, that if they had improved their 
 advantage, the whole company must either have been killed, or 
 obliged to surrender at discretion ; for they were destitute of pro 
 visions, and their escape was impracticable. Under the conduct 
 of Lieutenant Wyman, they kept up their fire, and showed a reso 
 lute countenance all the remainder of the day, during which their 
 chaplain, Jonathan Frie, Ensign Robbins, and one more were 
 mortally wounded. The Indians invited them to surrender, by 
 holding up ropes to them; and endeavored to intimidate them 
 by hideous yells ; but they determined to die rather than yield ; 
 and by their well-directed fire, the number of the savages was 
 thinned, and their cries became fainter. Just before night they 
 quitted their advantageous ground. The shattered remnant of 
 this brave company, collecting themselves together, found three 
 of their number unable to remove from the spot ; eleven wounded 
 but able to march ; and nine who had received no hurt. It was 
 melancholy to leave their dying companions behind; but there 
 was no possibility of removing them. One of them, Ensign 
 Robbins, desired his associates to lay his gun by him, charged, 
 that if the Indians should return before his death, he might be 
 able to kill one more. After the rising of the moon, they quitted 
 the fatal spot, and directed their march towards the fort, where 
 the surgeon and guard had been left. To their great surprise, 
 they found it deserted. From this place, they endeavored to get 
 home. Lieutenant Farwell and the chaplain, who had the jour 
 nal of the march in his pocket, perished in the woods. The 
 
 J3 
 
490 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 others, after enduring the most severe hardships, came in, one 
 after another, and were not only received with joy, but recom 
 pensed for their valor and sufferings. A generous provision was 
 also made for the widows and children of the slain. 
 
 Colonel Tyng, with a company from Dunstable, went to the 
 spot ; and having found the bodies of the twelve, buried them, 
 and carved their names on the trees where the battle was fought. 
 
 This was one of the most fierce and obstinate battles which 
 had been fought with the Indians. They had not only the ad 
 vantage of numbers, but of placing themselves in ambush, and 
 of choosing with deliberation the moment of attack. These 
 circumstances gave them a degree of ardor and impetuosity. 
 The fall of Lovewell and of one quarter of his men in the first 
 onset, was discouraging ; but the survivors knew the situation to 
 which they were reduced, and that their distance from the fron 
 tier cut off all hope of safety from flight. In these circumstances, 
 prudence as well as valor dictated a continuance of the engage 
 ment ; and a refusal to surrender, until the enemy, awed by their 
 brave resistance, and weakened by their own loss, yielded them 
 the honor of the field. 
 
 The Indians shortly afterwards requested peace. In the mean 
 time, some of the enemy were disposed for further mischief. They 
 shot Benjamin Evans, wounded William Evans, and cut his 
 throat ; John Evans received a slight wound in the breast, which, 
 bleeding plentifully, deceived them. Thinking him dead, they 
 stripped and scalped him. He bore the painful operation without 
 discovering any signs of life. Though all the time in his perfect 
 senses, he continued the feigned appearance of death, till they 
 had turned him over and struck him several blows with their 
 guns, and left him for dead. After they were gone off, he rose 
 and walked naked and bloody towards the garrison; but on 
 meeting his friends by the way, he fell in a fainting fit on the 
 ground. Nevertheless, he recovered and survived fifty years. 
 
 This was the last effort of the Indians in New Hampshire. In 
 three months, the treaty which they desired was signed at Boston ; 
 and the next spring ratified at Falmouth. A peace was concluded 
 in the usual form, which was followed by restraining all private 
 traffic with the Indians, and establishing truck houses in conve 
 nient places, where they were supplied with the necessaries of life 
 on advantageous terms. 
 
CHAPTER LII. 
 
 Intercourse with the savage tribes. Renewal of hostilities with the Indiana and 
 French. The New England frontiers ravaged. Relaxation of the cruelty of 
 savage warfare. Assault and capture of St. Francis, by Major Rogers. Cap 
 ture oj Louisburgh, by the New England forces 
 
 Capture of Louisburgh. 
 
 THOUGH none of the other colonies of New England bore any 
 share in the expenses or calamities of the war, yet New Hamp 
 shire suffered less than in former conflicts. Their militia, at this 
 time, was completely trained for active service. Every man, of 
 forty years of age, had seen more than twenty years of war. 
 They had been used to handle their arms from the age of child 
 hood, and most of them, by long practice, were excellent marks 
 men and good hunters. They knew the lurking-places of the 
 enemy, and possessed a degree of hardiness and intrepidity, 
 which can be acquired only by familiarity with danger and 
 fatigue. They had also imbibed, from their infancy, a stiong 
 antipathy to the savages. This was strengthened, in time of war, 
 by their repeated acts of blood and desolation, and not obliterated 
 by the intercourse which they had with them in time of peace. 
 As the Indians frequently resorted to the frontier towns in time 
 of scarcity, it was common for them to visit the families whom 
 they had injured in time of war ; to recount the circumstances of 
 
492 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 death and torture which had been practised on their friends ; and 
 when provoked or intoxicated, to threaten a repetition of such 
 cruel deeds, in future wars. To bear such treatment required 
 more than ordinary patience. It is not improbable that secret mur 
 ders were sometimes the consequence of such harsh declarations. 
 Certain it is, that when any person was arrested for killing an 
 Indian, in time of peace, he was either forcibly rescued from the 
 hands of justice, or if brought to trial, invariably acquitted ; it 
 being often impossible to impannel a jury, some of whom had 
 not suffered by the Indians, either in their persons, families, or 
 property. 
 
 Twenty years of peace followed, in which the population and 
 settlements of New Hampshire were considerably extended. War 
 being declared by England against France, in 1744, an Indian 
 war with the contiguous English colonies followed in its train. 
 Defensive measures were adopted on the frontiers. Besides the 
 forts, which were maintained at the public expense, there were 
 private houses, enclosed with ramparts or palisades of timber, to 
 which the people who remained on the frontiers, retired. These 
 private garrisoned houses were distinguished by the names of the 
 owners. The danger to which the distressed people were con 
 stantly exposed, did not permit them to cultivate their lands to 
 any advantage. They were frequently alarmed when at labor in 
 their fields, and obliged to repel an attack, or make a retreat. 
 Their crops were often injured, and sometimes destroyed, either 
 by their cattle getting into the fields when the enemy had broken 
 the fences, or because they were afraid to venture out to collect 
 and secure the harvest. Their cattle and horses were frequently 
 killed by the enemy, who cut the flesh from the bones, and took 
 out the tongues, which they preserved for food by drying them in 
 smoke. Sometimes they were afraid even to milk their cows, 
 though they kept them in pastures as near as possible to the forts. 
 When they went abroad they were always armed ; but frequently 
 they were shut up, for weeks together, in a state of inactivity. 
 
 The history of a war on the frontiers can be little else than a 
 recital of the exploits, the sufferings, the escapes and deliverances 
 of individuals, of single families, or small parties. The first 
 appearance of the enemy on the western frontier, was at the 
 Great Meadow,, sixteen miles from fort Dummer. Two Indians 
 took William Phipps, as he was hoeing his corn. When they had 
 carried him half a mile, one of them went down a steep hill to 
 fetch something which had been left. In his absence, Phipps, 
 with his own hoe, knocked down the Indian who was with him, 
 then seizing his gun, shot the other as he ascended the hill. 
 
NEW ENGLAND INDIAN WARS. 493 
 
 Three others of the same party shortly after came up, and killed 
 him. The Indian whom he knocked down, died of his wound. 
 
 Throughout the summers of 1745 and 1746, the Indians were 
 scattered in small parties, on all the frontiers. They broke up 
 settlements, killed several individuals, and captured more, either 
 in their houses, or when going to mill, milking their cattle, or 
 working in the woods or fields. During this scene of devastation 
 and captivity, there were no instances of deliberate murder or 
 torture exercised on those who fell into the hands of the Indians. 
 Even the old custom of making the prisoners run the gauntlet, 
 was in most cases omitted. On the contrary, there is an univer 
 sal testimony from the captives who returned, in favor of the 
 humanity of their captors. When feeble, they assisted them in 
 travelling; and in cases of distress from want of provisions, 
 shared with them an equal proportion. 
 
 There was a striking difference between the manner in which 
 this war was conducted on the part of the English, and on the 
 part of the French. The latter kept out small parties, continually 
 engaged in killing, scalping and taking prisoners, who were sold 
 in Canada, and redeemed by their friends at great expense. By 
 this mode of conduct, the French made their enemies pay the 
 whole charge of their predatory excursions, besides reaping a 
 handsome profit to themselves. On the other hand, the English 
 attended only to the defence of the frontiers. No parties were 
 sent to harass the settlements of the French. If the whole coun 
 try of Canada could not be subdued, nothing less would be 
 attempted. Men were continually kept in pay, and in expectation 
 of service ; but they spent their time either in garrisons or camps, 
 or in guarding provisions. Though large rewards were promised 
 for scalps and prisoners, scarcely any were obtained, unless by 
 accident. The French encouraged and paid their Indians for 
 English scalps; but the English offered no premiums for the 
 scalps of Frenchmen or Canadians. 
 
 This war was not decisive, and the causes which kindled it 
 were not removed. One of its effects was peculiarly injurious. 
 It produced a class of men, who, having been for a time released 
 from laborious occupations, and devoted to the parade of military 
 life, did not readily obey the calls of industry. To such men 
 peace was burdensome ; and the more so because they had not 
 the advantage of half-pay. Short was the interval between this 
 arid the succeeding war. The peace took place in 17-19 ; and in 
 1754, there was a call to resume the sword. The time was now 
 come when a decisive war must settle the long pending controversy, 
 whether France or England should be the predominant power in 
 42 
 
494 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 North America. Hostilities had no sooner commenced between 
 France and England, in the western woods of Virginia, than the 
 Indians renewed their attack on the frontiers of New Hampshire. 
 In the summer of 1754, scenes, similar to those that have been 
 described, recommenced. In this war, especially the first year of 
 it, Canada was filled with prisoners, scalps and private plunder, 
 with public stores, and provisions ; much of which had been taken 
 from New Hampshire. 
 
 View on Lake Champlain. 
 
 When the British army had obtained a decided superiority over 
 the French, it was determined to chastise the Indians, who had 
 committed so many devastations. Major Robert Rogers, was 
 despatched from Crown Point, by General Amherst, in October, 
 1759, with about 200 rangers, to destroy the Indian village of St. 
 Francis. After a fatiguing march of twenty-one days, he came 
 within sight of the place, which he discovered from the top of a 
 tree. He halted his men at the distance of three miles ; and in the 
 evening, with two of his officers, entered the village in disguise. 
 The Indians were engaged in a grand dance, and he passed through 
 them undiscovered. Having formed his men into parties, and 
 posted them to advantage, he made a general assault just before 
 day, whilst the Indians were asleep. They were so completely 
 surprised, that little resistance could be made. Some were killed 
 in their houses j and of those who attempted to flee, many were 
 shot or tomahawked by parties placed at the avenues. The 
 dawn of day disclosed a horrid scene ; and an edge was given to 
 the fury of the assailants, by the sight of several hundred scalps 
 of their countrymen, elevated on poles and waving in the air. 
 This village had been enriched with the plunder of the frontiers, 
 
SEDUCTION OF LOUISBURG. 495 
 
 and the sale of the captives. The houses were well furnished, 
 and the church was adorned with plate. The suddenness of the 
 attack and the fear of a pursuit, did not allow much time for 
 pillage; hut the rangers brought off about two hundied guineas 
 in money ; a silver image weighing ten pounds ; a large quantity 
 of wampum and clothing. Having set fire to the village, Rogers 
 made his retreat. Of the rangers, one man only was killed, and 
 six were wounded. In their retreat, they were pursued and lost 
 seven men. They kept in a body for about ten days, and then 
 scattered. Some found their way to " Number Four," after hav 
 ing suffered much by hunger and fatigue. Others perished in the 
 woods, and their bones were found near Connecticut river, by the 
 people, who, after several years, began plantations at the upper 
 Cohos. 
 
 In the year 1745, a daring enterprise was projected in Boston 
 against Louisburg, a strong fortress belonging to the French, 
 on the island of Cape Breton. This was proposed by Shirley, 
 governor of Massachusetts, and approved by the general court 
 of that province. Louisburg was the Dunkirk of North America. 
 Five millions of dollars had been employed in its fortifications. 
 It was of great importance to France, and also to England, med 
 itating, as both did, the extension of their American possessions. 
 Upwards of five thousand men were raised in the New England 
 colonies, and put under the command of William Pepperell, a 
 respectable merchant in Massachusetts. This force arrived at 
 Canso early in April, 1745. A British marine force from the 
 West Indies, commanded by Commodore Warren, acted in concert 
 with these land forces. The siege was conducted with such spirit 
 and address, that, on the 17th of June, the fortress capitulated. 
 The reduction of Louisburg, by colonial troops, gave to European 
 powers enlarged ideas of the value of American possessions. The 
 war, henceforward, became more important. Great projects occu 
 pied the attention of the belligerent powers. The recovery of 
 Louisburg, the reduction of Nova Scotia, the total devastation of 
 the seacoast, and even the complete conquest of New England, 
 were contemplated by the French. With this view, a powerful 
 fleet, and an a1*my of three thousand men, under the command of 
 Duke d'Anville, sailed, in 1746, for the American coast. There 
 was no British fleet at hand to resist this force. The distress of 
 the colonies was great, and their apprehensions of danger were 
 excited to a high pitch, when Providence wrought their deliverance. 
 The French ships .were visited by such fatal sickness, that 
 thirteen hundred of their crew died at sea. Their whole fleet was 
 also dispersed by a violent tempest. Some of the ships were lost. 
 
496 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 and those which escaped, returned singly to France. The whole 
 expedition was defeated without the firing of a single gun. Great 
 Britain, not less sanguine, counted on the expulsion of the French 
 from the continent of America; and that Canada, with the 
 adjacent French possessions, would soon be British provinces. 
 Preparations were made for executing these gigantic projects: 
 but they came to nothing. No further important transaction 
 took place in America, till the war ended, by the peace of Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, in 1748. By this, it Was stipulated that all conquests 
 made during the war should be restored. The British colonists 
 had the mortification to see Louisburg returned to the French, 
 its former owners. 
 
 The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle left all controversies between 
 France and . England, on the subject of boundaries, undecided. 
 France continued in possession of Canada in the north, and the 
 Mississippi in the south ; and her settlements approximated each 
 other, by the extension of new establishments northerly, up the 
 Mississippi, and southwardly, down the lakes and the Ohio. In 
 this state of things disputes grew so naturally out of the manner 
 in which the country had been settled, that they could only be 
 adjusted by the sword, or by an accommodating policy, not 
 usual among kings. The claims of each stood on such plausi 
 ble grounds, as might have induced both nations to believe 
 they were right. The European powers having parcelled out 
 the American territory among themselves, on the idea that the 
 rights of the natives were of no account, could substitute no 
 claims of their own, but such as necessarily clashed with each 
 other. As they established the position that those who first dis 
 covered and took possession of any savage country, became its 
 rightful proprietors, the extent of the territory thus acquired by 
 discovery and possession, could not be exactly ascertained; for 
 only a small part of it could be reduced to actual occupation. 
 C'ontests accordingly arose among all the first settlers, respecting 
 the extent of their several possessions. 
 
CHAPTER LI11. 
 
 Claims of the French to the country on the Ohio. Progress of the English 
 settlements in this direction. Formation of the Ohio Company. The French 
 strengthen their frontiers. Washington's embassy to the Ohio. Hostilities on 
 tfa frontier. Campaign on the Great Meadows. The Albany plan of Union. 
 Expedition and defeat of Braddock. Campaign of Niagara. Expedition 
 against Crown Point. Oswego taken by the French. Campaign of 1758. 
 Reduction of Louisburg. Operations in Canada. Frontenac captured. The 
 French abandon Fort Du Quesne. Peace with the Ohio Indians. Success of 
 the British arms in Canada. Capture of Quebec by General Wolfe. General 
 character of the war in America. Policy and objects of the contending powers. 
 General result of the contest. 
 
 Washington's embassy to the Ohio. 
 
 THE English colonies, originally planted on the seacoast, 
 advanced westwardly, and their rights were supposed to extend 
 in that direction, across the continent from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific ocean. The French, possessing Canada in the north, and 
 the mouth of the Mississippi in the south, and stretching their 
 settlements from north to south, necessarily crossed those of the 
 English, extending from east to west. These interfering claims 
 gave to each a plausible title to the country ; and they were of 
 vast importance, inasmuch as they had relation to all that delight 
 ful region, which lies between the Allegany mountains and 
 42* K3 
 
498 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the Mississippi. Both, considering their respective rights as 
 vindicated by the new law of nations, rushed into a fierce and 
 bloody war, extending in its progress from the Ohio to the 
 Ganges, for lands which belonged to neither, and which, in twenty 
 years after the termination of hostilities, passed away, by com 
 mon Consent, from both ; and' were vested in a new power, vhose 
 national existence, by a mysterious Providence, grew out of their 
 contention. 
 
 This controversy about Ohio lands was by far the most impor 
 tant which had ever taken place on the North American continent. 
 The prize contended for was of immense value, and drew forth 
 the energies of both nations. The white population of the Eng 
 lish colonies was at that period about twenty for one of the 
 French, but the latter was united under a single military governor, 
 who could give an uniform direction to the physical force of the 
 country, which was under his sole command. The government 
 was military, and the people could be called into the field when 
 ever their service was required. The French also had great 
 influence over the Indians, and were uncommonly successful in 
 securing their affections. 
 
 The New England governments sometimes acted in concert; 
 but the other English colonies were in the habit of pursuing 
 different interests, under distinct legislatures, and being dispersed 
 over a large extent of territory, were, for the most part, unused to 
 military operations. Under these circumstances, two of the great 
 est powers in the Old World entered into bloody competition for 
 ascendency in the New. 
 
 The collision of the exclusive claims of France and England 
 in the same country, was accelerated in the following manner. 
 About the year 1749, George II. made a grant of six hundred 
 thousand acres of land in the neighborhood of the Ohio, to 
 certain persons in Westminster, London, and Virginia, who had 
 associated under the title of the Ohio Company. At this time 
 France was in possession of the country on both sides of the 
 mouth of the Mississippi, as well as of Canada, and wished to 
 form a communication between these two extremities of her terri 
 tories in North America. She was, therefore, alarmed at the 
 scheme in agitation by the Ohio Company, inasmuch as the land 
 granted to them lay between her northern and southern settle 
 ments. Remonstrances against the British encroachments, as 
 they were called, having been made in vain by the governor of 
 Canada, the French at length seized some British subjects, who 
 were trading among the Twightees, a nation of Indians near the 
 Ohio, as intruders on the land of his most Christian majesty, and 
 
sent them to a fort on the south side of lake Erie. The T wig h tees, 
 by way of retaliation for capturing British traders, whom they 
 deemed their allies, seized three French traders and sent them t^ 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 The French, persisting in their claims to the country on the 
 Ohio, as part of Canada, strengthened themselves by erecting 
 new forts in its vicinity, and at length began to seize and plunder 
 the British traders found on or near that river. Repeated com 
 plaints of these violences being made to the governor of Virginia, 
 it was at length determined to send a suitable person to the 
 French commandant near the Ohio, with a letter, to demand the 
 reason of his hostile proceedings, and to insist on his evacuating a 
 fort he had lately built. Major Washington, being then little more 
 than twenty-one years of age, offered his service, which was 
 accepted. The distance to the French settlements was more than 
 four hundred miles ; and one half the route led through a wilder 
 ness, inhabited only by Indians. He received his commission 
 October 31, 1753, and commenced his journey, with seven attend 
 ants. On the way his horses failed. He, nevertheless, proceeded on 
 foot, with a gun in his hand, and a pack on his back. On the 12th 
 of December, he found the French commandant at a fort on the 
 river Le Boeuf, and tendered to him Governor Dinwiddie's letter 
 of remonstrance. In a few days he received the commandant's 
 answer, and on his return, delivered it to Governor Dinwiddie, at 
 Williamsburg, about the middle of January, 1754. This answer 
 was of such a nature as induced the Virginia assembly to raise a 
 regiment, to support the claims of his Britannic majesty, ore* the 
 territory in dispute. Of this, Mr. Fry was appointed colonel, 
 and Washington lieutenant-colonel. The latter, in April, 1754, 
 advanced with two companies of the regiment as far as the 
 Great Meadows, and in this vicinity, came up with, and sur 
 prised, in the night, a party of Frenchmen, who were advanc 
 ing towards the English settlements. The commanding officer, 
 Mr. Jumonville, was killed ; one person escaped ; and all thd 
 rest surrendered. Shortly afterwards Colonel Fry died, and 
 Washington became commander of the regiment. He collected 
 the whole at Great Meadows, and was there joined by two inde 
 pendent companies. With this force, he erected a small stockade 
 fort, whicn was afterwards called Fort Necessity. A small gar 
 rison was left there ; and Colonel Washington advanced with 
 the main body to dislodge the French from Fort Du Quesne, which 
 they had recently erected at the confluence of the Monongahela 
 and Allegany rivers. On his way, he was informed by friendly 
 Indians, that the French had strongly reinforced Fort Du Quesne 
 
500 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 and were advancing in force towards the English settlements. A 
 council of war recommended a retreat to the Great Meadows ; 
 and to make a stand at a fort lately erected there. Shortly after 
 they reached that place, and hefore they had time to fortify them 
 selves, they were attacked by Monsieur de Villier, at the head of 
 a considerable force. Colonel Washington made a brave defence, 
 behind the small, unfinished work, called Fort Necessity ; but at 
 length surrendered on articles of capitulation, by which it was 
 agreed that the garrison should march out with the honors of 
 war, and be permitted to retain their arms and baggage, and to 
 march unmolested into the inhabited parts of Virginia. 
 
 From the eagerness discovered by both nations for these lands, 
 it occurred to all that a rupture between France and England 
 could not be far distant. It was also evident to the rulers of the 
 latter that the colonies would be the most convenient centre of 
 operation for repressing French encroachments. To draw forth 
 the colonial resources, in an uniform system of operations, became 
 an object of public attention. To digest a plan for this purpose, 
 a general meeting of the governors and most influential members 
 of the provincial assemblies was held at Albany. The commis 
 sioners at this congress were unanimously of opinion that an 
 union of the colonies was necessary, and they proposed a plan to 
 the following effect: "that a grand council should be formed of 
 members to be chosen by the provincial assemblies, which coun 
 cil, together with a governor, to be appointed by the crown, should 
 be authorized to make general laws, and also to raise money from 
 all the colonies for their common defence." The leading members 
 of the provincial assemblies were of opinion that, if this plan 
 were adopted, they could defend themselves from the French, 
 without any assistance from Great Britain. This plan, when 
 sent to England, was not acceptable to the ministry; and, in lieu 
 thereof, they proposed that the governors of all the colonies, 
 attended by one or two members of their respective councils, 
 which were, for the most part of royal appointment, should, from 
 time to time, concert measures for the whole colonies; erect forts, 
 and raise troops, with a power to draw upon the British treasury 
 in the first instance ; but to be ultimately reimbursed, by a tax to 
 be laid on the colonies by act of parliament. This was as much 
 disrelished by the coloni.-s as the former plan had been by the 
 British ministers. The principle of some general power, oper 
 ating on the w'lole of the colonies was still kept in mind, though 
 dropped for tin- present 
 
 The minist- il plan, laid down above, was transmitted to 
 Governor Shirley; and b}^ him communicated to Dr. Franklin, 
 
EXPEDITION AND DEFEAT OF BRADDOCK. 501 
 
 arid his opinion thereon requested. That sagacious patriot sent 
 to the governor an answer, in writing, with remarks upon the 
 proposed pian, in which, by his strong reasoning powers, on the 
 first view of the new subject, he anticipated the substance of a 
 controversy which, for twenty years, employed the tongues, pens 
 a nd swords of both countries. 
 
 The policy of repressing the encroachments of the French on 
 the British colonies was generally approved both in England and 
 America. It was, therefore, resolved to take effectual measures for 
 driving them from the Ohio, and also for reducing Niagara, Crown 
 Point and the other posts, which they held within the limits 
 claimed by the king of Great Britain. 
 
 To effect the first purpose, General Braddock was sent from 
 Ireland to Virginia, with two regiments ; and was there joined by 
 so many more as amounted in the whole to twenty-two hundred 
 men. He was a brave man, but destitute of the other qualifica 
 tions of a great officer. His haughtiness disgusted the Americans, 
 and his severity made him disagreeable to the regular troops. 
 He particularly slighted the country militia and the Virginia 
 officers. Colonel Washington, who acted as aide-de-camp to the 
 general, begged his permission to go before him, and scour the 
 woods with provincial troops, who were well acquainted with 
 that service; but this was refused. The general, with twelve 
 hundred men, pushed on incautiously, till he fell into an ambuscade 
 of French and Indians, July 9th, 1755. An invisible enemy com 
 menced a heavy and well-directed fire on his uncovered troops. The 
 van fell back on the main body ; and the whole was thrown into 
 disorder. Marksmen levelled their pieces particularly at officers 
 and others on horseback. In a short time Washington was the 
 only aide-de-camp left alive, and not wounded. He had two 
 horses shot from under him ; and four bullets passed through his 
 coat ; but he escaped unhurt, though every other officer on horse 
 back was either killed or wounded. Providence preserved him 
 for further and greater services. Throughout the whole of the 
 carnage and confusion of this fatal day, Washington displayed 
 the greatest coolness and the most perfect self-possession. Brad- 
 dock was undismayed amid a shower of bullets; and, by his 
 countenance and example, encouraged his men to stand their 
 ground ; but valor was useless, and discipline only offered surer 
 marks to the destructive aim of unseen marksmen. Unac 
 quainted with the Indian mode of fighting, Braddock neither 
 advanced upon nor retreated from the assailants ; but very inju 
 diciously endeavored to form his broken troops on the ground 
 where they were first attacked, and where they were exposed 
 
502 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 uncovered, to the incessant galling fire of a sheltered enemy. The 
 action lasted nearly three hours. In the course of it, the general 
 had three horses shot under him, and finally received a mortal 
 wound. The officers in the British regiments displayed the 
 greatest bravery. Their whole number was eighty-five; and 
 sixty-four of them were killed or wounded. The common 
 soldiers were so disconcerted by the unusual mode of attack, that 
 they broke their ranks and could not be rallied ; but the provincials, 
 more used to the Indian modes of fighting, were not so much 
 disconcerted. They continued in an unbroken body, under 
 Colonel Washington, and covered the retreat of their associates. 
 
 Notwithstanding these hostilities, war had not yet been formally 
 declared. Previous to the adoption of that measure, Great Brit 
 ain, contrary to the usage of nations, captured sundry French 
 vessels, and made prisoners of eight thousand French sailors. This 
 heavy blow for a long time crippled the naval operations of 
 France ; but at the same time inspired her with a desire to retal 
 iate, whenever a proper opportunity should present itself. 
 
 The second object of the campaign of 1755, was the reduction 
 of Niagara. This was attempted by General Shirley, with fifteen 
 hundred men. Though great diligence was used on his part, yet 
 he was not able to reach Oswego before the latter end of August. 
 He proposed to embark about seven hundred of his troops on 
 Lake Ontario, and to proceed against Niagara. But, while he 
 was employed in his embarkation, a succession of heavy rains 
 arrested his progress. The troops were discouraged, and his 
 Indians dispersed. The season being too far advanced for the 
 completion of the enterprise, it was relinquished. The general 
 left seven hundred men in Oswego, and returned to Albany. 
 
 The third expedition of this campaign was against Crown 
 Point. This originated with Massachusetts, and was to be exe 
 cuted by the colonial troops raised in New England and New 
 York. The command was given to William Johnson, one of the 
 council of New York. The delays which are inseparable from 
 all undertakings depending on distinct and separate authorities, 
 were now experienced to a great extent. The expedition -was 
 not fully prepared to proceed till the last of August. Baron 
 Dieskan, who commanded the French, did not wait for the arrival 
 of Johnson, but. determined to attack him at the southern extrem 
 ity of Lake George. Johnson detached ColoneNWilliams, with 
 one thousand men, to skirmish with the approaching enemy. 
 They met and immediately engaged ; Williams fell, and his party 
 fled. A second detachment, ordered to their aid, experienced the 
 same fate; and both were closely pursued by the French, till 
 
EXPEDITIONS AGAINST THE FRENCH COLONIES. 503 
 
 they rejoined the main body, which was a few miles in the rear, 
 and posted behind fallen trees. The French halted. The Amer 
 icans, recovering from their first alarm, played two pieces of 
 artillery, with great effect, on the assailants. These now, in their 
 turn, retreated and were briskly pursued. Dieskau, being mor 
 tally wounded, became a prisoner. This repulse was magnified 
 into a victory, and seemed to remove the depression occasioned 
 by the defeat of General Braddock. William Johnson was 
 rewarded by the English House of Commons, with 5000 ster 
 ling ; and the title of baronet was conferred on him by the king 
 of Great Britain. 
 
 Thus ended the campaign of 1755. The expeditions against 
 Fort Du Q,uesne and Niagara entirely failed. Though an advan 
 tage had been gained over the French commanded by Dieskau, no 
 impression was made on Crown Point, the reduction of which 
 was one of the principal objects of the campaign. These failures 
 seemed to arise from the want of a general superintending will, to 
 harmonize the operations of the different colonies, and to direct 
 them, with effect and expedition, to the point on which they were 
 to act. From the want of it, the movements of the forces were, in 
 every season, too late for effective service. In the meantime, the 
 frontier settlers, for several hundred miles, were exposed to the 
 ravages of the Indians; for the French maintained a complete 
 ascendency over them. By their bloody incursions, whole settle 
 ments were frequently broken up and abandoned. 
 
 The plan for the campaign of 1756, was as extensive as that of 
 1755. This was agreed upon in a grand council of war, held 
 by General Shirley, commander-in-chief of the British forces in 
 America, and the governors of Connecticut, New York, Penn 
 sylvania, and Maryland. The reduction of Crown Point and 
 Niagara, with the other posts on Lake Ontario, and of Fort 
 Du duesne, on the Ohio, were the objects of this campaign. It 
 was resolved to raise nineteen thousand men in America. But 
 this so far exceeded what had ever been done by the colonists, 
 that unavoidable delays took place before a sufficient number 
 could be recruited. The service was further and materially 
 injured, by a regulation which required that, in every case, pro 
 vincial officers should be under British officers, when they acted 
 together. While they were adjusting their respective claims 
 to rank, and deliberating whether to attack Niagara or Fort 
 Du Q,uesne, Montcalm, an able an experienced officer, who suc 
 ceeded Dieskau in the command of the French troops in Canada, 
 advanced at the head of five thousand Europeans, Canadians and 
 Indians, and invested Oswego. His operations were conducted 
 
504 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 with such address and ability, that the garrison, consisting of six 
 teen hundred men, supplied with provisions for five months, was 
 speedily compelled to surrender. This so disconcerted the plan 
 of offensive operations agreed upon, that everything of that kind 
 was given up, and the whole attention of the British general was 
 directed to security against further losses. The colonies were 
 iirged to send on reinforcements to their army, by representations 
 that the enemy would have it in their power to overrun the coun 
 try, unless a superior force was immediately brought forward to 
 oppose them. While their fears were alarmed with this serious 
 view of their danger, another object of terror was presented. 
 The small-pox broke out in Albany. To a people who had 
 never been the subjects of that disorder, it appeared as a most 
 formidable evil, from which they could not secure themselves 
 otherwise than by flight. The sanguine hopes of the colonists 
 of a successful campaign, again terminated in disappointment. 
 Much labor had been employed in collecting and transporting 
 troops, provisions and military stores, for decisive operations ; and 
 yet nothing had been accomplished. No one enterprise contem 
 plated at the commencement of the campaign, had been carried 
 into effect. 
 
 Notwithstanding all these discouragements, great exertions 
 were made for the opening campaign of 1757, with a force that 
 might insure success. Lord Loudon, the commander-in-chief of 
 the British forces, applied for four thousand men from New 
 England, which were readily granted. A large fleet and army 
 arrived from Europe, to aid in prosecuting the war with vigor. 
 From a junction of these formidable armaments, the colonists 
 confidently expected the speedy downfall of the power of France 
 in America. 
 
 Instead of attempting a variety of objects as before, it was pro 
 posed to strike at a single one in the campaign- of 1757. This 
 was the reduction of Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton. 
 After an expedition for this purpose was in great forwardness, 
 intelligence was received, that a fleet had lately arrived from Brest, 
 and that Louisburg was garrisoned by an army of six thousand 
 regular troops, and defended by seventeen line-of-battle ships. 
 As no hope of success against this formidable force could be 
 entertained, the*- proposed expedition was abandoned, and the 
 British general and admiral returned to New York." While they 
 relinquished all ideas of offensive operations, the French general 
 took them up. Feeling himself secure with respect to Louisburg, 
 he determined to gain complete possession of Lake George. With 
 an army of nine thousand men, collected at Crown Point, Ticon- 
 
EXPEDITIONS AGAINST THE FRENCH COLONIES. 505 
 
 deroga, the adjacent French posts, and from the Canadians and 
 Indians, he laid siege to Fort William Henry, which was in good 
 condition, and garrisoned by three thousand men. The French 
 commander urged his approaches with such vigor, that Colonel 
 Munroe, in six days, surrendered the fort on articles of capitula 
 tion. 
 
 Thus ended the campaign of 1757. The affairs of Britain 
 and British America were in a very alarming situation. Three 
 campaigns had produced nothing but expense and disappoint 
 ment. The French had the command of the lakes, a complete 
 ascendency over the Indians, and were in possession of the 
 country about which the war had commenced. With an inferior 
 force, they had been successful in every campaign. This was 
 not only the case in America, but in Europe and Asia. Wherever 
 hostilities had been carried on, the British arms had failed of 
 success. Gloomy apprehensions respecting the destiny of the 
 British colonies were common. That Britain would fail in estab 
 lishing her claim to the western country connected with the 
 waters of the Mississippi, was feared by many good citizens. It 
 was at the same time believed by several, that the French would 
 connect Canada with Louisiana ; and so form a bow, of which 
 the British colonies would be no more than the string. These 
 apprehensions were soon done away. The campaigns of 1758, 
 1759 and 1760, assumed a new aspect. Victory everywhere 
 crowned the British arms ; and in a short time the French were 
 dispossessed not only of the territories in dispute between the two 
 countries, but of Quebec, and of their ancient province, Canada, 
 of which they had been in possession before the establishment of 
 the first British province on the continent of North America. 
 This change took place under the vigorous administration of 
 William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, who, in this crisis, was called to 
 the helm of Great Britain. His plans for carrying on the war 
 were gigantic, and never crippled for want of means. Possessing 
 the public confidence, he commanded the resources of the nation. 
 Employing merit, wherever found, he brought into public service 
 the first talents in the country. In a circular letter to the Ameri 
 can governors, he assured them that a formidable force would be 
 sent to operate against the French in America; and he called 
 on them to raise as large bodies of men as their numbers and 
 resources would allow. 
 
 The legislature of Massachusetts voted seven thousand men, 
 
 Connecticut five thousand, and New Hampshire three thousand. 
 
 These were ready to take the field early in May. The Earl ef 
 
 London, now commander-in-chief of the British forces, found 
 
 43 L3 
 
606 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 himself at the head of the most powerful army ever seen in 
 North America. No delays interposed to defeat the objects of the 
 campaign. The winters were regularly devoted to necessary 
 preparations, and for taking the field as soon as the season would 
 permit. Three expeditions were proposed, the first, against 
 Louisburg; the second, against Ticonderoga, and Crown Point; the 
 third against Fort Du Quesne. Fourteen thousand men, twenty 
 ships of the line, and eighteen frigates, were assigned to the expe 
 dition against Louisburg. This formidable armament arrived 
 before Louisburg on the 2d of June, and proceeded with such 
 vigor, as to compel the surrender of the place in less than eight 
 weeks. The expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point 
 was not successful. The force ordered on this service con 
 sisted of about, sixteen thousand men. These embarked on Lake 
 George, in one hundred and twenty-five whale-boats and nine 
 hundred batteaux. After they had debarked on the west side of 
 the lake, they marched towards the advanced guards of the 
 French, and on their march a skirmish took place with the enemy. 
 At the first fire Lord Howe was killed. General Abercrombie 
 proceeded, and took possession of a fort near Ticonderoga. Under 
 the impression of false intelligence, an assault was resolved upon, 
 and took place on the 8th of July; but the French were so well 
 covered by abbatis. and a breastwork eight feet high, that the 
 British troops could not carry the works. After a contest of four 
 hours, and the loss of one thousand eight hundred of the assail 
 ants, a retreat was ordered. Abercrombie relinquished for the 
 present all designs against Ticonderoga; but detached Colonel 
 Bradstreet, with three thousand men, eight pieces of cannon, and 
 three mortars, against Fort Frontenac, a fortress on the north side 
 of Lake Ontario. Bradstreet commenced operations against the 
 fort in the latter end of August, and in a few days received the 
 unconditional surrender of the garrison, consisting of one hundred 
 and ten men. 
 
 The expedition against Fort Du Quesne, was committed to 
 General Forbes, at the head of eight thousand men. Upon their 
 arrival at the fort, they found it abandoned. The garrison had 
 recently escaped in boats down the Ohio. To the fort, hence 
 forward, was given the name of Pittsburg, in compliment to Mr. 
 Pitt, who, with s'e much reputation, directed the affairs of Great 
 Britain. The Indians came in and made their sublnission to the 
 conquerors. Treaties were concluded with them, which gave 
 peace to the frontier settlements of Virginia, Maryland, and 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Two of the three objects of the campaign of 1758, having been 
 
CAPTURE OF QUEBEC. 
 
 accomplished; the entire conquest of Canada was proposed as the 
 object to be pursued the next year. To accomplish this great 
 undertaking, it was agreed that three powerful armies should 
 enter Canada by different routes, and attack, at the same time, all 
 the strong-holds in that country. At the head of one division 
 General Wolfe was to ascend the St. Lawrence, and, with the 
 cooperation of a fleet, lay siege to Quebec. The main army was 
 destined, in the first instance, against Ticonderoga and Crown 
 Point ; and after the reduction of these places, to proceed to the 
 St Lawrence, and, descending the river, to join General Wolfe, 
 betore Quebec. The third army was to be conducted by General 
 Prideaux, in the first instance against Niagara; and after the 
 reduction of that place, to embark on Lake Ontario, and proceed 
 down the St. Lawrence against Montreal, and afterwards to 
 Quebec. General Amherst advanced with the main army to lay 
 siege to Ticonderoga and Crown Point; but on his approach both 
 places were abandoned, and their garrisons retired to Isle aux 
 Noix. Amherst made great exertions to obtain a naval supe 
 riority on the lake, that he might be enabled to attack the French, 
 who had a considerable marine force at its northern extremity; 
 but after gaining a partial advantage, by destroying two vessels 
 of the enemy, he was obliged, by storms and the advanced season 
 of the year, to return to Crown Point, and put his troops in winter 
 quarters. General Prideaux advanced towards Niagara, and, 
 having effected a landing about three miles from the fort, he 
 proceeded to invest the place by regular approaches. In the 
 prosecution of the siege, he was killed, and the command devolved 
 on Sir William Johnson. A party of French came from Detroit 
 and Venango, to the relief of the garrison; but they were 
 defeated, and the garrison, consisting of six hundred men, surren 
 dered during the last week in July. Though the armies, led by 
 Amherst and Prideaux against Ticonderoga, Crown Point and 
 Niagara, had succeeded, yet their success was neither so com 
 plete, nor so early in the season, as to enable them to fulfil the 
 ulterior objects of the campaign, by an efficient cooperation with 
 General Wolfe, to whom had been assigned the hazardous and 
 difficult operation of a direct attack on Quebec. Wolfe was 
 completely successful in this important enterprise. Quebec sur 
 rendered on the 13th of September, and the whole of Canada 
 became subject to the British crown. 
 
 Till the year 1758, or rather 1759, it seemed doubtful whether 
 France or England would gain the ascendency in the New 
 World: and, in particular, whether the British would riot be 
 confined to a narrow slip of land on the shores of the Atlantic. 
 
508 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The superior population and wealth of the English colonies, and 
 the immense superiority of the British navy over that of France, 
 and particularly the energy of Pitt's administration, turned the 
 scales in favor of England. Great joy was diffused throughout 
 the British dominions ; but in no place was it felt in a higher 
 degree, or with greater reason, than in America. For one hundred 
 and fifty years France and England had been contending for 
 American territory, and for the last half of that period almost 
 incessantly. Neither knew the precise extent of their boundaries, 
 but both were willing to enlarge them. They possessed much, 
 but coveted more. Neither were backward to make encroach 
 ments on the other ; and both were prompted to repel them when 
 made, or supposed to be made, on themselves. Throughout this 
 period, especially the last half of it, in addition to the unavoida 
 ble calamities of war, indiscriminate massacres had been frequently 
 and extensively committed on numerous settlers, dispersed over 
 many hundred miles of exposed frontier; it has been supposed 
 that the British lost, in this way, not less than twenty thousand 
 inhabitants. War assumed a most terrific aspect among the 
 colonists. Not confined to men in arms, as is common in Europe, 
 aged persons, women and children, were frequently its victims. 
 The tomahawk and scalping-knives, carried to the firesides of 
 peaceable, helpless families, were applied promiscuously to every 
 age and sex. It was hoped that the reduction of Canada would 
 close these horrid scenes forever, with respect to the northern and 
 middle colonies. As the Indians could in future derive supplies 
 from none but the English, and as they could no longer be 
 exposed to the seduction of French influence, it was confidently 
 expected that they would desist from their depredations, and 
 leave the colonists to pursue their own happiness. This was in a 
 great measure the case, after the peace of Paris, in 1763. At the 
 end of that period, a new war, on new principles, commenced, in 
 which the same ground was fought over, and the same points con 
 tended foi y by new parties. The Indians were again called in as 
 auxiliaries, and encouraged to the same scenes of devastation and 
 murder, from which the colonists had fondly hoped that the con 
 quest of Canada had forever delivered them. The origin of this 
 revolution is the next subject of inquiry. Before we enter upon 
 it, a few reflections may be properly indulged. 
 
 One hundred and fifty-six years had passed away- between the 
 first permanent British establishment in North America, and the 
 conquest of Canada. In a considerable portion of that period, the 
 three greatest naval powers of Europe, England, France and 
 Spain, had been incessantly contending for the same American 
 
STATE OF THE COLONIES. 509 
 
 territory. The boundaries of the colonies, which now form the 
 United States, were subjects of controversy on every side, except 
 where nature's highway, the ocean, precluded all ideas of appro 
 priation. Ignorance of American geography laid the foundation 
 for disputes respecting the boundaries of adjoining provinces, 
 though granted by the same sovereign, and still more so respect 
 ing the extent of territory claimed by different nations. The 
 former might be adjusted in civil courts; but the latter, where 
 there was no common umpire, to whom an appeal could be made, 
 were generally referred to the sword. For seventy years, wars 
 had succeeded wars, without settling arfy points in controversy. 
 At length, a great and decisive effort took place, in which a com 
 plete trial of strength was made by the naval powers. In this, the 
 law of war decided differently from the new law of nations, in 
 favor of prior occupants ; the sword settled all claims of territory, 
 in such a manner, that the English, who were the last occupiers 
 of a part, became the sole possessors of almost the whole North 
 American continent, to the exclusion of their vanquished rivals, 
 who had a prior possession in its northern and southern extremi 
 ties. 
 
 43* 
 
CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 Origin of the troubles which led to the American revolution.- -Assumption of the 
 power of exclusive legislation by the British Parliament. Financial embarrass' 
 ments of Britain. Schemes for raising a revenue in America. Restrictions 
 imposed on the trade of the Colonies. Discontent of the colonists. Embarrass 
 ments caused by the oppressive and impolitic measures of the ministry .The 
 Stamp Act passed. Indignation and resolute opposition of the colonists 
 
 THE troubles which led to the American Revolution proceeded 
 from two general causes ; an excessive desire of dominion in the 
 British government, and a jealousy, in the colonists, of ministerial 
 designs against their rights and liberties. It cannot be disputed 
 that the legislature in Great Britain, as well as the executive 
 power, by divers acts of parliament, which had all the appearance 
 of selfishness and tyranny,' gave, at an early period, sufficient 
 ground of jealousy to the colonies. On the pretence of expenses 
 incurred for the defence of America, the British government 
 claimed a right of internal taxation, unknown to the English con 
 stitution ; and proceeded to frame new laws, which declared that 
 the sole right of legislation was vested in the parliament of Eng 
 land. In this case, the subjects of the British empire in the 
 western part of the world were considered not as citizens, but as 
 vassals, under absolute authority to a legislature, in which they 
 had none to represent them. The recent war with France and 
 Spain had added an enormous weight of debt to the national 
 burdens, and the peace that was but lately concluded, had given 
 England an addition of territory, without making her in reality 
 any richer. As soon as peace gave the nation time to reflect, it 
 was found that the flattering ideas of conquest could not remove 
 the uneasy feelings which the pressure of so many millions of 
 debt had occasioned. It was expected that the debts would have 
 been lessened, the taxes reduced, and the burdens lightened ; but 
 the hot fever of war had so weakened the whole frame of the 
 constitution, thaf the nation, soon after the peace, appeared, as it 
 were, in the second stage of a consumption. The -conductors of 
 the last war, who had prosecuted it upon the plan which the 
 elder Pitt had bequeathed to their hands, were obliged ignomini- 
 ously to drop it, for want of capacity to carry it on. They 
 ratified a peace, as inglorious as the war had been successful. 
 
RESTRICTIONS ON THE TRADE OF THE COLONIES. 611 
 
 Though an indifferent peace is preferable to even a successful 
 state of war, yet, when a nation is laden with a burden of enor 
 mous debt, contracted for its own defence, wisdom and political 
 prudence will certainly vindicate them in making their enemies, 
 when in their power, pay as much as possible of the debt. The 
 negotiators of the peace were considered by the bulk of the 
 natives, a set of adventurers, who, when they were sensible of 
 their incapacity to carry on the war, were determined to conclude 
 a peace, with as much profit to their own private interest as 
 possible. 
 
 The government, since the conclusion of the peace, had been 
 projecting schemes for raising a revenue ; but as the number of 
 pensioners was not reduced, and enormous sums were paid to sine 
 cures, all the methods that had as yet been devised, were found 
 ineffectual to answer the intentions of the ministry. They began, 
 at last, to turn their attention to a new subject, which, in conclu 
 sion, brought on disorders in the empire, and at last issued in 
 a civil war, and the revolt of the thirteen colonies. As the 
 merchants in Great Britain had been enriched by their traffic in 
 America, and government had for many years received a large 
 revenue from the trade of that country, the ministers began to 
 imagine that there was an inexhaustible fund of wealth in the 
 colonies to answer their present purposes. Without examining 
 strictly into the consequences which might follow a too precipitate 
 determination in a matter so new and so delicate, they decided at 
 once to raise a new revenue in the American colonies. 
 
 Their first movement was to prohibit the Americans from 
 exporting their superfluous commodities to the Spanish and 
 French colonies. This trade, which had been formerly winked 
 at, though not strictly agreeable to the British laws of navigation, 
 was of great advantage both to the colonies and the mother coun 
 try. Those articles which would have been as lumber upon the 
 hands of the colonists, and could not have been useful to Great 
 Britain, were sold to the Spaniards and French for ready money, 
 or bartered for valuable commodities, for which there was always 
 a demand in Europe. This enabled the colonies to pay their 
 bills in specie to the merchants at home, or to afford them such 
 merchandise as was equivalent to ready money. What were the 
 secret springs of action which moved the British .egislature to 
 prefer this impolitic statute, is not easy to perceive, unless, by 
 listening to the reports of the British West India merchants, who 
 might conceive that it would enable the French and Spaniards to 
 Undersell them in foreign markets, and of consequence reduce 
 their profits, they were seduced to give way to their solicitations. 
 
512 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 In time of war this trade had been carried on by flags of truce 
 between Great Britain and France, as a public benefit to both, till 
 the French West India Islands being shut up by the British 
 fleets, it was conceived that France had more advantage by it 
 than England, and for that reason it was restrained as a treason 
 able practice. But this last reason of restraint had no existence 
 after the peace was concluded. 
 
 Unreasonable as this law may appear to be, the method of 
 putting it into execution was still more absurd and oppressive. 
 A number of armed cutters were fitted out and stationed upon the 
 coasts of America, to prevent this supposed contraband trade, the 
 captains of which Were to act in the character of revenue officers, 
 and to determine what ships were Hable to the penalties of this 
 act. The greatest part of these new naval revenue officers were 
 utter strangers to the nature of their employment. They fre 
 quently detained ships, which came not within the description of 
 the act; and by these unnecessary detentions, they interrupted trade, 
 without bringing anything into the treasury. When, through 
 their ignorance or insolence, a lawful trader was injured, it was 
 not easy to obtain redress ; the offenders lived upon an element 
 where justice and law have often little influence ; and when they 
 came ashore, it was in bodies too numerous to be called to an 
 account by the civil authority, or in places where their actions 
 were not cognizable by the Taw. None but the lords of the 
 admiralty, or of the treasury, in England, could remove this 
 grievance ; but considering the distance of place, and the manner 
 of application, the whole trade might have been ruined before 
 redress could have been obtained. 
 
 This was a grievance which the American subjects felt severely. 
 The many unjust acts of violence that followed, tended very 
 much to irritate the minds of both parties, and when they rep 
 resented their cases, it was frequently with great acrimony and 
 aggravation. The English parliament might have easily foreseen 
 these consequences, had they not been infatuated with the hope 
 of raising a large revenue from the Americans. The majority in 
 the House of Commons, but especially the ministry, were yet 
 smarting sore under the blows they had received from the North 
 Briton, and other political pasquinades. A secretary of state 
 had been also, the year before, fined in a court of justice, in a 
 penalty of a thousand pounds, for issuing a legal warrant; and 
 considering the poverty of the exchequer, every similar touch 
 increased the painful feelings of the ministry. They seemed in 
 a state of distraction when they passed this law of restraint upon 
 the trade of America, and it had more the appearance of an act 
 
IMPOLITIC MEASURES OF THE BRITISH MINISTRY. 613 
 
 of political fury than the marks of judicious legislation. It 
 could answer no other purpose than to assert the dominion of 
 parliament over America, and to irritate the colonies against the 
 mother country. Ever since the ministry of Mr. Pitt, the nation 
 had been in a state of confusion, with regard to political senti 
 ments, and the opposition in parliament against the prime rninistei; 
 Lord Bute, was echoed throughout all England. 
 
 George Grenville. 
 
 In 1763, Lord Bute resigned his office as first lord of the treas 
 ury, and was succeeded by Mr. Grenville ; but the factions 
 continued, and, during this new ministry, political animosity came 
 to a great height. It was at this time that the American colonies 
 began to feel the oppressive hand of the mother country. She 
 had not only prevented the Americans from procuring the neces 
 saries of life with the superfluities of their own country, but 
 obliged them to make payment in specie, to the exchequer in 
 England, for the duty on such goods as they were allowed to 
 barter. This was an effectual method of draining money from 
 the colonies, and leaving them nothing for circulation. Wl at 
 was still more oppressive, two weeks after the bill now mentioned 
 was passed, another was proposed, to hinder the distressed colonies 
 from supplying the demand of money for their internal necessities 
 with paper bills of credit, by declaring that no such bills should 
 be a legal tender for payment. This was an exertion of authority 
 beyond all bounds of justice; for it was impossible that the 
 
 M3 
 
514 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Americans, without trade, money or paper credit, could pay any 
 thing at all. 
 
 The laws that were at this time made in behalf of the colonies 
 were trifling in their influence, compared with the restraints that 
 were laid upon their trade by the other statutes. The effects of 
 the former were slow and progressive, but those of the latter 
 instantaneous. This was a partiality in the legislature, sufficient 
 to create a belief in the minds of the colonists that the parliament 
 of Britain considered them not as fellow-subjects, but as inferior 
 vassals, not to be regarded in the same manner as the subjects of 
 the mother country. 
 
 In 1765, a bill was brought into parliament, for laying a stamp 
 duty and other taxes upon the colonies in America. Some of 
 these duties were exceedingly exorbitant. The transactions in 
 parliament were not so secretly carried on, but information of 
 them reached America before the new laws were ready to be put 
 in execution. After the stamp act was read in parliament the 
 first time, a petition was offered to the commons, by Edward 
 Montague, in behalf of the province of Virginia, praying that 
 their House of Burgesses might be continued in the rights and 
 privileges they had so long enjoyed ; and that they might be 
 heard by their council against a bill that might be intended to 
 impose stamp duties on the colony of Virginia. A petition was 
 also presented by the colony of Connecticut, against the stamp 
 act, and praying that the colony might be indulged in the exercise 
 of the power of levying all their internal taxes. Upon a division, 
 it was carried by two hundred and forty-five against forty-nine, 
 that the petitions should not be heard, and the stamp act, after 
 going through all the regular forms, was passed, and received the 
 royal sanction, March 22, 1765. 
 
 It must be acknowledged, to the honor of the British Parliament, 
 that this bill did not pass without opposition ; the friends of lib 
 erty and of the constitution opposed it in all its stages, and 
 offered such arguments against it as their opponents were not 
 able to answer. The jurisdiction of parliament over the colonies 
 was combatted with arguments which every sober person, under 
 the influence of truth, must confess in his heart to be forcible and 
 conclusive. 
 
 While the ministry and parliament were deliberating concern- 
 ing the methods to give effect to the stamp act, the leaders among 
 the American colonies had time to kindle a flame in the tempers 
 of the people against it, that neither the art nor power of the 
 king's ministers were afterwards able to quench. Wherever the 
 news of this impolitic and oppressive law reached, it spread 
 
THE STAMP ACT. 515 
 
 discontent like a conflagration. The ministry were unfortunate 
 in the beginning of this scheme, and unsuccessful in the conclu 
 sion of it. The news of the stamp act came first to New Eng 
 land, a colony the most tenacious of their liberty, and jealous to 
 the last degree of every appearance of despotism. The people of 
 this colony considered themselves as the offspring of progenitors, 
 who had suffered both severely and unjustly at the hands of the 
 mother country, and who had asserted their natural rights and 
 privileges at the risk of their lives and the expense of much 
 blood. They had not forgotten how their fathers had, for the 
 sake of civil and religious liberty, fled to a wilderness, which they 
 had now converted into a fruitful field, from an intolerable spirit 
 ual persecution, which could not be borne ; and they were not 
 disposed to surrender the fruits of their own labor, and that of 
 their ancestors, to the children of those who had banished their 
 fathers from their native country. 
 
 When the news that the stamp act had received the royal sig 
 nature reached New England, the melancholy that had taken 
 possession of their minds before, broke out into fury and outrage. 
 The ships in the harbors hung out their colors half-mast high, the 
 bells were tolled, the act was printed with a death's head to it, 
 in the place where it is customary to affix the new acts of parlia 
 ment, and cried publicly about the streets, by the name of the 
 "Folly of England, and the Ruin of America" Essays were 
 written against the justice of this law in newspapers. One in 
 particular, the Constitutional Courant, " printed by Andrew 
 Marvel, at the sign of the Bribe Refused, on Constitutional Hill, 
 North America," had a more significant frontispiece than any of 
 the rest. It bore a snake cut in pieces, with the initial name* of the 
 several colonies, from New England to South Carolina, inclusively, 
 to each piece, and above them the words, "JOIN, OR DIE." 
 To these were added several sententious aphorisms, suited to the 
 occasion, which were easily circulated and as easily committed 
 to memory ; and being exceedingly pungent, they had all the force 
 of arguments. 
 
 There were two things exceedingly grievous in this act to the 
 colonies. The first was that the persons who acted under the 
 law had it in their power to bring an action in court, the cause of 
 which had arisen at one extremity of North America, to the other 
 extremity, at the distance of nearly two thousand miles, without 
 the defendant being entitled to recover damages, although the 
 judge should certify that there was no reasonable causa for the 
 prosecution. The second was, the judge had an interest in giving 
 a sentence in favor of the party suing for the penalties of the act; 
 
516 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 he being allowed for commission a very large share in these pen 
 alties. This was injustice, such as the most abject slaves could 
 not easily endure without murmuring. Tn many places the stamp 
 act was publicly burnt, together with the effigies of the chief pro 
 moters of the scheme. On the other hand, the Americans applauded, 
 with eulogiums of the highest strain, the members of parliament 
 who had opposed this obnoxious bill. In several of their meet 
 ings, they voted thanks to General Con way and Colonel Barre, 
 two gentlemen who had defended their cause in the British House 
 of Commons. 
 
 Colonel Barre. 
 
 The ministry were now much embarrassed how to carry the 
 stamp act into execution; for when the tidings of this discontent 
 in America arrived in England, there were but few shipmasters 
 found who were willing to take on board such an unpopular 
 cargo as the stamped paper. Those who had the courage to carry 
 any of these tickets of taxation to America, were made sadly to 
 repent when they arrived at their destined port; where, to save 
 their vessels from fire, they were forced to deliver up their exe 
 crated cargoes into the hands of the enraged populace. Others 
 were obliged to shelter themselves under cover of the king's ships. 
 The rich harvest of revenue that was expected to be reaped by 
 English tax-gatherers, was by this storm soon blasted, and the 
 stamp officers, who came from England with conmissions to act as 
 distributors, were made to repent very severely having engaged 
 in such an enterprise. Many of them were compelled to renounce, 
 
PATRICK HENRY. 517 
 
 in the most public manner and upon oath, all manner of concern 
 in the business; and others hurried back to England; while 
 some, of a more froward disposition, persisting strenuously in 
 putting the act in execution, were treated by the people as enemies 
 of their country. Such was the rage of the multitude, that some 
 persons, who had been appointed, without their consent, to super 
 intend the distribution of the stamped paper, were treated in the 
 same manner. 
 
 The legislatures of the several colonies proceeded still further. 
 Instead of merely winking at the opposition of the people, they 
 began to encourage it, and in express terms affirmed that the 
 British legislature had no right to tax them. It was granted that 
 the colonists were subjects of the empire ; but they contended for 
 the right to make their own laws, as well as the subjects at home, 
 and that none but themselves had a right to give away their 
 property. They came, at last, to a resolution to petition the par 
 liament against the stamp act; but at the same time that they 
 asked this favor, they did not acknowledge that they were 
 dependent upon the parliament of Britain. This was considered 
 as only asking a favor of equals, without making the submission 
 
 Patrick Henry. 
 
 the parliament required, which rendered their petition offensive to 
 the majority of that body. In the House of Burgesses of Vir 
 ginia, resolutions against the stamp act were introduced by Pat 
 rick Henry, who, on this occasion, uttered the bold exclamation, 
 44 
 
518 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ' { Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I. his Cromwell, and George the 
 Third," which was interrupted by the cry of " Treason ! Trea 
 son!" from all parts of the house, and which he completed by 
 adding, in the firmest and most emphatic tone '-''may profit by 
 their example. If this be treason, make the most of it !" 
 
 In the meanwhile, the colonists formed associations and ap 
 pointed committees for the sake of a general correspondence, in 
 managing the common affairs of the whole body. From these 
 committees, deputies were appointed to meet in Congress at New 
 York ; and what- showed the unanimity of their sentiments in 
 this general cause, and that they were all of one mind, is, that 
 when the deputies met, they were so well agreed, that they had 
 little more to do than to congratulate one another, and set their 
 hands to one general declaration of their rights, and the griev 
 ances they labored under ; and to draw up a petition expressing a 
 sense of these grievances to the king, lords, and commons of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 Before the first of November, 1765, when the act was to take 
 effect, there was not a sheet of stamped paper to be had through 
 out New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 
 Maryland, or the two Carolinas, except a parcel at New York, 
 which the government, through fear, was obliged to surrender to 
 the corporation of the city, upon condition that they would not 
 destroy it. Thus all business that could not be carried on 
 without stamps, was brought to a stand, except the publication of 
 newspapers, which the printers had the courage to publish 
 without stamps. But in Canada, where the newspapers were 
 stamped, the printers were in a worse situation, for few or none 
 would buy a newspaper, on account of its being stamped, and the 
 whole lay upon their hands. The courts of justice were now 
 shut up, as well as the custom-houses. 
 
 But the Americans were not slow in projecting schemes against 
 the stamp act. The merchants throughout all the colonies en 
 tered into the most solemn engagements to order no more goods 
 from Great Britain, whatever should be the consequence, and to 
 recall the orders they had already given, if not executed before the 
 first of January, 1766. They resolved, further, not even to dis 
 pose of any British goods sent them upon commission, that were 
 not shipped before that day ; or if they consented to any relaxa 
 tion from these engagements, it was not to take place till the 
 stamp act, sugar act, and paper money acts were repealed. The 
 people of Philadelphia, also, resolved that, till such a repeal 
 should happen, no lawyer should commence any suit for a de 
 mand for money, owing by a resident in America, however 
 
OPPOSITION TO THE STAMP ACT. 
 
 519 
 
 indebted in England, or make any remittances thither. This 
 resolution was adopted by the shopkeepers, who unanimously 
 agreed not to buy any more English goods shipped contrary to 
 these resolutions. Ages to come will be amazed, that separate 
 governments, and so many colonies distinct from each other, 
 should have united so speedily in one interest, notwithstanding 
 the influence of government agents among them, who endeavoied 
 to frustrate all their designs. 
 
 
 James II. 
 
 Queen Anne. 
 
 George I. 
 
 George IV. 
 
CHAPTER LV. 
 
 Repeal of the Stamp Act. New laws passed for taxing the colonies. Thetr failure 
 of success. Early efforts of the colonists for the promotion of domestic manu 
 factures. British troops quartered upon the Americans. Opposition of the 
 legislature of New lfork. Dissensions between the legislature of Massachusetts 
 and the Governor. Seizure of the sloop Liberty at Boston. Troubles at that 
 place. British troops ordered to Boston. Consternation of the inhabitants. 
 General convention of the people of Massachusetts. Arrival of the troops at 
 Boston. Proceedings of the British ministry and parliament. Troubles occa 
 sioned by the troops. The Boston Massacre. 
 
 THE British ministry were at length convinced of the impos 
 sibility of enforcing the stamp act, and it was repealed by 
 Parliament, March 8, 1766. But the satisfaction which this 
 measure gave the colonists, did not remove their apprehensions 
 concerning the designs of the ministry. New laws were passed, 
 in 1767, for the purpose of raising a revenue in the colonies, by 
 duties on the importation of glass and paper, and other commod 
 ities from Great Britain. It appears somewhat surprising, after 
 the recent example of the mischiefs that attended the stamp act, 
 and the consequent repeal of it from a knowledge of those evils, 
 that a measure of a like tendency should have been so speedily 
 adopted, before the chagrin, on account of the former irritation, 
 was worn off the minds of the colonists. Much the same argu 
 ments were used in defence of those measures, that were made in 
 support of the stamp act. 
 
 These laws met with the same fate that attended the stamp 
 act. The first visible instance of opposition shown to them, hap 
 pened at Boston, October 27th, 1767, when the inhabitants, at a 
 general meeting, agreed to several resolutions for the encourage 
 ment of manufactures, promoting frugality and economy, and for 
 lessening and restraining the use of all superfluities. These 
 resolutions, which were all, in the first instance, prejudicial to the 
 commerce of Great Britain, contained an enumeration of articles 
 which it was determined not to use at all, or in as low a degree 
 as possible. At the same time, a subscription was opened, and a 
 committee appointed for the encouragement of their old manufac 
 tures, and the establishment of new ones. Among these, it was 
 agreed to give particular encouragement to the making of paper 
 and glass, and the other taxed commodities. It was also resolved 
 
OFFENSIVE ACTS OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT. 521 
 
 to restrain the expenses of funerals, and to reduce dress to a 
 degree of primitive simplicity and plainness, and, in general, not 
 to purchase from the mother country anything which could be 
 procured in America. These resolutions were adopted, or similar 
 ones agreed upon, by nearly all the old colonies of the continent 
 The British ministry might, by this time, have perceived that a 
 people of such Spartan spirit were not to be easily frightened 
 into compliance with arbitrary acts of a legislature, where they 
 had none to represent them. A people that have so much public 
 virtue as to become unfashionable for the sake of preserving their 
 political rights, and can restrain their appetites and passions, for 
 the sake of their country, are not easily to be enslaved. 
 
 What had lately irritated both parties in this dispute, was the 
 law quartering troops on the Americans. It had been ordered, by 
 an act of parliament in the last session, that the people of New 
 York should provide for the king's troops, according to a method 
 expressed in the act ; but the assembly of that province, instead 
 of complying, pursued a measure of their own in disposing of the 
 soldiers. This was so offensive to the ministry, that they retorted 
 with a new law, whereby the governor, council and assembly of 
 New York were prohibited from passing any act of assembly 
 whatever, till they had complied with the terms of the above act 
 of parliament in every particular. This was designed as a lesson 
 to the other colonies, to teach them more reverence to the acts of 
 the British legislature ; but it did not produce the intended effect; 
 for the colonists, who had begun to question the right of the par 
 liament to make laws for them, were not disposed to obey a 
 statute that was specially designed to inform them that they were 
 in a state of vassalage. By these measures, the leading actors on 
 both sides grew more and more heated in their animosities, and 
 scarcely could restrain themselves within the bounds of decency 
 and temper. 
 
 The spirits of the colonies were now agitated to a high degree of 
 enthusiasm, and they considered almost every new act of parlia 
 ment as a fresh attack upon their freedom, and an insult to their 
 understanding. Upon the llth February, 1768, the general court 
 of Massachusetts sent a circular, signed by their speaker to all the 
 other colonies in North America. The design of this was to show 
 the dangerous tendency of the late acts of parliament, to repre 
 sent them as unconstitutional, and to propose a common union 
 among the colonies in the pursuit of all legal measures to prevent 
 their effects, and to obtain a repeal of them. At this period, and 
 for some years before, the legislature of Massachusetts and the 
 governor had differed in their opinions upon almost every subject 
 44* N3 
 
522 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 that came before them. These altercations were carried on with 
 great asperity on both sides, and both parties seemed more atten 
 tive to keenness of expression and severity of reply, than to strict 
 propriety of conduct. Governor Bernard was considered by the 
 people of Massachusetts as a person who was looking up to the 
 sovereign for a new dignity, and for that reason was more careful 
 to please the ministry, than to study the real advantage of the 
 colony. He had shown an imperious stiffness in his behavior, 
 which did not suit the temper of the sons of the pilgrims. His 
 answers to their petitions and requests were formal, arbitrary, 
 and wilfully disobliging; and instead of endeavoring to mollify 
 the tempers of the legislature, already overheated, he added fuel 
 to the flame, by talking of prerogative, and the determination of 
 the sovereign to support his dignity. It was strongly suspected 
 that the counsels of the king depended much upon the representa 
 tion that the governor had given of the colonies, and that the 
 ministerial vengeance proceeded, in a great measure, from those 
 overcharged accounts of the temper of the people, represented in 
 his letters to the ministers of state. 
 
 A letter, which the governor received from the Earl of Shel- 
 burne, one of the principal secretaries of state, and which con 
 tained some severe strictures on the behavior of the colonies, was, 
 by the order of the governor, and according to its original design, 
 read in the legislature of Massachusetts. This produced violent 
 debates in the assembly. A committee was appointed to wait 
 upon the governor, and request a copy of Lord Shelburne's letter, 
 and of those he had written himself, concerning the affairs of 
 Massachusetts. These copies being refused, the assembly de 
 spatched a letter to the secretary of state, vindicating themselves 
 at the expense of the governor, whom they charged with misrep 
 resenting them. They also wrote letters to the lords of the 
 treasury, and several other officers of state, wherein they remon*- 
 strated against the late acts of parliament, as contrary to the 
 constitution, and totally subversive of their rights and liberties. 
 So firm an opposition was by no means agreeable to the Jemper 
 of the governor, who probably had given assurances to the 
 secretaries of state, that a sharp rebuke from England would 
 make the colonists return to their obedience. 
 
 The circular letters that had been written by the secretary of 
 state to the other colonies, were attended with as little success as 
 that which was sent to Boston. The assemblies of the other 
 colonies wrote answers to that of Massachusetts, in which they 
 expressed the warmest approbation of their conduct, and a firm 
 resolution to concur in their measures. Some of the colonies, 
 
SEIZURE OF THE SLOOP LIBERTY. 
 
 also, addressed the secretary of state, and justified the measures 
 taken by the assembly at Boston, and also animadverted with 
 great freedom upon several passages in the requisition contained 
 in his letter. 
 
 On the 10th of June, 1768, just before the dissolution of the 
 Massachusetts legislature, a great tumult happened at Boston. 
 The board of customs had made a seizure of the sloop Liberty, 
 belonging to John Hancock, one of the principal merchants. The 
 sloop had discharged a cargo of wine, and in part reloaded with 
 oil, without any precise attention being paid to the new laws, or 
 to the custom-house regulations. Upon the seizure being effected 
 the custom-house officers made a signal to the Romney man-of- 
 war, and her boats were sent manned and armed, who cut away 
 the mast of the sloop, and conveyed her alongside the Romney. 
 The people assembled in great multitudes, pelted the commission 
 ers with stones, and broke one of their swords, after which, they 
 attacked their houses, broke the windows, dragged the collector's 
 boat to the common, and burnt it to ashes. The officers of the 
 customs, upon this outrage, took shelter aboard the man-of-war, 
 from whence they removed to Castle William. This transaction 
 occasioned several town meetings, in which a remonstrance was 
 presented to the governor, wherein the people demanded that he 
 should issue an order for the departure of the ship of war out of 
 the harbor. The people were now greatly irritated; they per 
 ceived that the new laws would be enforced by every exertion of 
 the ministry. 
 
 While matters were in this threatening situation, two regiments 
 of troops were ordered from Ireland, and some detachments from 
 Halifax, to support the royal government at Boston. This threw 
 the whole town into consternation, and raised great commotions; 
 it was considered in the light of an invasion, and animadverted 
 upon in the severest terms. A meeting of the inhabitants was 
 called at Fanueil Hall. They chose one of their late popular 
 representatives as moderator. They then appointed a committee 
 to wait on the governor, to know what reasons he had for the 
 intimations he had given, that the king's troops were expected in 
 that town, and to present a petition desiring that he would issue 
 precepts to convene and assemble the legislature with the greatest 
 speed. The governor answered that his information was of a 
 private nature, and that he could do nothing as to the calling of 
 another assembly for the present year, until he received the king's 
 instructions A committee was also appointed, to consider the 
 present state of affairs, which gave, in their report, a long declar 
 ation and recital of their rights, and the violation of them which 
 
524 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 they conceived had been lately made ; and offered several resolu 
 tions, with respect to the legality of raising or keeping up a 
 standing army among them. This report and the resolutions 
 were unanimously agreed to by the assembly. Upon this, a con 
 vention was called to assemble at Boston. The selectmen were 
 ordered to write to all the other towns in the province, to propose 
 their appointing committees for the same purpose. These pro 
 ceedings of the people of Massachusetts were considered as illegal 
 by the ministry. It would appear that both Governor Bernard 
 and the ministry at home did not regard the colonists as having 
 the same benefit of the laws with the people of England, though 
 they imagined they were bound by them in their fullest extent 
 But they seem to have had in idea a distinction between a British 
 freeman and a colonist, which the latter did not admit. 
 
 Ninety-six towns in Massachusetts appointed committees to 
 attend the convention, but the town of Hatfield refused to com 
 ply with the measure, and gave reasons in a letter. It is plain 
 from this answer that they either had different notions from the 
 rest of their brethren, or were lukewarm in the cause of liberty. 
 When the convention met, their first measure was to send a mes 
 sage to the governor, wherein they disclaimed all authoritative or 
 legislative acts ; and declared that they came freely and volun 
 tarily, at the earnest desire of the people, Jo consult and advise 
 such measures as might promote peace and good order. They 
 then repeated the tale of their grievances, complained that they 
 were grossly misrepresented in Great Britain, and pressed the 
 governor, in the most earnest manner, to call an assembly, as the 
 only means to guard against those alarming dangers that threat 
 ened the total destruction of the colony. 
 
 The governor admonished them to break up their assembly 
 instantly. He added that if they did not regard his admonition, 
 he must, as governor, assert the prerogatives of the crown in a 
 more public manner ; that they might assure themselves he spoke 
 from instruction ; the king was determined to maintain his entire 
 sovereignty over that province, and whosoever should persist in 
 usurping any of the rights of it, would repent of his rashness. 
 This answer produced another message, wherein they justified 
 this meeting, as being only an assemblage of private persons, and 
 desired explanations as to the criminality with which their pro 
 ceedings were charged. The governor refused to receive that, or 
 any other message from them, as it would be admitting them to 
 be a legal assembly, which he would not by any means allow. 
 The convention then appointed a committee, who drew up a 
 report, in terms of great moderation, which was approved by the 
 
ARRIVAL OF BRITISH TROOPS IN BOSTON HARBOR. 525 
 
 assembly. In this, they assign the cause of their meeting, and 
 disclaim all pretence to any authority whatsoever, and recommend 
 it to the people to pay the greatest deference to government. 
 After they had prepared a representation of their conduct, and a 
 detail of the late transactions, to be transmitted to their agent at 
 London, they broke up. It appears plain, from the whole of these 
 proceedings, that Governor Bernard was at more pains to provoke 
 the people, than to quiet their discontents. His opinion concern 
 ing the legality of their meeting, seems frivolous and unsatisfac 
 tory; for though the convention was chosen by the people, yet 
 they attempted to perform no public act, but met for advice. 
 
 On the 29th of September, 1768, the very day the convention 
 broke up, the fleet from Halifax, with two regiments and a 
 detachment of artillery, arrived in the harbor of Boston. There 
 were some disputes concerning quartering the soldiers ; the coun 
 cil at first refused to receive them into the town, as the barracks 
 of Castle William were sufficient for them ; this objection was, 
 at last, got over, and the council allowed them barrack provisions. 
 Soon after, General Gage arrived with the two regiments from 
 Ireland. A tolerable harmony subsisted for some time between the 
 people and the troops, and both the town and province continued 
 for a season very quiet. 
 
 The ministry, finding that they had a strong majority in parlia 
 ment, was now determined effectually to humble the refractory 
 colonies. The House of Lords, upon the 5th of February, 1769, 
 passed some resolutions, and an address to the king, In these the 
 late acts of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts Bay, 
 which called in question the authority of the supreme legislature 
 to make laws to bind the colonies, were rescinded, and declared 
 illegal, unconstitutional and derogatory of the rights of the crown 
 and parliament. The circular letters written by the same assem 
 bly to the other colonies, were declared to be proceedings most 
 unwarrantable and dangerous. The town of Boston was declared 
 in a state of disorder and confusion; and the resolutions and 
 proceedings at the town meetings at Boston, on the 14th of June, 
 and the 12th of September, 1769, were pronounced illegal and 
 unconstitutional, and calculated to excite sedition and insurrection. 
 
 The address that followed the above resolutions breathed the 
 same spirit. It expressed the greatest satisfaction with the meas 
 ures that had been pursued, to support the constitution, and to 
 restore in the colony of Massachusetts Bay a due obedience to 
 the authority of the mother country. 
 
 Upon this persuasion it was earnestly requested that Governor 
 Bernard would transmit the fullest information he could obtain, 
 
526 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of all treasons, or suspicion of treason, committed within his 
 government, since the 30th of December, 1767, together with the 
 names of the persons who were most active in committing such 
 offences ; that his majesty might issue a special proclamation for 
 inquiring into, hearing and determining upon the guilt of the 
 offenders within the realms. This was an opinion very unfavor 
 able to the colonists; it exposed them to two evils of the most 
 severe kind ; their character was to be taken from the report of 
 one man, who was their enemy, and they were to be tried in a 
 strange country, where they might have neither friends nor con 
 nections. Though these resolutions and the address were carried 
 by a powerful majority, they were opposed with great firmness 
 and force of argument by the friends of the colonists ; and there 
 had been few subjects for many years more ably discussed than 
 was this, through the whole of the debate. Both the right and 
 propriety of taxing the colonies was warmly disputed. Both 
 houses of parliament were so bent upon humbling the colony of 
 Massachusetts, that they had proceeded, on the 13th of February, 
 to request the king to call all offenders in that colony to an 
 account before the British courts. Their address is expressed in 
 the strongest terms of loyalty to the king, and severity to the 
 offenders in the colony. The king, in his answer, entered warmly 
 into the spirit of the measures recommended, and breathed ven 
 geance against the leading persons in Massachusetts. 
 
 It was now manifest that nothing could bring the opposing 
 parties to a proper temper, except an unconditional submission on 
 the part of the colonists. At this time it appeared to almost all 
 ranks of people an easy friatter to settle the difference. Modera 
 tion in the government, equal to the submission of the colonists, 
 might have quieted all the commotions. On the 5th of March, 
 1770, Lord North, who was now prime minister, brought in a bill 
 for a repeal of the late act imposing a duty upon paper, painter's . 
 colors, and glass, except the duty on tea, which was still con 
 tinued. It would appear that the minister did not intend to be 
 consistent, when he repealed only part of that act. The colo 
 nists had as strong objections to the authority which laid a duty 
 on tea, as that which did the same for paper and glass. They 
 inferred, if this law was complied with, that the parliament would 
 never cease in their requisitions, as long as they could fina 
 anything to tax in the colonies. They therefore considered the 
 partial repeal of the acts as no favor. 
 
 Meantime, the military, who had been ordered to Boston to 
 enforce the new laws, took up their quarters there, with the 
 strongest impressions that they were sent to quell an actual rebel- 
 
THE BOSTON MASSACRE 527 
 
 ilon. They therefore began to use freedoms inconsistent with the 
 rules of peace. Their behavior gave great offence to the citizens, 
 who were not a little prejudiced against them, from the belief 
 that they were intended to be a check upon their liberties. It 
 was not that the officers were guilty of any disrespect to the 
 inhabitants; on the contrary, they did all in their power to pro 
 mote a good understanding between the soldiers and the towns 
 men. But those who know the character of troops stationed 
 among strangers, will easily perceive that it is no easy task to 
 restrain them from outrage when a temptation offers. A collec 
 tion of men, gathered not only from the lowest but the basest of 
 the people, who have nothing to restrain them but military disci 
 pline, and who always consider themselves in an enemy's country, 
 wherever they are, will always be ready, upon the smallest relax 
 ation of command, to fall into extravagances. By comparing 
 impartially the accounts given on both sides, it appears that the 
 soldiers had not behaved orderly, nor the townsmen very dis 
 creetly. The private quarrels of individuals soon grew to open 
 outrage. The soldiers paraded the streets with drawn cutlasses 
 and bayonets, and the people provoked them with insults and 
 opprobrious speeches. The soldiers considered the people to be 
 rebels, and the citizens looked upon the soldiers as a banditti of 
 oppressors, sent by government to enslave them. It was no 
 wonder that people, inspired by such different sentiments, should 
 not agree. 
 
 In this state of mutual irritation between the soldiers and the 
 populace, it was evident that the slightest accident might lead to 
 scenes of open violence, tumult and bfoodshed. These conse 
 quences did not fail to ensue; and the memorable affair of the 
 fifth of March, 1770, known in history as the " Boston Massacre," 
 tended still further to inflame the minds of the colonists against 
 the mother country. The brawls between the soldiers and the 
 Bostonians soon grew serious. A private of the 29th regiment, 
 being provoked by some insulting words from a workman at one 
 of the ropewalks, assaulted him and was overpowered. He ran 
 to his barracks, gathered a body of his comrades, and returned to 
 take his revenge. An affray ensued ; the soldiers were defeated 
 by the ropemakers, and one of their number was dangerously 
 wounded. Great excitement followed throughout the town. The 
 matter was laid before the council, and that body expressed a 
 decided opinion that there would be no tranquillity till the troops 
 were removed. The commanding officer, being either unauthor 
 ized 01 unwilling to take such a step, the irritation and alarm of 
 
528 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the citizens augmented, and every moment was expected to bring 
 on an outbreak of violence. 
 
 Early on the evening of the fifth, the excitement became 
 wound up to such a point, as to make it certain that an explosion 
 was at hand. Groups of people collected in the streets, and 
 parties of soldiers were hurrying in various directions with 
 unusual activity and marks of preparation. About nine o'clock, 
 the alarm-bell was rung, as if for fire, and immediately large 
 bands of men were seen in motion, brandishing clubs and utter 
 ing imprecations against the soldiers. They collected in large 
 numbers in Dock square. A young man, attempting to pass into 
 Brattle street, was struck at by the sentry near the barracks, and 
 wounded in the head. The mob immediately assaulted the sol 
 diers, but the officers ordered their men into the barracks, and 
 shut them in. The populace followed them to the gate with 
 violent and abusive language. An unknown person, described as 
 " a tall, large man, in a red cloak and white wig," then addressed 
 an inflammatory speech to the rioters, which appears to have pro 
 duced an instantaneous and powerful effect, for the whole body 
 presently rushed through Royal Exchange lane into King street, 
 now State street. At the corner of these two streets stood the 
 Custom House, in front of which a sentry was posted. The mob 
 drove him up the steps, where he loaded his gun and made a 
 show of resistance. The people pressed upon him with violent 
 imprecations, and he shouted for protection to the main guard, 
 
 Boston Massacre. 
 
 which were within hearing. Captain Preston, the commander, 
 despatched a corporal and six men to his relief, and immediately 
 followed bimself. The mob had now become encouraged by a 
 
THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 529 
 
 great accession of numbers, and continued to hoot at the soldiers, 
 pelting them with snowballs, ice and sticks. The soldiers were 
 ordered to load, and form in front of the custom-house. They 
 began to force the crowd away, when one of them received a blow 
 from a club, which brought him to the ground. He immediately 
 rose and fired. All the rest, with one or two exceptions, followed 
 his example. Five men were killed on the spot, or mortally 
 wounded, and several more received severe wounds. 
 
 The people were immediately alarmed with the report of this 
 massacre; the bells were set ringing, and great numbers soon 
 assembled at the place where the tragical scene had been acted. 
 Their feelings may be better conceived than expressed ; and 
 while some were taking care of the dead and wounded, the rest 
 were in consultation what to do in these dreadful circumstances. 
 But so little intimidated were they, notwithstanding their being 
 within a few yards of the main guard, and seeing the 27th regi 
 ment under arms, that they kept their station, and appeared, as 
 an officer of rank expressed it, ready to run upon the very muzzles 
 of their muskets. The lieutenant-governor soon came into the 
 town-house, and there met some of the council and a number of 
 magistrates. A considerable body of people immediately entered 
 the council chamber, and expressed themselves with a freedom 
 and warmth becoming the occasion. The governor used his 
 utmost endeavors to pacify them, requesting that they would let 
 the matter subside for the night, and promising that justice 
 should be done, and the law have its course. Men of influence 
 and weight with the people were not wanting on their part to 
 procure their compliance, by representing the horrible consequence 
 of a promiscuous and rash engagement in the night. The inhab 
 itants attended to these suggestions ; and the regiment under arms 
 being ordered to their barracks, they separated and returned to 
 their dwellings by one o'clock in the morning. A solemn pro 
 cession was made through Boston at the funeral of the vic 
 tims. On this occasion all the shops were shut up, the bells 
 were ordered to toll in Boston and the neighboring towns, and 
 the bodies that moved from different quarters, met in King street, 
 and were carried together through the main streets, followed "by 
 the greatest concourse of people ever known, all testifying the 
 deepest grief, to a vault provided for them in the middle of the 
 Granary burymg-ground. 
 
 This tragical occurrence wrought the people of Massachusetts, 
 
 and particularly the citizens of Boston, to the highest pitch of rage 
 
 and indignation ; yet no acts of violence ensued. Captain Preston 
 
 surrendered himself to the civil authority, and was committed to 
 
 45 o3 
 
530 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 prison to be tried for murder by the laws of Massachusetts. John 
 Adams and Josiah Q,uincy, eminent among the lawyers and pub 
 lic men of the day, had the courage to defend him at the trial. 
 In spite of the bloody scenes which had inflamed the resentment 
 
 John Adams. 
 
 of the people, such was the ability of the defence, and so strong 
 was the feeling of self-restraint among the citizens, after the first 
 heats of indignation were passed, that Preston was acquitted, 
 and allowed to go at large unmolested. The soldiers were also 
 severally put upon trial, and likewise acquitted. Justice tri 
 umphed, and the friends of freedom were saved from the lasting 
 reproach of having taken the lives of defenceless men, who had 
 thrown themselves on the civil power for protection. The result 
 gained for the people of Massachusetts the respect of the world ; 
 and no single occurrence did more to advance the cause of Amer 
 ican liberty, than the " Boston Massacre." It caused the imme 
 diate removal of the troops from the town ; and the people, feeling 
 that something had been gained, acquired new confidence in their 
 resolution to resist the encroachments of arbitrary power. The 
 town of Boston resolved to celebrate the anniversary of the 5th 
 of March, that there might be an annual illustration of "the 
 fatal effects of the policy of standing armies, and the natural 
 tendency of quartering regular troops in populous cities in times 
 of peace." On the day of the first celebration, the bells were 
 tolled from twelve to one o'clock, and from nine to ten in the 
 evening ; and, during the evening, figures representing the massa- 
 
THE BOSTON MASSACRE. 
 
 531 
 
 ere, were exhibited from the window of a distinguished citizen at 
 the north end. The solemnization of this anniversary was 
 repeated from year to year ; an oration was delivered by public 
 appointment, and the feeling excited by the event was kept 
 alive till it burst out into the full flame of the revolution. 
 
 Burke. 
 
 Pitt. 
 
CHAPTER LVI. 
 
 Discovery of the Hutchinson letters. General congress at Philadelphia. State of 
 affairs in England. Capture of the king's schooner, Gaspee. Destruction of 
 the tea at Boston. Indignation of the ministry. The Boston Port Bill. Non 
 importation resolutions. Fortitude and resolution of the colonists. Proceedings 
 in New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Preparations for hostilities. 
 
 IN this state of excitement, a singular transaction occurred, 
 which gave double force to the ill temper and animosity that had 
 subsisted between the governor and people of Massachusetts. 
 This was a discovery and publication of some confidential letters, 
 which had been written during the course of the disputes, by the 
 governor and lieutenant-governor and other persons, to the minis 
 try of England. These letters contained a very unfavorable 
 representation of the state of affairs, the temper and disposition 
 of the people, and the views of the leaders in that province ; and 
 tended to show, not only the necessity of the most coercive meas 
 ures, but that even a considerable change of the constitution and 
 system of government was necessary, to enforce the obedience of 
 the colony. These letters had been sent by lieutenant-governor 
 Hutchinson to the ministry, privately and in confidence ; but the 
 people of the colony insisted that they were evidently intended 
 to influence government, and ought therefore to be shown to such 
 persons as had an interest in preserving their privileges. Upon 
 the death of a person in England, in whose hands these letters 
 happened to be lodged, they, by some means which are not yet 
 known, fell into the hands of Dr. Franklin, then in London, as 
 representative of American affairs, and were by him transmitted 
 to Boston in 1772. 
 
 The indignation and rage which these letters excited in Bos 
 ton can hardly be described. The people found themselves 
 misrepresented and betrayed by those whom they imagined 
 bound in duty to support their interests, and perceived that the 
 late measures of government had proceeded from false information 
 that had been given by their governor and lieutenant-governor. 
 Under the impulses of resentment, the house of representatives 
 passed many violent resolutions. The letters were presented to 
 the council, under the strictest injunctions from the representa 
 tives, that the persons who were to have them should not, by any 
 
THE HUTCHINSON LETTERS. 533 
 
 means, suffer them, for a moment, out of their own hands. This 
 affront to the governor was adopted by the council, and upon his 
 demanding to see the letters that were attributed to him, that 
 board, under pretence of this restriction, refused to deliver them, 
 but sent a committee to open them before him, that he might 
 examine the hand- writing. To this indignity, he was obliged to 
 submit, as well as to the mortification of acknowledging his 
 signature. 
 
 The people of Massachusetts were sufficiently irritated before, 
 and needed no new fuel to increase the flame of their resentment. 
 These letters pushed them on to measures of the most spirited 
 nature ; the legislature passed a petition and remonstrance to the 
 king, in which they charged the governor and lieutenant-governor 
 with betraying their trust, and the people they governed; of 
 giving private, partial and false information. They declared 
 them enemies to the eolony, and prayed for their speedy removal 
 from their offices. 
 
 Meantime, the government of Great Britain showed no disposi 
 tion to abandon their pretensions to the right of taxing the Amer 
 icans. The colonists, on the other hand, were equally inflexible 
 in their determination to resist this attempt. By degrees a plan 
 for expressing the united opinion of the country on this point was 
 matured, and it was resolved to convene a general congress of 
 deputies from the several provinces. This body met at Philadel 
 phia on the 5th of September, 1774, and after deliberating more 
 than a month, passed a series of declarations, which showed their 
 earnest as well as unanimous determination to resist the encroach 
 ments of the British legislature. They protested formally and 
 unreservedly against the taxation of the colonies without their 
 consent, and agreed upon a plan of "non-importation and non- 
 consumption," for the purpose of frustrating the designs of the 
 ministry in regard to commercial duties. They also drew up an 
 address to the people of Great Britain, in which they insisted 
 upon their rights as British subjects, and affirmed that no power 
 on earth had a right to take away their property without their 
 consent. They considered it essential to English liberty that no 
 man should be condemned unheard, or punished for supposed 
 offences, without having an opportunity of making his defence. 
 They considered the proprietors of the soil in America as much 
 masters of their own property, as those of Great Britain, and 
 affirmed that they were not bound to submit to any parliament 
 not of their own election. 
 
 These declarations, however, had no effect upon the British 
 ministry although their influence in encouraging the colonists was 
 45* 
 
534 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 very manifest. Their resolution to resist the attempts of the 
 mother country to tax them was soon put to the test. The duty 
 on tea had been continued by the ministry for the purpose of 
 maintaining the principle of taxation ; and on the same ground of 
 principle it was resisted by the Americans. It had been foretold, 
 by those in England who struggled hard for the total repeal of 
 the duties, who always declared against internal taxation in 
 America, that the retaining of one duty and the abandonment 
 of the others, could answer no other purpose than the lessening 
 of that scanty revenue, which was scarcely sufficient in its whole 
 amount to answer the expense of the collection. These predic 
 tions were fully confirmed. The discontents of the colonies 
 increased every day, and an universal spirit of opposition to the 
 tea act prevailed throughout the country. The governors of 
 most of the colonies, and the people, were in a continual state of 
 warfare ; and such was the opposition between them, that what 
 the one proposed, the others were pretty sure to contradict. It 
 was generally believed that this evil had its rise in the mother 
 country, and that the governors had their instructions how to 
 behave, from the ministry, which they servilely executed, without 
 considering either the reasonableness of the commands, or the 
 temper of the colonists. It is, however, manifest, that the gov 
 ernors either did not understand, or wilfully disregarded the state 
 of the colonies in their account to the ministry ; for it is hardly 
 possible that the latter would have proceeded so far without false 
 information from their servants. The variances between the 
 governors and people put an end to all regular proceedings ; the 
 assemblies were repeatedly called and suddenly dissolved. 
 
 It is not to be expected, in such a state of agitation, when the 
 laws were in a great measure suspended, and men left to pursue 
 the dictates of their passions, that things would proceed in an 
 orderly course. The Gaspee, an armed schooner, had been sta 
 tioned at Rhode Island to prevent smuggling, for which that place 
 had been notorious. The vigilance of the officer who commanded 
 the vessel, so enraged the people, that they boarded her at mid 
 night, in a body of two hundred armed men, and after wounding 
 the commander, and forcing him and his men ashore, set fire to 
 the schooner. This greatly incensed the government, and a 
 reward of five hundred pounds, together with a pardon if claimed 
 by an accomplice, was offered for the discovery and apprehension 
 of any of the perpetrators. But no discovery was made. This 
 daring act of some smugglers, was, by the ministerial party, 
 imputed to the whole colony. 
 
DESTRUCTION OF TEA IN BOSTON HARBOR. 535 
 
 As the colonists refused to import any tea from England, the 
 ministry were forced upon a manoeuvre of their own to introduce 
 the commodity into America. In 1773, an act of parliament 
 allowed the East India Company a drawback upon all teas ex 
 ported from England to the colonies. Under this encouragement 
 large shipments were made by the company to Boston, New 
 York, Philadelphia and other places. It was easy to perceive 
 that the ministry cared little on this occasion for the small duty 
 of threepence a pound, but were only solicitous that the principle 
 of taxation should be established by the landing of the article 
 and the actual payment of the duty. There was now no resource 
 for the colonists but to prohibit the landing. The grand and 
 decisive blow against this measure was struck by the Bosto- 
 nians. The tea-ships had no sooner arrived in Boston harbor, 
 than the bells of the town were set ringing, the citizens turned 
 out in a high state of excitement, and the determination was 
 general that the tea should not be landed. A popular meeting 
 was instantly convened in Fanueil Hall, and the universal feeling 
 and determination of the citizens expressed without disguise. A 
 negotiation was opened with the consignees, to induce them to 
 order the ships back to England, but this failed of its object, and 
 it was at once apparent that by the smallest delay of decisive 
 measures the tea would be landed under the guns of the ships 
 of war. In the midst of the crowd and excitement at Fanueil 
 Hall, the sound of an Indian war-whoop was heard from the 
 gallery, and an exclamation that Boston harbor should be " a tea 
 pot that night." The signal was too plain to be misunderstood. 
 The same evening a band of seventeen men, disguised as Mo 
 hawk Indians, assembled at Gray's wharf, near Fort Hill, boarded 
 the ships, which lay at anchor close to a British man-ofrwar, and 
 threw all the tea overboard. Having performed this most daring 
 feat, without committing any other damage, or any way molesting 
 the crews, they returned on shore undiscovered. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the surprise and irritation of the British 
 ministry, when intelligence of this event arrived in England. 
 Their scheme of taxation was foiled in an instant by such a 
 master-stroke of audacity on the part of the Bostonians, as had 
 never entered their anticipations. In the other colonies, opposi 
 tion had also been made to the landing and sale of the tea, 
 though by no means in so emphatic and decisive a manner as at 
 Boston. This disagreeable intelligence occasioned a message from 
 the throne to both houses of parliament, wherein appeared the 
 greatest anxiety for the maintenance of the royal authority. 
 The message set forth, that unwarrantable practices were carried 
 
536 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 on in North America, and that violent proceedings had lately 
 been pursued in the town of Boston, with a view of obstructing 
 the commerce of the kingdom. It was also signified that his 
 majesty confided in his parliament for the support of his authority. 
 The message was attended with a great number of papers relat 
 ing to the transactions in the colonies. When these documents 
 were laid before parliament, they were aggravated by ministerial 
 comments, which set them forth in the most alarming manner, 
 particularly those which related to the transactions of Boston. 
 It appeared manifest that the storm now gathering against the 
 colonies would fall first upon Massachusetts. The minister, after 
 having moved that the king's message of the 7th of March should 
 be read, opened his plan for the restoring of peace and order in 
 that colony. He stated that the opposition to the authority of 
 parliament had always originated in Massachusetts, which had 
 been ever controlled by the seditious proceedings of the town of 
 Boston ; that, therefore, it became necessary to begin with that 
 town, which, by a late unparalleled outrage, had led the way to 
 the destruction of commerce in all parts of America ; that a 
 severe and exemplary punishment ought to be inflicted for this 
 heinous act. It would, he said, be proper to take away from 
 Boston the privilege of a port, until his majesty should be pleased 
 to restore it. 
 
 The Massachusetts agent presented a petition to the commons, 
 desiring to be heard in behalf of the colony and the inhabitants 
 of Boston. The house refused to hear the petition, and the biU 
 for shutting up the port of Boston was passed March 31, 1774. 
 After some conciliatory motions had been proposed and rejected, 
 the minister brought in another bill, to which thesBoston port act 
 was only a prologue. It was entitled, " A bill for the better regu 
 lating the government of the province of Massachusetts Bay." 
 This bill was intended to alter the constitution of this province* 
 and to take all share of government out of the hands of the peo 
 ple, and to vest the nomination of counsellors, judges and magis 
 trates of all kinds, in the crown, and in some cases in the king's 
 governor, and all to be removable at the pleasure of the king, 
 This was, at one stroke, undermining the ancient constitution of 
 the colony, and leaving the people no share in their own gov 
 ernment. 
 
 The agent made another effort in behalf of his province, and 
 attempted to petition for time to receive an answer from America 
 to the account he had sent of these proceedings. The house 
 refused to receive the petition by a large majority. The same 
 natives of America who petitioned against the Boston port bill, 
 
THE BOSTON PORT BILL. 537 
 
 again renewed their endeavors, by a petition against this. This 
 document was written with great spirit, and in a very warm style, 
 and composed with much judgment. It set forth the apprehensions 
 of the petitioners, as to the effects of this bill in the quarter 
 where it was intended to operate, and was a true prediction of 
 the consequences which actually ensued. This petition, however, 
 was laid on the table without further notice. After the debates 
 were finished, the minister proceeded to give the finishing blow 
 to American liberties by bringing in a "bill for the impartial 
 administration of justice." This act provided that persons in 
 dicted for capital offence in the colonies, might be sent to England 
 for trial. This was the greatest encroachment yet attempted 
 upon the rights of the colonies, and its absurdity and injustice 
 were apparent on the very face of it. What hope of justice could 
 a prisoner entertain who is tried by the laws and judges of one 
 country, for an offence committed in another ? 
 
 When the Boston port bill arrived in America, it excited the 
 utmost alarm and indignation, not only in Massachusetts, but 
 throughout the colonies. Copies of it were multiplied and circu 
 lated among the people, to show them the tyrannical and ruinous 
 measures of the British government. In Virginia, the legislature 
 appointed a fast, for the 1st of June, the day when the bill was 
 to take effect. In that colony, and in Pennsylvania, the fast was 
 solemnized with every manifestation of public grief. But the 
 citizens of Boston had the deepest cause for concern at this event; 
 it was a blow which menaced them with absolute ruin. Com 
 merce, industry and trade were annihilated by it. They were 
 sentenced, on a short notice of twenty days, to the utter depriva 
 tion of the means of subsistence. On the 1st of June, business 
 ceased at Boston, at twelve o'clock, noon, and the harbor was 
 shut against all vessels. The custom-house was removed to 
 Salem. Sailors, merchants, laborers and artificers were immedi 
 ately thrown out of employment. The immense property in 
 stores, wharves and ships was rendered useless. The rents of 
 houses ceased, for want of the means of payment. Provisions 
 grew scarce, and all persons who depended on their daily labor 
 were threatened with starvation or beggary. 
 
 A calamity such as this might indeed have been expected to 
 break the spirit of the Bostonians, and bow them to a speedy 
 submission to ministerial rule. But, to the astonishment of the 
 British cabinet, all these sufferings were endured with inflexible 
 fortitude and resolution. No word of submission was uttered, 
 and the inhabitants showed an invincible determination to endure 
 the last extremities sooner than abandon their political rights. In 
 
 p3 
 
538 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 this resolve they were animated by the sympathy and charities 
 of their neighbors. Provisions were sent in from the towns in 
 the vicinity ; and the people of Marblehead generously offered the 
 merchants of Boston the use of their harbor, wharves and ware 
 houses, with their personal assistance in unlading their goods, free 
 of all expense. The flame of patriotism was kept alive by letters 
 and addresses from town meetings and conventions in various 
 parts of the country, and the spirit of resistance against British 
 encroachments waxed stronger than ever. 
 
 Meantime, Genet al Gage, the commander-in-chief of the British 
 forces in North America, had been appointed governor of Massa 
 chusetts, and arrived at Boston, with a reinforcement of troops, 
 on the 13th of May, 1774. His first proceeding was to involve 
 himself in an altercation with the legislative body, and his next 
 to dissolve them. The committee of correspondence at Boston 
 drew up a declaration, which they entitled a solemn league and 
 covenant, wherein the subscribers bound themselves, in the most 
 solemn manner, to suspend all commercial intercourse with Great 
 Britain, from the last day of the ensuing month of August, until 
 the Boston port bill and other unpopular laws were repealed, 
 and the colony of Massachusetts fully restored to all its rights. 
 They also bound themselves not to consume or purchase any 
 goods whatsoever which arrived after the- specified time. 
 
 This covenant, accompanied with a letter from the committee 
 at Boston, was widely circulated, and the people not only in New 
 England, but in the other provinces, entered into this new league 
 with the greatest zeal. What was somewhat remarkable is, that 
 similar agreements had been entered into about the same time in 
 various parts of the continent, arid without any previous concert 
 with one another. The title of a solemn league and covenant 
 greatly alarmed General Gage and the friends of the ministry in 
 all parts of the British dominions ; its name and tendency were 
 ominous. It brought to the remembrance of the king and ministers 
 the times when the people of England and Scotland entered into 
 a solemn league and covenant for the defence of their legal rights, 
 a proceeding which had always been remembered by men of 
 arbitrary principles with horror. Gage issued a proclamation on 
 the 29th of June, which showed how much he was alarmed. He 
 styled the league an unlawful, hostile and treacherous combina 
 tion, destructive of the lawful authority of the British parliament, 
 and of the peace, good order and safety of the community. All 
 persons were warned against incurring the penalties due to such 
 aggravated and dangerous offences ; and all magistrates were 
 
MILITARY PREPARATIONS OF THE COLONISTS. 539 
 
 charged to apprehend and secure for trial such as should have 
 any share in it. 
 
 Meantime, the southern colonies began also to arm and train 
 their militia. As soon as advice was received of a proclamation 
 issued in England to prevent the exportation of arms and ammu 
 nition to America, measures were taken to procure these articles. 
 For this purpose powder-mills were erected in various quarters. 
 Encouragement was given in all the colonies to the manufacture 
 of arms of every sort. Great difficulties attended these first 
 essays ; and the supply of powder, both from home manufacture 
 and from importation, was for a long time scanty and precarious. 
 But such was the resolution and zeal of the colonists, that they 
 ardently persisted in their undertakings, and success ultimately 
 followed their endeavors. Gage now issued another proclamation 
 against the provincial congress of Massachusetts, which had just 
 convened; but it did not produce the smallest effect upon that 
 assembly, nor in the conduct of the people, who paid an implicit 
 obedience to its determinations. 
 
 From the natural advantages of its situation and the works 
 thrown up on the neck, Boston had already become a strong-hold. 
 It was also, at the pleasure of the governor, capable of being made 
 a secure prison for the inhabitants, who would thereby become 
 hostages for the province at large. The Bostonians saw the 
 danger, and several schemes were projected to avert it. One of 
 the boldest of these was to burn the town and retire into the 
 country ; but neither this daring enterprise, nor any other decisive 
 proceeding, was ultimately determined on. At Rhode Island, the 
 people seized and carried away all the ordnance belonging to the 
 crown in that colony. The assembly of the province also passed 
 resolutions for the procuring of arms and military stores, and for 
 training and arming the inhabitants. The province of New Hamp 
 shire, which had hitherto shown a moderate temper, and had be 
 haved with more respect to the British government than the other 
 provinces of New England, as soon as they heard of the resolu 
 tions of Rhode Island, and received a copy of the royal proclama 
 tion, pursued the same plan. A body of men assembled in arms, 
 and marched to the attack of Fort William and Mary, at Ports 
 mouth, remarkable only for being the object of the first military 
 operation in New Hampshire. This fort was taken December 13th, 
 and supplied them with a quantity of powder. No other act of 
 hostility or violence happened during the winter of 1774; but 
 a firm determination of resistance was universally spread, and 
 increased every day. The arrival of the king's speech and the 
 
540 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 addresses of the new parliament added to the flame that was 
 already kindled. 
 
 The king's speech, in the opinion of the colonists, cut off all 
 hopes of reconciliation, and made them strain every nerve to 
 provide against the storm they saw gathering against them. It 
 is very remarkable that all the public acts and declarations, 
 which, in England, were recommended as the means of pacifying 
 the colonists, by intimidating them, constantly operated in a differ 
 ent manner. The secretary of state for the American department 
 issued a circular letter forbidding, in the king's name, the election 
 of deputies for the ensuing general congress. In spite of this, the 
 elections took place, unobstructed, throughout the country. 
 
CHAPTER LVII. 
 
 Delusion of the British ministry. The Americans declared rebels. Battle of 
 Lexington. Siege of Boston. Battle of Bunker Hill.- Proceedings of ' 
 Congress. Washington appointed commander-in-chuf. Treachery of Gage 
 towards the Bostonians. Capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point by the 
 provincials. Lord Dunmore abandons the government of Virginia. 
 
 THE year 1775, an epoch forever memorable in American his 
 tory, had now arrived. The British government showed no dis 
 position to relax its coercive measures. The colonists exhibited 
 no symptoms of a submissive spirit, and it was evident that 
 a hostile collision must soon take place. What added to the 
 infatuation of the British ministry was the belief, then prevalent in 
 that country, that the Americans were cowards, and would never 
 dare to oppose the British arms in case of extremities. This 
 notion had been encouraged by the rhodomontade of many of the 
 officers of the royal army who had served in America, and who 
 
 Lord Chatham. 
 
 had not the penetration to discover, under the homely manners of 
 the American yeomanry, any signs of military spirit. Under this 
 delusion, it was confidently believed in England, that an army of 
 five thousand men could march through the country from one 
 
5-42 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 end to the other. Matters were therefore carried, in the cabinet 
 and parliament, with a high hand and an arrogant tone. At tho 
 close of the past year, the king had delivered an address to par 
 liament, full of the most bitter denunciations against the colony 
 of Massachusetts, and avowing a determination to suppress all 
 attempts in favor of American liberty. The parliament concur 
 red in these sentiments by a large majority. The more sagacious 
 among the British statesmen, however, saw the storm coming, and 
 made the most strenuous endeavors to check the rash and precipi 
 tate measures of the ministry. The venerable Earl of Chatham 
 left his retirement, and again entered the House of Lords, where 
 his powerful eloquence was exerted in an attempt to dissuade his 
 countrymen from the design of subduing the colonists by force of 
 arms. He recommended conciliatory measures, and in particular 
 the immediate removal of the troops from Boston. His remon 
 strances, however, had not the slightest effect. Equally unavail 
 ing was the petition of congress to the king, which Dr. Franklin 
 and others now laid before parliament, with a request to be heard 
 in its support. The petition was rejected by a large majority. 
 The lords and commons then passed an address to the king, 
 declaring the people of Massachusetts rebels; and the next day 
 a more decisive blow was struck by the ministers, in procuring 
 the passage of an act restricting the trade of the New England 
 colonies, and depriving them of the Newfoundland fishery. 
 
 The Bostonians, in the meantime, in spite of their suffering 
 condition, avoided every kind of outrage. Massachusetts had 
 successfully engaged the other colonies to make common cause 
 with her. A new provincial congress met in February, and pub 
 lished a resolution advising the people to furnish themselves with 
 arms, and make every preparation to resist the invading armies 
 which were expected from Britain for the destruction of the colo 
 nies. In all parts of Massachusetts the inhabitants obeyed these 
 hints. Arms and powder were manufactured and stored in 
 various places, military bands organized, and the proceedings 
 in every quarter gave "dreadful note of* preparation." These 
 things did not escape the notice of General Gage. On the 26th 
 of February, having learned that a quantity of military stores had 
 been collected at Salem, he despatched one hundred and forty 
 soldiers in a transport from the castle, to seize them. They 
 landed at Marblehead, and took up their march for Salem. Not 
 finding the stores there, they proceeded to Danvers, but were 
 stopped at a draw-bridge, where a body of thirty or forty militia 
 were drawn up. After some parley and an attempt to pass, the 
 troops returned to Boston without effecting their object. 
 
SEIZURE OP MILITARY STORES AT CONCORD. 543 
 
 But the flames of war could no longer be kept from bursting 
 out. News arrived in Boston, of the king's speech, of the resolu 
 tions adopted by parliament, and finally of the act by which 
 the people of Massachusetts were declared rebels. The whole 
 province flew to arms ; indignation became fury ; obstinacy, des 
 peration. The idea of reconciliation became chimerical ; neces 
 sity stimulated the most timid ; a thirst of vengeance fired every ; 
 breast. The match was now lighted, the materials disposed,-^ 
 the conflagration near at hand. The fatal moment had arrived ; 
 the signal of war was given. General Gage was informed that 
 the provincials had amassed large quantities of arms and ammu 
 nition in the towns of Worcester and Concord. Excited by the 
 loyalists, who had persuaded him that he would find no resist 
 ance ; considering the cowardice of the patriots, and perhaps not 
 imagining that the sword would be drawn so soon, he resolved to 
 send a few companies to Concord, to seize the military stores. 
 It was said, also, that he had in view, in this expedition, to get 
 possession of the persons of John Hancock and Samuel Adams, 
 
 John Hancock. 
 
 two of the most ardent patriot chiefs, and the principal directors 
 of the provincial congress. But to avoid causing irritation and 
 the popular tumults which might obstruct his design, he took 
 his measures with caution and secrecy. He ordered the grena 
 diers and several companies of light infantry to hold themselves 
 in readiness to march out of the city at the first signal ; pretend- 
 
644 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ing that it was in order to review and execute manoeuvres. The 
 Bostonians entertained suspicions, and sent to warn Hancock and 
 Adams to be upon their guard. Gage, to proceed with more 
 secrecy, commanded a certain number of officers, who had been 
 made acquainted with his designs, to go, as if on a party of 
 pleasure, and dine at Cambridge, on the road to Concord. It was 
 on the evening of the 18th of April that these officers dispersed 
 themselves upon the roads to intercept the couriers that might 
 have been despatched to give notice of the movements of the 
 troops. Gage gave orders that no person should leave Boston ; 
 nevertheless, Doctor Warren, one of the most active patriots, had 
 timely intimation of the scheme, and immediately despatched 
 messengers, some of whom found the roads obstructed by the 
 officers; but others made their way in safety to Lexington, a 
 town on the road to Concord. The news was soon divulged; 
 the people flocked together ; alarm bells were rung ; and the firing 
 of cannon spread the agitation throughout the neighborhood. In 
 the midst of this tumult, at eleven in the evening, a strong detach 
 ment of grenadiers and light infantry was embarked at Boston, 
 and landed at Phipps's Farm, whence they marched toward 
 Concord. 
 
 The troops were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel 
 Smith and Major Pitcairn, who led the vanguard. The militia of 
 Lexington, as the intelligence of the movement of this detachment 
 was uncertain, had separated in the night, But at five in the 
 
 morning of the 19th, advice was received of the approach of the 
 royal troops. The people who happened to be near, assembled to 
 the number of about seventy, certainly too few to entertain the 
 
Nathaniel Green. 
 
 Falls of Montmorenci. 
 
 46* 
 
Henry Clay. 
 
 Richard M. Johnson. 
 
BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 545 
 
 design of fighting. The English appeared, and Major Pitcairn 
 cried in a loud voice, " Disperse, you rebels ! lay down your 
 arms and disperse ! " The provincials did not obey ; upon which 
 he sprung from the ranks, discharged a pistol, and brandishing bis 
 sword, ordered his soldiers to fire. The provincials retreated; 
 the English continuing their fire, the former faced about to 
 return it. 
 
 Meanwhile, Hancock and Adams had made their escape, and it 
 is related that the latter, enraptured with joy, exclaimed, "O! 
 what an ever-glorious morning is this!" considering this first 
 effusion of blood as the prelude of events which must secure the 
 independence of his country. The British advanced towards Con 
 cord. The inhabitants assembled and appeared disposed to act 
 upon the defensive ; but seeing the numbers of the enemy, they 
 fell back and posted themselves on the bridge, north of the town, 
 intending to wait for reinforcements from the neighboring places ; 
 but the light infantry assailed them with fury, routed them, and 
 occupied the bridge, whilst the others entered Concord, and pro 
 ceeded to the execution of their orders. They spiked two pieces 
 of twenty-four pound cannon, destroyed their carriages and a 
 number of wheels for the use of the artillery, threw into the river 
 and into wells five hundred pounds of bullets, and wasted a 
 quantity of flour deposited there by the provincials. These were 
 the arms and provisions which gave the first occasion to a long 
 and cruel war ! 
 
 But the expedition was not yet terminated ; the militia arrived, 
 and the forces of the provincials were increased by continual 
 accessions from every quarter. The light-infantry, who scoured 
 the country above Concorl, were obliged to retreat, and on enter 
 ing the town, a hot skirmish ensued. A great number were 
 killed on both sides. The light infantry having joined the 
 main body of the detachment, the English retreated precipitately 
 towards Lexington. Already the whole neighborhood had risen 
 in arms. Before the detachment had reached Lexington, its rear 
 guard and flanks suffered great annoyance from the provincials, 
 who, posted behind trees, walls and fences, kept up a brisk fire, 
 which the troops could not return. The English found them 
 selves in a most perilous situation. General Gage, apprehensive 
 of the event, had despatched in haste a reinforcement cf sixteen 
 companies, with some marines and two field-pieces. This body 
 arrived very opportunely at Lexington, at the moment when the 
 royal troops entered the town on the other side, pursued with 
 fury by the provincial militia. It appears highly probable that, 
 without this reinforcement, they would have been all cut to 
 
546 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 pieces or made prisoners ; their strength was exhausted as well as 
 their ammunition. After making a considerable halt at Lexing 
 ton, they renewed their march towards Boston, the number of 
 the provincials increasing every moment, although the rear guard 
 of the English was less molested, on account of the two field- 
 pieces, which repressed the impetuosity of the Americans. But 
 the flanks of the column remained exposed to a very destructive 
 fire, which assailed them from every sheltered spot. The royal 
 ists were also annoyed by the heat, which was excessive, and by 
 a violent wind, which blew a thick dust in their eyes. The 
 American scouts, adding to their natural celerity a perfect know 
 ledge of the country, came up unexpectedly through cross roads, 
 and galled the English severely, taking aim especially at the 
 officers, who, perceiving it, kept much on their guard. Finally, 
 after a march of incredible fatigue, and a considerable loss of 
 men, the English, overwhelmed with lassitude, arrived at sunset 
 in Charlestown. 
 
 Such was the memorable affair, known in American history as 
 the Battle of Lexington. The troops accomplished the object of 
 their expedition by destroying the Concord magazines ; but the 
 immediate consequences of this event were such as the British 
 commander had never anticipated. The news of the conflict ran 
 through the country like an electric shock. The inhabitants 
 rushed from their houses, the laborers quitted their fields, the 
 churches poured forth their congregations, as the messengers 
 of bloodshed and war swept through the towns arrd villages. 
 The first moment of surprise, panic, and consternation, was suc 
 ceeded by the cry of revenge, the call to battle, and the shout of 
 preparation. In Massachusetts and the neighboring colonies, the 
 population immediately rushed to arms. In three days from the 
 battle of Lexington, the roads were covered with armed men 
 marching upon Boston, and within a week the town was invested 
 by an army of twenty thousand men. From the heights of the 
 capital, the British commander viewed with astonishment a line 
 of watch-fires stretching from north to south, and enclosing him 
 within the narrow limits of the peninsula of Boston. It was 
 then he became aware of the immense importance of the blow he 
 had struck, and the critical conjuncture into which this act of 
 rashness had thrown him. But it was now too late to avert (he 
 terrible storm of war. 
 
 The army of provincials thus suddenly gathered for the siege 
 of the capital, was a heterogeneous mass of population, who 
 rushed from their farms and firesides at a moment's warning, 
 with such weapons as they could hastily snatch. There was. 
 
548 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 in consequence, no discipline, knowledge of tactics, or general 
 system of operations among them. Without magazines, camp 
 equipage, or engineering apparatus, they threw up rude entrench 
 ments on the hills which surround Boston on the land side, and 
 maintained their posts in sight of the regular troops of Britain, 
 animated solely with the consciousness of the justice of their 
 cause, and by their ardor to avenge the blood of their country 
 men. The British troops, though at first struck with astonish 
 ment at this sudden apparition of an army, which seemed to 
 have sprung in an 'instant out of the earth, yet soon dismissed 
 their apprehensions, when they compared their own military 
 knowledge, discipline and skill, with the ignorance and imperfect 
 organization of the provincial forces. Their contempt for such 
 an enemy was strengthened by the current persuasion of the 
 native cowardice of the Americans, which, even after the conflict 
 of Lexington, still continued among them. It was not long before 
 the correctness of this belief was put to a severe test. 
 
 On all sides, preparations were now made for war. The 
 ' Massachusetts provincial congress, on the 5th of May, passed an 
 act, depriving Gage of all authority in the colony, and declaring 
 him a public enemy. His jurisdiction ceased from this moment, 
 except in the capital. Towards the end of the month, large 
 reinforcements of troops, under Generals 'Ho we, Burgoyne and 
 Clinton, arrived at Boston ; and Gage, gathering fresh confidence, 
 issued a proclamation of martial law throughout Massachusetts, 
 offering pardon to all who should lay down their arms, except 
 Samuel Adams and John Hancock. This proclamation, instead 
 of intimidating the inhabitants, only served to embolden and 
 unite them. Hancock was immediately chosen president of the 
 continental congress, which met at Philadelphia on the 10th of 
 May, 1775. 
 
 Gage remained inactive for some time, expecting the besieging 
 forces would disperse. On the contrary, they pushed their ap 
 proaches nearer to the town. On the night of the 16th of June, 
 a body of one thousand provincials marched into Charlestown, 
 and took post on Breed's Hill, which commands the upper portion 
 of the harbor, and is within a short gun-shot of the north part of 
 Boston. They labored so diligently during the night, that by 
 break of day they had thrown up a redoubt on the brow of the 
 hill, and commenced a slight breastwork, extending down the 
 slope of the eminence toward Mystic river. As soon as day 
 light had discovered their movements, a brisk cannonade was 
 opened upon them from a man-of-war in the stream and a bat 
 tery on Copp's Hill, in Boston. Shot and shells were incessantly 
 
BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 549 
 
 poured in upon them, yet they continued their labor with perfect 
 coolness, till their lines, though hastily and unscientifically plan 
 ned, were as fully completed as their imperfect materials would 
 allow. 
 
 The British commander-in-chief could no longer rest inactive, 
 but determined instantly to drive the Americans from this post. 
 About noon of the 17th, he despatched three thousand men, con 
 sisting of the flower of his troops, under Generals Howe and 
 Pigot, on this service. They embarked in boats, and landed at 
 Moreton's point, at the foot of the hill. The provincials had now 
 received a reinforcement which increased their numbers to fifteen 
 hundred men. There appears to have been no commander-in- 
 chief; but Doctor Joseph Warren, of Boston, who held the rank 
 of Brigadier General, and Colonel Prescott, were among the com 
 batants. General Putnam was, no doubt, on the spot, though 
 
 General Putnam. 
 
 this has been questioned. All that is known of their prepara 
 tions, leads to the conclusion that the different companies 
 posted themselves according to their own judgment, and acted 
 as the emergency dictated, without any general authority to 
 direct their movements. Not having anticipated so speedy an 
 attack from the enemy, they had no field-pieces, and no adequate 
 preparations had been made for supplies of ammunition. In this 
 ill-arranged and unprepared condition, they awaited the approach 
 of twice their number of veteran troops, amply provided with 
 
550 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 artillery, and covered by the fire of the ships of war and the 
 Boston battery. 
 
 The British formed in excellent order, and marched up the hill, 
 halting from time to time, to allow the fire of their artillery to 
 take effect. The heights of Boston, the house-tops, and steeples, 
 were covered with anxious multitudes, gazing, with breathless 
 anxiety and palpitating hearts, on the momentous scene that was 
 passing. The spectacle that ensued was sublime and appalling. 
 The town of Charlestown was set on fire by the British, and its 
 wide mass of wooden houses was quickly wrapped in one vast 
 flame, while the troops marched up the hill to the attack. The 
 provincials, amid clouds of smoke and showers of falling cinders, 
 awaited their approach with perfect coolness ; and reserving their 
 fire till the enemy were within point-blank shot, suddenly poured 
 in so destructive a volley, that the assailants instantly broke then- 
 ranks, and retreated in haste and disorder toward their boats. 
 Their officers, with great exertions, rallied the fugitives, and led 
 them again to the charge. Again the Americans waited their 
 near approach ; again a furious and well-aimed discharge issued 
 from the lines with deadly eifect. Whole ranks of the British 
 were mowed down, and again they fled in disorder. Had the 
 Americans possessed any cavalry, the whole attacking force 
 might have been cut to pieces ; but thejr troops were too ill- 
 organized to allow them to pursue the enemy. Such was the 
 carnage that nearly the whole of General Howe's staff were 
 killed around him, and the general was left alone on the side of 
 the hill. Meantime, Gage, from the Boston side, seeing the criti 
 cal situation of his troops, despatched a reinforcement under 
 General Clinton. A third assault was made. The soldiers, reluc 
 tant to advance, were forced onward by their officers, who 
 pricked them with their swords. The powder of the Americans 
 now began to fail, and their fire slackened. The left flank of the 
 breastwork was carried, and the British artillery raked the inte 
 rior of the intrenchments from end to end. Nevertheless, the 
 provincials maintained their position with the most obstinate 
 bravery, defending themselves with the but-ends of their mus 
 kets after their ammunition was expended. The redoubt was 
 attacked on three sides at once, and at length carried at the point 
 of the bayonet. General Warren received a shot in the breast, 
 and fell dead on the spot. The provincials, overpowered by 
 numbers, abandoned the works, and retreated over Charlestown 
 neck in safety, notwithstanding the shot of a man-of-war and 
 two floating batteries, which completely commanded the isthmus. 
 
 The assailants remained masters of the field, but their loss was 
 
552 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 vastly greater than the advantage gained. More than one third 
 of their men were killed or wounded, making this one of the 
 
 Death of Warren. 
 
 bloodiest battles in which British troops had yet been engaged 
 Pitcairn, who commanded the Lexington expedition, was among 
 the slain, and the slaughter of the officers was out of all propor 
 tion to that of the privates. On the other hand, the effects of the 
 battle were equal to a victory to the provincials. Though driven 
 from their position, yet the unexpected firmness, courage, and 
 good conduct their raw troops had exhibited, and the terrible 
 effect of their fire upon the enemy, raised a degree of confi 
 dence among them equal to that of a positive triumph. They 
 encamped on an eminence immediately without the peninsula of 
 Charlestown, so that the British remained closely blockaded as 
 before. The British troops, instructed by this severe lesson, no 
 longer considered their antagonists as cowards. Passing from 
 the extreme of contempt to that of respectful regard for the 
 courage of their enemy, they made no further endeavors to pene 
 trate into the country; and the Battle of Bunker Hill, as this 
 action is now called, checked at once and forever the advance of 
 the British arms in Massachusetts. 
 
 Meantime, the congress at Philadelphia were taking measures 
 for organizing a military resistance to the British power through 
 out the country. They issued bills of credit, pledging the twelve 
 confederated colonies for their redemption ; prepared for the 
 raising of an army, and published a manifesto, setting forth 
 the cause of their taking up arms. General Washington was 
 appointed commander-in-chief. and repaired immediately to the 
 
SIEGE OF BOSTON. 553 
 
 seat of war. He fixed his head-quarters at Cambridge, three 
 miles from Boston, and applied himself to the business of disci- 
 
 House in Cambridge, where Washington resided. 
 
 plining the troops, and pressing more closely the blockade of the 
 town, which now began to feel the effects of the war. The royal 
 forces in Boston continued closely blocked up by land, and 
 being shut out from fresh provisions and vegetables, they began 
 to feel great distress. The provincials watched the more care 
 fully to keep out supplies, thinking the soldiers would suffer the 
 inhabitants to depart, for fear of a famine ; or, at least, that the 
 women and children would be suffered to remove, which was 
 repeatedly demanded. There is some reason to imagine that 
 Gage considered the inhabitants as necessary hostages for the 
 security of the town, and the safety of the troops. To keep 
 women, old men, and children confined as pledges for their own 
 safety, argued that they were unwilling to fight the provin 
 cials on fair terms. It had often been asserted in England that 
 a few regular troops would march through all America ; but now, 
 a general, with an army of the best troops in the service, was 
 cooped up in a town, and durst not even stay in it without old 
 men, women and children, to guard them ! General Gage at 
 length entered into an agreement with the town's people, that 
 if they would deliver up their arms, they should have liberty to 
 go where they pleased with their property. The arms were 
 accordingly given up ; but, to their amazement and mortification, 
 he refused to let them depart. Many, however, were suffered 
 afterwards to quit the* town at different times, but they were 
 obliged to leave all their effects behind ; so that those who had 
 hitherto lived in affluence, were at once reduced to poverty. The 
 
554 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 general congress complained loudly of this conduct, and ranked 
 the sufferings of the inhabitants of Boston among the most 
 grievous and bitter of their complaints. 
 
 In the mean time, a few private adventurers had accomplished 
 an enterprise, which astonished all Europe. Some persons, 
 belonging to the interior of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New 
 York, undertook, at their own risk and without any authority, 
 and without publicly announcing their designs, an expedition of 
 the utmost importance. This was the capture of Ticonderoga, 
 Crown Point, and other forts, commanding the passes between 
 
 
 Allen at Fort Ticonderoga. 
 
 the southern colonies and Canada. Some of those who had 
 embarked in this design, set out with the greatest secrecy, and 
 met others upon their march, who, without any previous concert, 
 were proceeding upon the same project. These adventurers 
 amounted to two hundred and forty men, and were commanded 
 by Colonel Ethan Allen. The Americans arrived before the walls 
 of Ticonderoga early in the morning, while the garrison were 
 sleeping in all the confidence of perfect security. Allen burst into 
 the bedchamber of the commander, and with a drawn sword over 
 his head compelled him to surrender. the place. The capture of 
 Crown Point followed. These important acquisitions were made 
 without the loss of a man. 
 
 In these forts they found a considerable quantity of cannon, 
 besides some mortars, howitzers and other stores ; they also took 
 two vessels, which gave them command of Lake Champlain, and 
 the possession of materials at Ticonderoga, for building and 
 equipping others. This was as daring an act as had been known 
 
VIRGINIA. 
 
 555 
 
 and clearly showed that the colonists were now in earnest in their 
 opposition. 
 
 In Virginia, Lord Dunmore, the governor, aroused the spirit of 
 resistance among the people, by his intemperate measures. In 
 April, 1775, he removed the public stores from the magazines at 
 Williamsburg, to the ships of war, and afterwards abandoned his 
 residence, and took refuge on board a king's ship, at Yorktown ; 
 thus virtually abdicating his government. On the 15th of Octo 
 ber, he landed with a party at Norfolk, carried off two pieces 
 of cannon, and damaged several others. These marauding 
 attempts he repeated several times, destroying ammunition and 
 stores. 
 
 47* 
 
CHAPTER LVIII. 
 
 General Howe takes the command at Boston. Perilous condition of the American 
 army. Destruction of Falmouth. Expedition to Savannah. Success of the 
 American cruisers. Occupation of Dorchester heights. The British evacuate 
 Boston. Defeat of 'Sir Peter Parker's squadron at Charleston. 
 
 GENERAL Gage returned to England, in .October, 1775, and the 
 command of the army at Boston fell to General Howe. This 
 officer soon after issued a proclamation, by which those of the 
 inhabitants who attempted to quit the town, without leave, were 
 condemned to military execution. By another proclamation, such 
 as obtained permission to leave the town, were, by severe penal 
 ties, excluded from carrying more than a small specified sum 
 of money with them. He also required the forming of associations, 
 by which the remaining inhabitants should offer their persons for 
 the defence of the place. Such of them as he approved were to 
 be armed, formed into companies, and instructed in military exer 
 cises ; the remainder being obliged to pay their quotas in money 
 towards the common defence. 
 
 The limited time for which the soldiers in the provincial army 
 before Boston were enlisted, had nearly expired, and it was ne 
 cessary that some measure should be taken for supplying their 
 place. A committee of the general congress were sent to Boston 
 to take the necessary measures, in conjunction with Washington, 
 for keeping the army from disbanding. Of all the difficulties 
 which the Americans encountered in their attempts towards estab 
 lishing a military force, nothing was more important than the 
 want of gunpowder ; for though they used the utmost diligence 
 in collecting nitre, and all the other materials for the manufacture, 
 the results of their own industry and skill were small. They had 
 not yet opened that commerce with foreign states, which subse 
 quently procured them a supply of military stores. The scarcity of 
 gunpowder was so great, that it was said the troops at Bunker's 
 Hill had not a single charge left after that short engagement; and 
 the deficiency in the army before Boston was at one time so great, 
 that nothing but General Howe's ignorance of the circumstance 
 could have saved the besiegers from being dispersed by a single 
 attack. They left nothing undone to supply the defect, and 
 among other temporary expedients, had contrived to purchase, 
 
CONFEDERATION OF THE COLONIES. 557 
 
 without notice or suspicion, all the powder from the European 
 settlements on the coast of Africa. 
 
 Meantime, plundering, threatening and hostilities were con 
 stantly carried on along the American coast. The town of 
 Falmouth, in the District of Maine, was doomed to share in those 
 calamities. Some disorder relative to the loading of a lumber- 
 ship, caused the British admiral to issue an order for the destruc 
 tion of the town. The officers who commanded the ships on 
 that occasion, gave two hours' notice to the inhabitants, to provide 
 for their safety, and this time was further enlarged till next 
 morning, under the cover of a negotiation for delivering their 
 artillery and small arms, as the price of saving the town. This, 
 however, they refused to comply with, but they made use of the 
 intermediate time in removing as many of their effects as they 
 could, during the darkness of the night. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th of October, a cannonade was 
 begun, and continued with little intermission through the day. 
 About three thousand shot, besides bombs and carcases, were 
 thrown into the town, and the sailors landed to complete the 
 destruction, but were repulsed with the loss of a few men. The 
 principal part of the town which lay next the water, consisting 
 of about one hundred and thirty dwelling-houses, two hundred 
 and seventy-eight stores and warehouses, a large new church, 
 and a handsome court-house, with the public library, were 
 reduced to ashes. The destruction of Falmouth provoked the 
 Americans to the highest degree, and probably pushed on the 
 congress of Massachusetts Bay to the daring measure of granting 
 letters of marque and reprisal, and establishing courts of admi 
 ralty, for the trial and condemnation of British ships. In this law, 
 they declared an intention of defending the coasts and navigation 
 of America, extending the power of capture only to such ships 
 as should be employed in bringing supplies to the armies employed 
 against them. From this time, they did all that was in their 
 power to seize such ships as brought supplies to the troops. 
 
 During the course of the summer, 1775, articles of confederation 
 and perpetual union were entered into between the several colonies, 
 which were already associated, with liberty of admission to those 
 of Quebec, St. John's, Nova Scotia and the two Floridas and 
 Bermudas, They contained rules of general government, in 
 peace and war, both with respect to foreigners and each other. 
 These articles were drawn up by the general congress, and by 
 them transmitted to the different colonies, for the consideration 
 of their respective assemblies. If the articles met their approba 
 tion, they were to empower their delegates to the ensuing congress 
 
558 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 to ratify and confirm them; and from that time, the union which 
 they established was to continue firm until, besides a redress of 
 grievances, reparation was made for the losses sustained by Bos 
 ton, for the burning of Charlestown, for the expenses of the war, 
 and until the British were withdrawn from America. 
 
 When the autumn approached, and appearances of plenty 
 gave the colonists ground to conjecture what might be spared out 
 of the abundance of a plentiful harvest, it was resolved by the 
 congress, that if the. late restraining laws were not repealed 
 within six months, from the 20th of July, 1775, their ports from 
 that time should be open to every state in Europe, which would 
 admit and protect their commerce, free of all duties, and for every 
 kind of commodity excepting onlylteas, and the merchandise of 
 Great Britain and her dependencies. And the more to encourage 
 foreigners to engage in trade with them, they passed a resolution 
 that they would, to the utmost of their power, maintain and sup 
 port such freedom of commerce for two years after its commence 
 ment, notwithstanding any reconciliation with Great Britain, and 
 as much longer as the present obnoxious laws should continue. 
 They also immediately suspended the non-importation agreement 
 in favor of all ships that should bring gunpowder, nitre, sulphur, 
 good muskets fitted with bayonets, or brass field-pieces. 
 
 By the delays and misfortunes whiclj the transports and vic 
 tuallers from England experienced, the forces in Boston were 
 reduced to great distress. What added to the afflictions which 
 they already suffered, was the mortification of seeing several 
 vessels, which were laden with the necessaries and comforts of 
 life, captured by the provincials in the very entrance of the 
 harbor, whilst the tide and wind disabled the ships of war from 
 preventing it. The loss of most of the coal-ships was severely 
 felt, as fuel could not be procured, and the climate rendered that 
 article indispensable. The houses of Boston were pulled down 
 for fuel. The inhabitants were in a most deplorable condition ; 
 detained against their will, or cut off from all intercourse with 
 their friends, exposed to all the consequences of that contempt 
 and aversion, with which a greater part of them were regarded 
 by the soldiers, and at the same time in want of every necessary 
 of life. The attempts made to procure provisions were not 
 attended with great success. Some vessels were sent to Barba- 
 does, where, by the assistance of the governor, a very moderate 
 quantity was obtained. A detachment of marines, with an armed 
 ship and some transports, were sent to Savannah in Georgia, with 
 a view, as the event showed, to carry off cargoes of rice and other 
 provisions. The militia, however, took to their arms, and would 
 
EVACUATION OF BOSTON. 559 
 
 not permit the British to land, nor the ships to hold any corre 
 spondence with the shore. In the course of the debate which 
 arose upon this occasion, some officers belonging to the colony 
 were seized and detained on board the ships; and their release 
 being haughtily refused, and other provoking circumstances 
 occurring on both sides, some batteries were speedily erected by 
 the militia on the banks of the river, and an engagement with 
 cannon and small arms took place. Some blood was spilt, and 
 seven loaded vessels belonging to the colony, were burnt in the 
 conflict. 
 
 Meantime, the besieging forces at Boston waited for the hard 
 frosts of mid-winter, in expectation of attacking the town by 
 crossing over upon the ice. But the uncommon mildi less of the 
 season disappointed these hopes, and they were forced to remain 
 quiet through the winter. The arrival of a copy of the king's 
 speech, with an account of the fate of the petition from the con 
 tinental congress, still further excited the people. They burnt the 
 king's speech publicly in the camp ; and on this occasion they 
 changed their colors from a plain red ground, which they had 
 hitherto used, to a flag with thirteen stripes, as a symbol of the 
 union and number of the colonies. 
 
 During ,his state of affairs, the American cruisers grew daily 
 more numerous and successful against the transports and store- 
 ships. Among a multitude of other prizes, they had the good 
 fortune to capture one which gave a new impulse to their military 
 operations. This was an ordnance ship from Woolwich, which 
 had separated from her convoy, and being herself of no force, 
 she was taken without defence, by a small privateer, in Boston 
 Bay. This vessel contained several pieces of fine brass cannon, 
 a large quantity of small arms and ammunition, and a mortar, 
 with all manner of tools, utensils and machines necessary for 
 camps and artillery, in the greatest abundance. 
 
 By this fortunate acquisition, the American troops became sup 
 plied with the very articles of which they had long stood in need. 
 They delayed not a moment to avail themselves of the advantage. 
 On the 2d of March, 1776, a battery was opened at Lechmere 
 Point, directly opposite Boston, from which a heavy bombardment 
 and cannonade were directed against the town with great effect. 
 Many buildings were demolished and set on fire, and the troops 
 and inhabitants were constantly employed in extinguishing the 
 flames. The British commander began to feel alarmed for the 
 safety of his army ; but matters grew rapidly more threatening. 
 Three days after, he saw, with inexpressible surprise, at the dawn 
 of day, the ramparts of a new fortification which had arisen 
 
 3 
 
560 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 during the niglit on the heights of Dorchester, commanding the 
 town and harbor on the south. The morning mist having magni 
 fied these works to a gigantic size, added much to the consterna 
 tion and amazement of the British officers, who, in their accounts 
 of the siege, affirm that this apparition recalled to their minds 
 Ihose tales of magic and enchantment with which eastern 
 romances are filled. 
 
 They were ready to imagine that they had got into Fairy-land, 
 where spiritual agency is supposed to supply the place of bodily 
 exertions. They could not help seeing that they were now 
 dealing with a people that were in earnest, and who were not 
 inferior to themselves in enterprise. Both the skill and industry 
 of the colonists began now to be ararming to the British troops ; 
 they perceived that the men whom they had been taught to de 
 spise as cowards, were their equals if not their superiors, both in 
 application and intrepidity. The situation of the king's troops 
 was now very critical. Shot and shells were poured in upon 
 them from the new works. Others were rapidly constructing on 
 the neighboring hills, commanding the town and a considerable 
 part of the harbor. 
 
 In these circumstances, no alternative remained but to abandon 
 the town, or dislodge the enemy and destroy the new works. 
 General Howe adopted the latter plan. Two thousand men were 
 embarked in transports, and fell down the harbor to the castle, 
 with a design to land on the beach opposite, and carry the works 
 on Dorchester heights by storm. Every preparation was made 
 by the Americans for the defence. Hogsheads filled with stones 
 and chained together were planted on the brow of the hill, to be 
 rolled down upon the ranks of the assailants. The British were 
 aware of the desperate nature of their attempt. Murmurs of 
 irresolution were heard, and exclamations that it would be 
 " another Bunker Hill affair." In this dispirited condition of the 
 troops, a furious storm, which happened during the night, supplied 
 the British commander with a plausible excuse for deferring the 
 attack. A council of war was held, and resulted in a determina 
 tion to retreat from Boston. A fortnight was passed in prepara 
 tions for departure, till, on the 17th of March, 1776, the besieged 
 were quickened in their movements by a new battery erected by 
 the Americans on Nook's Hill, at the northern point of the penin 
 sula of Dorchester. Delay was no longer safe. By ten in the 
 forenoon of that day, all the king's troops, together with such of 
 (he inhabitants as were attached to the royal cause, were em 
 barked and under sail. As the rear guard went on boar/1 the 
 ships, Washington marched into the town, where he was received 
 
ATTACK ON FORT MOULTRIE. 561 
 
 in triumph by the people, with every demonstration of joy and 
 gratitude. Several ships of war were left in the bay by the 
 British, to protect the vessels which should arrive from England. 
 In this they were not perfectly successful. The great extent of 
 the bay, with its numerous creeks and islands, and the number 
 of small ports that surround it, afforded such opportunities to 
 the provincial armed boats and privateers, that they took a num 
 ber of valuable transport ships, who were still in ignorance that 
 the town had changed its masters. 
 
 Washington was now in possession of the capital of Massachu 
 setts, but being ignorant of the destination of the fleet, and 
 apprehensive of an attempt upon New York, he detached several 
 regiments for the protection of that city, on the very day on 
 which he took possession of Boston. The royal army were not 
 as yet in a situation which admitted of their undertaking any 
 important expedition. They did not exceed nine thousand 
 effective men, and were in some respects very ill provided. This 
 army, nevertheless, was three times more numerous than had been 
 thought sufficient to conquer all America. Their repulse was a 
 mortifying blow to the schemes of the ministry, who had given out 
 that the sight of a few grenadiers, would frighten all the colonies 
 into a compliance with their measures. Their invincible troops 
 had been obliged to abandon Boston, before a newly-raised militia, 
 who were styled cowards in England. 
 
 The fleets, transports and victuallers, which had been sent from 
 England, met with bad weather in their passage ; many delays 
 and untoward circumstances befel them, which in a great degree 
 frustrated their designs. A squadron, under Sir Peter Parker, 
 destined for the invasion of South Carolina, sailed from Ports 
 mouth, about the end of the year 1775, but, suffering great delays, 
 did not reach Carolina till May, 1776. In the beginning of June, 
 the fleet anchored off Charleston, and made preparations for 
 attacking the place. Two of the ships mounted fifty guns, four 
 were frigates of twenty-eight, to which were added four more 
 ships of smaller force and a bomb-ketch. The passage of the 
 bar was a work of difficulty and danger, especially to the two 
 large ships, which, though lightened of their guns, both struck on 
 the bar several times. The land forces were commanded by 
 Generals Clinton, Cornwallis and Vaughan. It is somewhat 
 singular, that, at the time General Clinton sailed from Boston, 
 General Lee, at the head of a strong detachment from the army 
 before that place, immediately set out to secure New York. 
 Having succeeded in that object, General Clinton could not be 
 surprised, at his arrival in Virginia, to find Lee in the same state 
 
562 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of preparation in which he had left him at New York. Upon Clin 
 ton's leaving Cape Fear, Lee hastened to secure North Carolina; 
 and at length, upon the farther progress of the fleet and army to 
 the southward, General Lee again, with equal celerity, proceeded 
 to the defence of Charleston. 
 
 Attack on Fort Moultrje. 
 
 The British troops landed on Long Island, which lies eastward 
 of Sullivan's, being separated only by a creek, which was deemed 
 passable at low water. The Carolinians had posted some forces 
 with a few pieces or dannon near the northeast extremity of 
 Sullivan's Island. General Lee was encamped with a considera 
 ble body of forces upon the continent to the northward of the 
 island, with which he had a communication by a bridge of boats. 
 Long Island is a naked-burning sand, where the troops suffered 
 much from their exposure to the heat of the sun. Both the fleet 
 and the army were greatly distressed through the badness of the 
 water ; that which is found upon the sea-coast of Carolina being 
 very brackish. Nor were they in any better condition with re 
 spect to the quantity or quality of their provisions. Though the 
 greatest despatch was necessary, on account of these inconve 
 niences, yet such delays occurred in carrying the design into 
 execution, that it was near the end of the month, before the attack 
 on Sullivan's Island took place. This leisure was improved by 
 the provincials, with great diligence, for completing their works. 
 Everything being at length settled for the attack, the bomb-ketch, 
 covered by an armed ship, took her station on the morning of the 28th 
 of June, and began by throwing shells at Fort Moultrie, as the fleet 
 
ATTACK ON FORT MOULTRIE. 563 
 
 advanced. About eleven o'clock, four other ships brought up 
 directly against the fort, and began a most furious and incessant 
 cannonade. Three ships were ordered to the westward, to take 
 their station between the island and Charleston, with a design to 
 demolish the works of the fort, and, if possible, to interrupt the 
 communication between the island and continent, and cut off the 
 retreat of the garrison. This part of the design miscarried by 
 the unskilfulness of the pilot, who entangled the frigates in the 
 shoals, where they all stuck fast ; and though two of them were 
 got off, it was then too late to be of any service. One was burnt 
 by the crew the next morning, to prevent her falling into the 
 hands of the Americans. The ships suffered excessively from 
 the fire of the batteries, and the slaughter on board was dreadful. 
 Scarcely was ever British valor put to so severe a trial. The 
 battle continued till the darkness of the night compelled the 
 assailants to desist. Sir Peter Parker, after using every effort, 
 finding that all hopes of success were at an end, and the ebbing 
 tide near spent, withdrew his shattered vessels, between nine and 
 ten o'clock in the evening, after an engagment which had been 
 supported for above ten hours with uncommon courage and 
 resolution. One of his ships had one hundred and eleven, and 
 another seventy-nine, killed and wounded. The frigates did not 
 suffer so severely, for the provincials pointed their fire principally 
 at the ships of the line. 
 
 This defeat was a most unexpected blow to the British. They 
 had never imagined that this insignificant fort would have been 
 able to withstand the heavy fire of their squadron for the space 
 of one hour ; though, upon trial, it was found that after ten hours' 
 severe cannonade, it was as far from being reduced as at the begin 
 ning. The provincials showed, on this occasion,' a degree of 
 skill and intrepidity, which would have done honor to veteran 
 troops ; both officers and men performed their duty to the amaze 
 ment of their enemies, and conducted their fire with such delib 
 eration and design, that almost every shot did execution. Colonel 
 Moultrie, who commanded in the fort, received great and deserved 
 praise from his countrymen. The garrison also received great 
 applause, and a sergeant was publicly honored with a present of 
 a sword, from the president of the congress, for a particular act 
 of bravery. This defence greatly raised the character of the 
 Carolinians and the southern colonies. Sir Peter, with his 
 shattered fleet, made the best of his way to New York. 
 48 
 
 

 CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 Declaration oj Independence. British expedition against New York. Battle of 
 Long Island. Escape of the American army. Lord Howe attempts to nego 
 tiate with Congress. New York captured by the British. Action at White 
 Plains. Forts Washington and Lee taken by the British. Conquest of the 
 Jerseys The British reduce Rhode Island. Desperate condition of the Amer 
 ican cause. 
 
 HITHERTO the colonists had maintained their struggle against 
 the encroachments of the mother country, without abandoning 
 the hope that pacific councils and conciliatory measures might 
 heal the breach between them. But as the British ministry con 
 tinued to manifest the most hostile and arrogant spirit, and 
 showed a fierce determination to reduce them by force of arms to 
 unconditional submission, their feelings became more and more 
 alienated, and they began to despair of any amicable settlement 
 of their difficulties. The news that sixteen thousand German 
 mercenary troops had been hired to make war upon them, added 
 still more to their resentment. Ere long they began to disown 
 the authority of the king, and to declare, in speech and writing, 
 that nothing remained for them but a complete and final separa 
 tion from the British crown. The popular feeling soon found a 
 correspondent expression in public bodies, and at length the 
 continental congress, on the fourth of July, 1776, issued the 
 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ; thus dissolving the connection of 
 the colonies with England, and claiming for them a rank among 
 independent nations. This declaration was received everywhere 
 throughout the country with the highest exultation, and the enno 
 bling prospect of a separate national existence now animated the 
 colonists with new courage and resolution to repel their invaders. 
 
 Washington, meantime, confident that the British would never 
 appear again at Boston, marched his army to New York, antici 
 pating the next attack in that quarter. He was right in his 
 conjecture. The forces that evacuated Boston proceeded first 
 to Halifax, to await reinforcements from England. A grand 
 scheme of conquest was now projected by the British ministry. 
 The execution of it was entrusted to Lord and Sir William 
 Howe, two officers of good character and known abilities, in 
 whom the nation reposed much confidence. A powerful army was 
 
THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 appointed for this service. The whole force was supposed to 
 amount to thirty-five thousand men. Perhaps this might be 
 only the calculation which was made upon paper. It was, how 
 ever in reality, a formidable armament, and a larger army than 
 ever had been sent by any European power to the continent of 
 America. With an army inferior in numbers to this, Alexander 
 the Great made himself master of the whole Persian empire. 
 The British troops were supposed to be the best in the world, 
 and their generals the most skilful. They were well provided 
 with all sorts of provisions, warlike stores and ammunition, and 
 were also supported by a numerous fleet. The general and admiral, 
 beside their military power, were invested with authority as com 
 missioners, by act of parliament, for restoring peace to the colo 
 nies, and for granting pardon to such as should deserve mercy. 
 
 While Sir William Howe waited at Halifax for reinforcements, 
 he was pressed by the want of provisions. He at last, without 
 waiting for his brother, Lord Howe, departed from Halifax on 
 the 10th of June, 1776, and arrived at Sandy Hook about the end 
 of the month. On their passage, the fleet was joined by six 
 transports with Highland troops, which had been separated from 
 their companions in their voyage. Those that were missing, 
 with about four hundred and fifty soldiers and several officers, 
 were taken by the American cruisers, and carried into Boston. 
 General Howe found the entrance of New York harbor strongly 
 fortified. Long Island, on account of its extent, did not admit of 
 its being so strongly guarded ; it was, however, in a tolerable 
 state of defence, and had considerable encampments at the end 
 of the island next to New York. Staten Island, being of less 
 consequence, was neglected ; this was certainly a great oversight 
 in the provincials. 
 
 On the 10th of July, the British landed on Staten Island. 
 Their troops were cantoned in the villages, where they received 
 plenty of provisions. General Howe was here met by Governor 
 Tryon, with several other loyalists, who had taken refuge on 
 board a British ship at Sandy Hook. These persons gave him 
 an account of the strength of the provincials. He was also 
 joined by about sixty men from New Jersey, who came to take up 
 arms in the royal cause, and about two hundred militia of the 
 island, who were embodied for the same purpose. This aiforded 
 a flattering prospect to the general, that when the army was 
 landed and collected in force to support the loyalists, such num 
 bers would join him, as would enable him to bring the war to a 
 speedy conclusion. This was a notion that misled both the 
 ministry in England and the officers abroad, and ruined the 
 
BRITISH FORCES LAND AT STATEN ISLAND. 567 
 
 success of the greatest part of their measures ; they judged of 
 the body of the colonists from a few samples they had of 
 creatures that were under the influence of crown officers, and 
 falsely concluded that all the provincials were of the same 
 temper. Lord Howe arrived at Staten Island ahout the middle 
 of July. His first act was to issue a proclamation, stating his 
 authority to grant pardons to such of the colonists as would 
 return to their allegiance to the king, and promising favors to 
 those persons who should exert themselves in suppressing the 
 rebellion. These documents were widely circulated, but without 
 producing the desired effect. Considerable delay followed, in the 
 expectation of reinforcements. At length, the British forces were 
 augmented by the arrival of Sir Peter Parker and General Clin 
 ton, from Charleston, with some regiments from Florida and the 
 West Indies. It was now determined to make a descent on Long 
 Island. 
 
 Upon the 22d of August, the fleet having taken necessary 
 measures for covering the descent, the army landed without 
 opposition near Utrecht and Gravesend, on the southwest end of 
 the island, and not far from the Narrows. At that time, General 
 Putnam was encamped with a strong force at Brooklyn, at a few 
 miles distance on the north coast, where his works covered the 
 breadth of a small peninsula, having the East river, which sepa 
 rated him from New York, on his left ; a marsh on the right, with 
 the Bay and Governor's Island in his rear. The armies were 
 separated by a range of hills covered with wood. The direct 
 road across the heights lay through the village of Flatbush, 
 where the hills commenced, and near which was an important 
 pass. General Putnam had detached part of his army to occupy 
 the hills, and- defend the passes. It appears, however, that it was 
 not the plan of the colonists to attempt any decisive battle till 
 they had exercised their troops in skirmishes and taught them 
 a little military knowledge. They knew that the British troops 
 were highly disciplined, and longed for nothing more than an 
 opportunity to put an end to the war by a single stroke. Their 
 safety depended much upon speedy action. The colonists, on 
 the other hand, were as yet raw troops; a sudden attack and 
 a signal overthrow would have dispirited them and frustrated 
 all their hopes. What the British called cowardice, was in them 
 the greatest prudence. They industriously avoided coming to 
 any general action, but contented themselves with wearying and 
 harassing the British, which answered all the purpose of a gen 
 eral engagement. After some time spent in skirmishes, a strong 
 body of the British, under Lord Cornwallis, advanced upon Plat- 
 48* T3 
 
568 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 bush. Major General Grant commanded the left wing, which 
 extended to the coast; and the principal army, under the com 
 mand of General Clinton and Earl Percy, wheeled to the right, 
 and approached the opposite coast at Flatland. 
 
 When everything was prepared for forcing the hills, General 
 Clinton, at the head of the van of .the army, with fourteen field- 
 pieces, began, on the evening of the 26th of August, his march 
 irom Flatland. Having passed through the part of the country 
 called the New Lots, they reached the road that crosses the hills 
 from Bedford to Jamaica, where, wheeling to the left towards the 
 former place, they seized a considerable pass, which the Ameri 
 cans had, through some unaccountable neglect, left unguarded. 
 The main body, under Lord Percy, with ten field-pieces, followed 
 at a moderate distance, and the way being thus successfully 
 opened, the whole army passed the hills without opposition, and 
 descended by the town of Bedford into the lower country, which 
 lay between them and Putnam's lines. The engagement was 
 begun early in the morning of the next day, by the Hessians, at 
 Flatbush, and by General Grant, along the coast ; and a warm 
 cannonade, with a sharp fire of small arms, was eagerly sup 
 ported on both sides for some hours. During this time, the king's 
 troops gained no advantage, but were on the point of being 
 repulsed, when the fleet made several manoeuvres on their left, 
 and attacked a battery on Red Hook. This movement embar 
 rassed the right wing of the colonists, which was engaged with 
 General Grant, and called off their attention totally from the left 
 and rear, where their greatest danger lay. Those who were 
 engaged with the Hessians were the first that perceived their 
 danger ; they accordingly retreated in large bodies and in good 
 order, with a design to recover their camp. They were, however, 
 attacked furiously by the king's troops, and driven back into the 
 woods, where they were met by the Hessians, and alternately 
 intercepted and chased by the dragoons and light infantry. In 
 these critical circumstances, some of their regiments, though over 
 powered by numbers, forced their way fo the lines ; some kept 
 the woods and escaped. Great numbers were killed, and the dis 
 comfiture of the Americans at this point -was decisive. 
 
 The right wing of the provincials, engaged with General Grant 
 on the coast, were so late in knowing what was going on in other 
 parts, that they were intercepted in their retreat by some of the 
 British troops, who, in the morning, had not only turned the 
 heights upon their left, but had traversed the whole extent of 
 country in their rear. Such of them as did not flee to the woods, 
 which were the greatest number, were obliged to throw them- 
 
Alexander Hamilton. 
 
 Henry Lee. 
 
Jacob Brown. 
 
 Edward Preble. 
 
 
BATTLE OP LONG ISLAND. 569 
 
 selves into a marsh, where many were drowned, or suffocated in 
 the mud. A considerable number, however, made their escape to 
 the lines, though they were much diminished in their flight by the 
 fire of the pursuers. The loss of the Americans on this occasion 
 was very great. Nearly a whole regiment from Maryland, con 
 sisting altogether of young men of the best families, were totally 
 cut off. 
 
 In this situation there was no hope left, but in a retreat, and 
 even this was exceedingly difficult, under the watchful eye of an 
 active enemy, with a powerful army, flushed with success, almost 
 close to their works. This desperate task was however under 
 taken, and executed with great address by Washington. On the 
 night of the 29th, the American troops were withdrawn from the 
 camp, and with their baggage, stores, and almost all their artillery, 
 conveyed to the water side, embarked, and ferried over to New 
 York, with such silence and order, that the British, though within 
 six hundred yards, knew nothing of the movement. The dawn 
 of day showed them the lines abandoned, the American rear 
 guard in their boats and out of danger. Those who are ac 
 quainted with the usual noise and confusion attending the break 
 ing up of a camp, and the march of so many thousand men, even 
 in open day, must acknowledge that this retreat required an 
 extraordinary address to conduct it, and deserves the name of a 
 master-piece in the art of war. 
 
 After the retreat from Long Island, General Sullivan, who had 
 been taken prisoner, was sent upon parole, with a message from 
 Lord Howe to the congress. In this he stated, that though he 
 could not treat with them in the character of a congress, he was 
 very desirous of having a conference with some of their members, 
 whom he would consider only as private gentlemen. The answer 
 of the congress was, that being the representatives of the free and 
 independent states of America, they could not with propriety 
 send any of their members in their private characters ; but that, 
 ever desirous of establishing peace upon reasonable terms, they 
 would appoint a committee to know whether he had any authority 
 to treat with persons authorized by congress for that purpose, and 
 what that authority was, and to hear such propositions as he 
 should think fit to make respecting the same. Dr. Franklin, 
 John Adams and Mr. Rutledge, were appointed as a committee 
 upon this occasion, and accordingly waited upon Lord Howe, on 
 Staten Island ; but these negociations came to nothing. 
 
 The royal army was now divided from the island of New York 
 by the East river, and the troops were impatient to pass that 
 narrow limit. They posted themselves along the coast wherever 
 
570 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 they could see or front their enemies, and erected batteries at 
 various points. A fleet, consisting of upwards of three hundred sail, 
 including transports, covered the waters of the bay, while the 
 ships of war hovering round the island, threatened destruction to 
 every part, and were continually engaged with the American 
 batteries. Thus an almost constant cannonade was kept up for 
 many days, and the troops, who had so lately escaped from 
 imminent danger, had little time for repose. At length, the 
 British having settled their plans for the attack of the city, the 
 squadron made a movement in the North River, with a design to 
 draw the attention of the provincials to that side of the island. 
 Other parts were also threatened, to increase the uncertainty of 
 the real point of attack. A detachment of the British took pos 
 session of a small island near Hellgate, and erected a battery on 
 it, to silence one which the provincials had thrown up opposite. 
 This had the appearance of a design to land in that part. Whilst 
 the Americans were in this state of suspense, the first divisions 
 of the British, under Generals Clinton, Cornwallis, Vaughan, 
 Leslie and the Hessian Colonel Donop, embarked at the head of 
 Newtown Bay, which runs deep into Long Island, and where 
 they were out of all view of the enemy. Covered by five ships 
 of war upon their entrance into the river, they proceeded to 
 Kip's Bay, about three miles north of Ne.w York, where, being 
 less expected than in other places, the preparation for defence was 
 not so great. The works were, notwithstanding, tolerably strong 
 and well manned, but the fire from the ships was so severe and 
 well directed, that the fortifications were deserted, and the army 
 landed without opposition. The loss of New York was the 
 immediate consequence. 
 
 The provincials, harassed by the fire of the men-of-war, aban 
 doned the city on the 15th of September, with their other posts 
 on that part of the island, and retired to the North End, where 
 their principal strength lay. They were obliged to leave a great 
 part of their artillery and military stores behind. They had 
 some men killed and a few taken prisoners, in the retreat. The 
 king's troops suffered considerably, but this loss was concealed as 
 much as possible. Many of the American regiments behaved 
 badly on this occasion. Their late severe losses on Long Island 
 appear to have had an unfavorable effect upon their conduct at this 
 time. Part of the British army took possession of New York, 
 and the rest encamped near the centre of the island, thus occu 
 pying it from shore to shore. Washington took post on the island 
 at Kingsbridge, where he had a communication with the continent. 
 He erected strong works on both sides of the passage. The 
 
DANGEROUS POSITION OF THE AMERICAN TROOPS. 571 
 
 nearest encampment of the British was on the heights of Haarlem, 
 at the distance of about a mile and a half. Between the two 
 armies were the strong grounds called Morris's heights. In this 
 situation skirmishes frequently happened, and it was found that 
 by degrees the apprehensions of the provincials began to wear 
 away. 
 
 A few days after the capture of New York, a fire broke out, by 
 which nearly a third part of the city was reduced to ashes ; and 
 unless the exertions of the troops and the sailors of the fleet had 
 preserved the remainder, not a house would have been left stand 
 ing. Some persons, who were thought to have been concerned in 
 the cause of this calamity, were thrown into the flames by the 
 soldiers, and burnt to death, though it could never be ascertained 
 who were the real authors of the conflagration. General Howe, 
 finding that no movements could be made with success upon the 
 island of New York, determined upon a new plan of operation 
 On the llth of October, the greater part of the army embarked 
 in flat boats, passed successfully through the dangerous naviga 
 tion of Hellgate, and landed on Frog's neck, near the town of 
 East Chester. Earl Percy, with two brigades of British troops 
 and one of Hessians, continued in the lines near Haarlem. The 
 chief object of this expedition was to cut off the communication 
 between Washington and the eastern shore, arid if this measure 
 did not bring him to an engagement, to enclose him on all sides 
 in the north end of York Island. The king's troops were now 
 masters of the lower road to Connecticut and Boston, but to gain 
 the upper road it was necessary to advance to the higher grounds 
 called the White Plains. This is a rugged tract of land, and is 
 only part of an ascent to a country which is still higher. When 
 the army advanced to White Plains, it was judged necessary to 
 leave the second division of Hessians, with the regiment of 
 Waldeck, at New Rochelle, to keep a communication to forward 
 the supplies that were to arrive at that place. Washington fore 
 saw the intention of this movement, and provided against it. He 
 perceived the danger his army would be in if the British general 
 succeeded in cooping him up in the island. In such a case he 
 would have been compelled to commit the whole fortune of the 
 war to the hazard of a general engagement. In his present state, 
 this would have been highly imprudent ; his troops were not well 
 recovered from the discouragement occasioned by their late mis 
 fortunes, and in case of a defeat there would scarcely have been 
 a possibility of a retreat. Determined to extricate himself from 
 his dangerous position, Washington immediately put his troops in 
 motion and formed them into a line of small detachments, and 
 
572 CONQUEST OF THE JERSEYS. 
 
 entrenched camps, which occupied every height and strong post 
 from Kingsbridge to White Plains. The two armies came into 
 contact at White Plains. A general action was expected; but 
 although some severe skirmishing took place, in which several 
 hundreds were killed, no decisive results ensued. Washington 
 knew it to be the main desire of the British commander to draw 
 him into a general engagement, where the superior discipline and 
 experience of his veteran troops would give him an immense 
 advantage over the raw levies of the provincial army. He there 
 fore prudently abstained from hazarding the fortune of the war 
 in a general combat. He abandoned this position on the night of 
 the 1st of November, and took post on higher ground towards 
 North Castle. Howe, finding it impossible to force Washington 
 to a general engagement, altered his plans again, and resolved to 
 drive the Americans from York Island. Fort Washington stood 
 on the western shore of the island, and Howe directed his first 
 operations against it. The fort was tolerably strong, but could 
 not resist heavy artillery. It was summoned to surrender, but 
 the officer who commanded it replied, that he was determined to 
 defend it to the last extremity, and a general assault was resolved 
 upon. Four attacks were made at the same time. The British 
 troops crossed the East river in flat boats, and were supported by 
 a numerous, powerful and well served artillery. The garrison, 
 deficient in ammunition, could make but a feeble defence, and the 
 place fell into the hands of the enemy. Fort Washington having 
 been reduced, Lord Cornwallis was sent with a strong body of 
 men to attack Fort Lee, on the opposite side of the river. The 
 garrison of two thousand men abandoned the fort, and left their 
 stores, artillery and tents behind them. 
 
 After these decisive advantages, the British overran the greatest 
 part of the Jerseys without opposition, the provincials every 
 where flying before them, till, at length, the invading army 
 extended their winter cantonments from New Brunswick to the 
 Delaware. It was thought that, had they possessed the means 
 of passing the Delaware, they might have taken Philadelphia, 
 where the people were in great panic and consternation ; but the 
 Americans had the foresight to destroy or carry off all the boats 
 upon the river. During these proceedings in the Jerseys, General 
 Clinton, with some British and Hessian troops, and a squadron of 
 ships under Sir Peter Parker, were sent to make an attack upon 
 Rhode Island. They succeeded easily in this enterprise. Upon 
 the 8th of December, the provincials abandoned the island, and 
 the British and Hessian troops took possession of it without any 
 loss, and at the same time blocked up Commodore Hopkins's 
 
THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 573 
 
 squadron, in Providence river. The British squadron and troops 
 continued here during the winter, finding better quarters than at 
 New York. Hitherto the king's forces had succeeded in all their 
 attempts since their landing on Staten Island. The American 
 army was reduced to a handful of men, fleeing before a victorious 
 enemy. The struggle seemed finally closed, and nothing appeared 
 to be left for the colonists but unconditional submission. 
 49 
 
CHAPTER LX. 
 
 Expedition against Canada. Capture of St John's and Montreal. Arnold's 
 march through ihe wilderness of Maine. Junction of Montgomery and Arnold. 
 Attack on Quebec, and death of Montgomery. Failure of the enterprise. 
 Canada evacuated by the Americans. Desperate state of the American cause. 
 Firmness of Washington. Success of the Americans at Trenton and Princeton. 
 The British retreat through the Jerseys. Expedition against Philadelphia. 
 Battle of Brandywine. Capture of Philadelphia by the British. Battle of 
 Germantown. Attack of Red Bank. The forts on the Delaware evacuated.* 
 Washington goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge. 
 
 Death of Montgomery. 
 
 DURING the course of the events related in the preceding chapter, 
 the Americans were also carrying on an expedition against Can 
 ada. The British parliament had passed a law, establishing the 
 Roman Catholic religion in that country, which greatly alarmed the 
 colonists. They considered this law, which bore the name of the 
 Quebec Act, as a stratagem, intended to seduce the papists in 
 Canada into the designs of the British government, and excite 
 them to take up arms and fall upon the back settlements of the 
 New England provinces. As the success of a former expedition 
 to the lakes had given spirit to the Americans, and Ticonderoga 
 
EXPEDITION AGAINST CANADA. 575 
 
 and Crown Point were now in their hands, congress resolved to 
 make a bold push for Canada. 
 
 It was determined to improve the opportunity while the British 
 were shut up in Boston, in 1775. Accordingly, a body of New 
 York and New England troops, to the .amount of two thousand 
 men, under Generals Schuyler and Montgomery, were embodied 
 for this service. Batteaux and flat boats were built at Ticonder- 
 oga and Crown Point, to convey them through Lake Champlain 
 to the river Sorel, by which they were to enter Canada. Schuyler 
 proceeded to Albany, to conclude a treaty with the Indians, which 
 he had been negotiating for some time; but being from illness 
 unable to return, the whole conduct of the enterprise fell upon 
 Montgomery. His first measure was to detach the Indians from 
 the British service; and being strengthened by the arrival of 
 reinforcements and artillery, he prepared to lay siege to the fort 
 of St. John. This fort was garrisoned by nearly all the regular 
 troops then in Canada, and was well provided with stores, 
 ammunition and artillery. 
 
 The parties of the provincials were spread over the adjacent 
 country, and were everywhere well received by the Canadians. 
 While matters were in this situation, Ethan Allen, who seems to 
 have acted rather as a volunteer than as a person obedient to any 
 regular command, undertook to surprise Montreal. He set out 
 upon this hazardous enterprise at the head of a small party of 
 provincials and Canadians, without the knowledge of the com- 
 mander-in-chief. His attempt was unsuccessful. The Canadian 
 militia, supported by a few regular troops, met the adventurer at 
 some distance from Montreal, defeated his troops, and took him 
 prisoner, with forty others ; the rest of the party escaped into the 
 woods. Allen and his fellow-prisoners were by the order of Sir 
 Guy Carleton, governor of Canada, loaded with chains, and in 
 that condition sent to England. 
 
 Meantime, Montgomery pressed the siege of St. John's, but 
 Carleton was indefatigable in his endeavors to raise forces for its 
 relief. Colonel M'Clean with some Scotch and Canadians, to the 
 number of one hundred, were posted near the junction of the 
 Sorel with the St. Lawrence. Carleton used his utmost diligence 
 to effect a junction with M'Clean, and then to march to the relief 
 of St. John's; but his purpose was defeated by the activity of 
 the provincials. He was attacked at Longueil, in attempting to 
 cross the river from the island of Montreal, by a party of Ameri 
 cans, who easily repulsed the Canadians, and frustrated his whole 
 plan, St. John's surrendered, and Montgomery immediately ap 
 proached Montreal. A capitulation was proposed by the principal 
 
576 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 French and English inhabitants, including a sort of general treaty, 
 which Montgomery refused, as they were in no state of defence 
 to entitle them to a capitulation, and were on their side unable to 
 fulfil the conditions. The Americans took possession of Montreal 
 upon the 13th of November, 1775. 
 
 Sir Guy Carleton. 
 
 It was now the season of the year when troops usually go into 
 winter quarters ; and in such a climate as that of Canada, this 
 step appeared more especially necessary. It seems a task beyond 
 the ordinary powers of man, for troops to march in that season 
 through a wild and uncultivated country, covered with forests, 
 thickets and deep snows. Yet the Americans, encouraged by 
 their good fortune, pushed on to attempts altogether beyond their 
 strength. Their success upon the lakes seduced them into the 
 hopes of capturing the city of Quebec, and they seem to have 
 forgotten or despised the dangers and fatigues of an inclement 
 season, in the prospect of finishing with glory so important an 
 enterprise. The provincials had now the whole command of the 
 lakes. General Prescott had been obliged to enter into a capitu 
 lation, by which the whole of the naval force, consisting of eleven 
 armed vessels, was surrendered into their hands. 
 
 While Montgomery was carrying on the war in Upper Canada, 
 an expedition of the most novel and daring description was 
 undertaken against the lower part of the province, from the New 
 England side, by a route that had hitherto been unexplored, and 
 considered as impracticable. About the middle of September, 
 
ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO QUEBEC. 577 
 
 Arnold, at the head of two regiments, consisting of about eleven 
 hundred men, marched from the camp at Cambridge to Newbury- 
 port, where vessels were ready to carry them to the mouth of the 
 Kennebec. Upon the 22 A of the same month, they embarked in 
 boats at Gardner's Town, on the Kennebec, and proceeded up -the 
 river. The Kennebec is a rapid stream, and its shores are rocky ; 
 the navigation was continually interrupted by falls, and the 
 carrying places were difficult to traverse. In this passage the 
 boats were frequently rilled with water and overset, in conse 
 quence of which their arms, ammunition and provisions were to 
 a great extent lost or spoiled. Besides the labor of loading and 
 reloading at the carrying places, the troops were obliged to carry 
 the boats on their shoulders, sometimes a dozen miles. That part 
 of the detachment which was employed in managing the batteaux, 
 marched along the banks of the river, and the boats and the men 
 being disposed in three divisions, each division encamped together 
 every night. The march by land was not more pleasant than the 
 passage by water. They had thick woods, deep swamps, steep 
 mountains and precipices to encounter, and were upon many 
 occasions obliged to cut their way through the thickets for miles 
 together. From all these impediments, their progress was very 
 slow, being in general from four or five to ten miles a day. The 
 constant and severe fatigue caused many of them to fall sick. 
 Provisions grew at last so scarce that some of the men ate their 
 dogs, their shoes, the leather of their cartridge-boxes, and whatever 
 else could be converted into food. When they arrived at the head 
 of the Kennebec, which was upwards of one hundred and fifty 
 miles from their point of departure, and, according to their way 
 of travelling, must have been much more distant, they sent back 
 their sick. One of the colonels took that opportunity of return 
 ing with his whole division, from a dread of starvation. This 
 was done without the knowledge of the commander-in-chief, who 
 had marched forward to explore the way. By this desertion 
 Arnold's detachment was reduced about one third. They, how 
 ever, proceeded with unabated resolution, and at length reached 
 the heights of land which border Canada on the south, and after 
 a few days' farther march, they emerged from the wilderness at 
 the head of the river Chaudiere, which runs into the St. Law 
 rence near Quebec. This little army, every individual of which 
 was nearly reduced to a skeleton, had still a long march to 
 Quebec, though their greatest hardships were now over. On the 
 3d day of November, an advanced party obtained some provisions, 
 and they soon after came to a house, the first they had seen for 
 thirty-one days, having spent the whole time in traversing a 
 
578 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 hideous wilderness, without seeing an inhabitant. Then suffer 
 ings may be easily imagined. 
 
 The Canadians on the frontier received them with the same 
 good will that Montgomery and his army had experienced. They 
 supplied them liberally with all sorts of provisions and necessaries. 
 Arnold published an address to the people, signed by General 
 Washington, similar to one which had been issued before by 
 Schuyler and Montgomery. They were invited to unite with the 
 other colonies, and to range themselves under the standard of 
 liberty. 
 
 When Arnold reached Point Levy, opposite Quebec, the inhab 
 itants were in a wavering situation;, the English subjects were 
 disaffected, and the French were not to be trusted with the defence 
 of the city. There were no troops in the place till M' Clean's 
 newly raised regiment of emigrants arrived from the Sorel. Some 
 marines, whom the governor had requested from General Gage at 
 Boston, were refused, on account of the lateness of the season and 
 the danger of navigation. The Canadian militia had been lately 
 embodied by the lieutenant governor. The river alone saved 
 Quebec from an immediate capture, as the inhabitants had taken 
 the precaution to secure all the boats in the stream. But after 
 some days' delay the Americans procured a number of canoes 
 and crossed the St. Lawrence, under cover of a dark night, not 
 withstanding the vigilance of the ships of war in the river. The 
 inhabitants now began to think of securing their property; the 
 disaffected, both English and Canadians, finding the danger pres 
 sing, united for their common defence. Had the city been taken by 
 surprise it is highly probable that the malecontents would have 
 joined the conquerors ; but as it was now doubtful whether the 
 attack would succeed, they considered it the wisest course to 
 remain true to those who had the possession. The inhabitants 
 were embodied and armed, and the sailors landed from the ships. 
 to man the batteries. The besieged were considerably superior 
 in numbers to the besiegers, and Arnold had no artillery. It is 
 probable that he depended upon the disaffection of the inhabitants, 
 but being disappointed in this, nothing remained practicable but 
 to guard the roads and cut off supplies from the city, till Mont 
 gomery should arrive. Arnold manoeuvred for some days upon 
 the heights near Quebec, and sent two flags to summon the in 
 habitants to surrender, but they were fired at, and no message was 
 admitted ; upon which he withdrew his troops into close quarters, 
 
 During these proceedings. Montgomery had received large 
 supplies for his army at Montreal, and was advancing upon 
 Quebec. Yet he found his progress beset with great difficulties. 
 
ATTACK ON QUEBEC. 579 
 
 His army was composed wholly of raw soldiers, transported 
 suddenly from the plough to the field, unused to discipline, 
 and entirely deficient in military skill. He left some troops at 
 Montreal and other posts, and sent detachments into different 
 parts of the province, to encourage the Canadians, and forward 
 supplies of provisions. With the remainder he pushed on to join 
 Arnold His march lay over bad roads ; the first snows of winter 
 had fallen, and the weather was severe. The troops suffered 
 intense hardships, which they encountered with great resolution. 
 
 Early in December, Montgomery effected a junction with 
 Arnold, at Point aux Trembles, and proceeded to visit Quebec. 
 He wrote a letter to the governor, magnifying his own strength, 
 commenting on the weakness of the garrison, the impossibility of 
 relief, and recommending an immediate surrender. The flag 
 which carried this letter, was fired upon, as well as every other 
 which was sent, so that all communication was cut off between 
 the besiegers and the inhabitants. It was a hopeless attempt in 
 Montgomery to invest a fortified place with a number of troops 
 not superior to those who defended it. His only prospect of suc 
 cess seems to have depended upon the effect which his warlike 
 preparations and the violence of his attack might have produced 
 upon the inhabitants, who, being hastily embodied, might be 
 struck with panic; or he might have hoped, in case his first 
 attack should miscarry, to weary out the garrison with continual 
 alarms. He accordingly commenced a bombardment with five 
 small mortars, which continued for some days ; but his metal was 
 too light to produce any considerable effect against the formidable 
 walls of Quebec. Meanwhile, the snow lay deep upon the ground, 
 and such was the severity of the weather, that human strength 
 seemed incapable of withstanding it in the open field. The New 
 York troops felt these sufferings most keenly, and did not show so 
 much steadiness and resolution as the hardy New Englanders, 
 who had traversed the wilderness with Arnold. These men 
 exhibited amazing constancy and intrepidity. 
 
 Montgomery found at last that some decisive blow must imme 
 diately be struck, and resolved to storm the place. On the 31st of 
 December, under cover of a violent storm of snow, he disposed 
 his little army into four divisions, of which two made false 
 attacks against the upper town, whilst Montgomery and Arnold 
 conducted the real assault at the other extremity of the place. 
 By this means the alarm was excited in both towns, and might 
 have disconcerted the most experienced troops. From the side of 
 the river St. Lawrence, and round to the Basin, every part seemed 
 equally threatened. Montgomery, at the head of the New York 
 
580 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 troops, advanced against the lower town, under Cape Diamond: 
 but, in consequence of some difficulties which had retarded his 
 approach, the signal for engaging had been given, and the garri 
 son alarmed before he could reach the spot. He, notwithstanding, 
 pressed on in a narrow file in a straitened path, having a precipice 
 down to the river on one side, and a high rock hanging over him 
 on the other. Having seized and passed the first barrier, accom 
 panied by a few of his bravest men, he marched boldly to attack 
 the second. This was much stronger than the first, and was 
 defended by a battery of cannon loaded with grape shot. The 
 troops, however, rushed with impetuosity to the attack. Mont 
 gomery was killed at the first assault. His aide-de-camp fell at 
 his side, with most of the officers and soldiers near him. The 
 attempt was at once foiled by this disaster, and the remainder of 
 the troops instantly retreated. 
 
 In the meantime, Arnold was not idle in his quarter. With an 
 intrepidity that would have done honor to veteran troops, his 
 division attacked that part of the town called the Saut, at Mate- 
 lot, and having penetrated through St. Roques, they stormed a 
 strong battery, which they carried after an hour's sharp engage 
 ment. Here Arnold was wounded, his leg being shattered by a 
 bullet, and his men were obliged to carry him back to the camp ; 
 but these troops did not retreat hastily upon the departure of the 
 commander, like the New York detachment. Arnold's place was 
 supplied by other officers, who, with no less intrepidity, continued 
 the attack. They were as yet ignorant of Montgomery's death, 
 and were so far from being dejected by their own loss, that they 
 pushed on with greater vigor, and made themselves masters of 
 another battery. Had all the provincial troops on this occasion 
 been equal to those of New England, notwithstanding the misfor 
 tunes they sustained by the loss of their general officers, they 
 would doubtless have taken the city. 
 
 On the retreat of Montgomery's division, the garrison had time 
 to turn their whole attention to Arnold. The situation of the 
 assailants was now such that in attempting a retreat, they were 
 obliged to pass a considerable distance within fifty yards of the 
 walls, exposed to the whole fire of the garrison. A strong detach 
 ment, with several field-pieces, issued through a gate which com 
 manded that passage, and attacked them furiously in the rear, 
 while they were already engaged with the troops which poured 
 upon them in every other quarter. In these desperate circum 
 stances, without a possibility of escape, attacked on all sides, and 
 under every disadvantage of ground as well as numbers, they 
 
ATTACK ON QUEBEC. 581 
 
 obstinately defended themselves for three hours, and at last 
 surrendered. 
 
 After the unsuccessful attack of Quebec, the besiegers imme 
 diately quitted their camp, and retired three miles from the city, 
 where they strengthened their quarters as well as they were able, 
 being apprehensive of an assault from the garrison ; but the one 
 army was as unfit for pursuing, as the other was to sustain a 
 severe attack. The governor wisely contented himself with the 
 unexpected advantage he had obtained, without hazarding the 
 fate of the province by a rash enterprise. Quebec was out of 
 danger, and the supplies that were expected, would not fail to 
 relieve the whole province. Arnold, who was now commander-in- 
 chief, saw the perils of his situation. The weather continued 
 uncommonly severe, and the hope of assistance was distant. 
 Notwithstanding, the provincials bore all with patience and 
 resolution. 
 
 General Arnold. 
 
 Arnold, who had hitherto displayed uncommon abilities in his 
 march into Canada, discovered on this occasion the vigor of a 
 determined mind, and a genius full of resources. Wounded 
 and defeated, he put his troops in such a condition as to keep 
 them still formidable ; and instead of appearing as one who had 
 met with a repulse, he continued to threaten the city, by turning 
 the siege into a blockade, and effectually obstructed the arrival 
 of supplies of provisions and necessaries for the town. He 
 despatched an express to General Wooster, who was at Montreal, 
 to bring succors, and take upon him the command ; but this could 
 not immediately be done. It appears, from the whole of his oper 
 ations, that Carleton considered it a dangerous expedient to attack 
 
 v3 
 
582 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Arnold in the field, though he had nearly double the number of 
 his troops ; and that, had it been in the power of General Wooster to 
 send a suitable reinforcement, the fate of Quebec would still have 
 been doubtful. Had not Arnold been wounded, notwithstanding 
 the death of Montgomery, it is not improbable that Quebec would 
 have been taken that evening. 
 
 The American forces, after having blockaded Quebec for five 
 months, found it impossible to reduce the city. The British 
 received reinforcements in the spring, which augmented the num 
 ber of their troops to thirteen thousand men. The small-pox, 
 together with the hardships of the season, had reduced the num 
 bers of the Americans so low that it was found necessary to 
 withdraw from Canada. They accordingly retreated from the 
 province by the way of Lake Champlain, and by the end of June, 
 1776, Canada was completely evacuated by the American armies. 
 
 Retreat across the Jerseys. 
 
 The cause of the Americans now appeared utteny hopeless. 
 The British were victorious everywhere ; and the defeated and 
 dispirited continentals were flying before their pursuers. Wash 
 ington had not more than fifteen hundred or two thousand men 
 under his command ; and the people of the Jerseys, struck with 
 panic at the overwhelming disasters that had almost annihilated 
 the last vestige of resistance to the British arms, dared not offer 
 him the smallest assistance. The destitution and suffering of the 
 American troops in their retreat, can hardly be exaggerated. In 
 midwinter they executed long and painful marches, half naked. 
 and without shoes to their feet. Their route for miles through 
 the country was marked by tracks of blood, and there was 
 scarcely a tent in the whole army. Having, at length, crossed the 
 Delaware, they deemed themselves in safety from the pursuit of 
 
BATTLE OF TRENTON. 583 
 
 their enemies, and halted for repose. The British, finding all the 
 boats on the river removed by the Americans, cantoned them 
 selves at Bordentown, Trenton, and other places on the Delaware, 
 with a design to penetrate into Pennsylvania as soon as possible. 
 Desperate as his condition was, Washington did not despair 
 but exhibited, at this trying moment, a degree of fortitude and 
 resolution that never was surpassed. He saw that nothing could 
 save the country but some bold and successful stroke. To turn 
 round and face his victorious enemy with the inconsiderable force 
 under his command, seemed a most hopeless act of desperation ; 
 but as his numbers were diminishing every day, he determined to 
 lose no time in attempting to retrieve his fortunes. He formed the 
 bold resolution of recrossing the Delaware, and attacking the 
 British post at Trenton. On the evening of the 25th of December, 
 
 Washington crossing the Delaware. 
 
 1 T76, the Americans, by a rapid movement, crossed the Delaware, 
 and appeared before the town so suddenly that the enemy had no 
 intelligence of their approach till the attack was begun. The 
 place was garrisoned by a body of Hessians and British light 
 horse, amounting to fifteen hundred men. The whole were killed 
 or taken prisoners, with the exception of six hundred of the 
 cavalry who escaped to Bordentown. Colonel Rahl, who com 
 manded the Hessians, was killed. The loss of the Americans 
 did not exceed five men, three of whon were frozen to death on 
 the march. Washington sent off his prisoners to Philadelphia, 
 and took post at Trenton, where he was joined by considerable 
 
584 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 numbers of the inhabitants. A strong force of the British, under 
 Lord Cornwallis, marched from Princeton to attack him. Wash 
 ington was much inferior in strength to his antagonist, yet he was 
 unwilling to retreat without striking another blow. The two 
 armies were divided by only a small stream, and cannonaded 
 each other till night. The British waited for the morning, in 
 expectation of a complete victory. After dark, on the evening of 
 the 2d of January, 1777, Washington ordered a line of fires to be 
 kindled in front of his camp, to deceive the enemy, and then with 
 drew his army ih perfect order and silence. He made a rapid 
 march to Princeton, and early in the morning, before Cornwallis 
 suspected he had removed from his^encampment. he attacked and 
 routed the British force at that place, capturing three hundred 
 prisoners. 
 
 These successful exploits, performed in the midst of the most 
 discouraging reverses, had a prodigious effect throughout the 
 continent. They gave new confidence to the Americans, roused 
 them from their despondency, brought new recruits to the stand 
 ard of Washington, and raised his military reputation, which had 
 been somewhat depressed by the disasters at New York. The 
 British retreated with their whole force to New Brunswick. The 
 American militia turned out, and in the short space of a month, 
 the invading armies were nearly expelled from the Jerseys. It 
 must be added that the British and Hessians were guilty of the 
 most shameful atrocities while they overran the country, plunder 
 ing, robbing, burning and ravaging, in a manner too shocking to 
 relate. 
 
 Early in 1777, Washington found himself at the head of a 
 respectable army, amounting to above seven thousand men. The 
 British were much superior, but Washington, by judiciously 
 selecting strong points of defence, contrived to frustrate every 
 attempt of his enemy to penetrate again into the Jerseys. Sir 
 William Howe took the field, at the head of a very strong force, 
 and by marching and countermarching through the months of 
 June and July, made every possible manoeuvre to bring his 
 antagonist to battle ; but Washington foiled all his endeavors so 
 successfully that Howe gave up his design, and determined to 
 make an attempt upon Philadelphia by sailing up Delaware Bay. 
 The British army was therefore embarked, and in the beginning 
 of August arrived at the Capes of Delaware. Here, for some 
 unknown cause, the British commander altered his plan, and the 
 squadron put to sea again, sailed up the Chesapeake, and landed 
 the troops in Maryland. Washington immediately broke up his 
 
PHILADELPHIA OCCUPIED BY THE BRITISH. 585 
 
 camp before New York, and advanced southward to meet the 
 British. 
 
 From the eastern shores of the Chesapeake, the British army 
 moved towards Philadelphia, on the 3d of September. Washing 
 ton had crossed the Delaware, determined to risk a battle in 
 defence of the city. His army consisted of about eight thousand 
 effective men. On the llth of September, the two armies met at 
 Brandy wine creek, near the Delaware. The British marched to 
 the attack in two columns, led by General Knyphausen and Lord 
 Cornwallis. Another column attacked the right wing of the 
 Americans. Washington, deceived by false intelligence, delayed 
 to make the proper dispositions for repelling the assault of Corn 
 wallis. The right flank of the Americans was turned, and the 
 troops compelled to retreat. The result was a defeat of the 
 Americans, with the loss of twelve hundred killed and wounded ; 
 among the latter were La Fayette and General Woodford. The 
 loss of the British was not above half that of the Americans. 
 After this victory the British continued to advance, and gained 
 possession of all the roads leading to Philadelphia. Many partial 
 actions took place, but it was found impossible to defend the city. 
 Sir William Howe entered Philadelphia in triumph on the 26th 
 of September, 1777. Congress retired to Lancaster, and after 
 wards to Yorktown. 
 
 Most of the British army was cantoned in Germantown, 
 Washington, having received reinforcements, attacked this place 
 on the 4th of October. He drove the British into the village, but 
 the latter took possession of a strong stone house, from which they 
 could not be dislodged. The morning was foggy, and this em 
 barrassed the movements of the Americans. Nearly one half their 
 troops were obliged to remain inactive. After a severe conflict 
 the assailants found it necessary to retire. The retreat was per 
 formed in haste, and Lord Cornwallis, with the British light horse, 
 pursued the Americans for some miles. The loss of the British 
 was about five hundred ; that of the Americans, one thousand. 
 Soon after the battle, the British retreated from Germantown. 
 
 The approach to Philadelphia from the sea was strongly 
 guarded by forts on the Delaware, but the British were aware 
 that without the command of the river, the possession of the 
 city would be of little value. Accordingly, early in October, a 
 force of two thousand men, under Count Donop, attacked the fort 
 at Red Bank, which was garrisoned by four hundred men, under 
 Colonel Greene. The Americans defended the place with such 
 bravery that they compelled the assailants to retire with the loss 
 of four hundred men, including their commander. The British 
 50 
 
586 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 also attacked Fort Mifflin with no better success, losing two ships, 
 one of them of sixty-four guns, which was burnt. In spite of 
 these repulses, the British renewed their attempts, and brought so 
 strong a force to the attack, that it was found necessary to evac 
 uate the forts on the Delaware in November. Some of the Amer 
 ican armed vessels escaped up the river, but many of them were 
 taken or burnt. 
 
 Various military movements took place during the remainder of 
 the season, but none of them produced any decisive result. About 
 the middle of December, Washington's army went into winter 
 quarters at Valley Forge, about sixteen miles from Philadelphia. 
 Here they built huts in the midst of the woods, and passed the 
 winter amid continual suffering and privation. Many of them 
 were without blankets and almost destitute of clothes. Provis 
 ions, too, were scarce. Yet neither the sufferings of hunger nor 
 cold could shake their constancy to the cause of their country. 
 They submitted to all without murmurs or insubordination. 
 
CHAPTER LXI. 
 
 Burgoyne'' s expedition. The States invaded from Canada. Alliance between the 
 British and the savages. Burgoyne reaches Lake Champlain. His proclama 
 tion to the Americans.- Capture of Ticonderoga. Retreat of the Americans. 
 Their naval force destroyed at Skenesborough. Battle of Hubbardton Barbari 
 ties of the Savages. Murder of Miss M' Crea. Siege of Fort Stanwix, by 
 St. Leger. Defeat of the militia under General Herkimer. Stratagem of the 
 Americans. Retreat of St. Leger from Fort Stanwix. Advance of Burgoyne' s 
 army. Victory of the Americans at Bennington. General Gates takes the 
 command of the northern army. Burgoyne crosses the Hudson, and encamps at 
 Stillwater. Battle of Freeman's Farm. The Indians abandon Burgoyne' s 
 army. Battle of Bemus's Heights. Burgoyne retreats to Saratoga. Clinton's 
 expedition up the Hudson. Burning of Esopus. The British army surrounded 
 at Saratoga. Surrender of Burgoyne. Clinton retreats to New York. 
 
 EARLY in 1777, the British ministry struck out a new plan, that of 
 forming a line of military communication between New York and 
 Canada. They considered the New England people as the soul 
 of the confederacy, and promised themselves great advantages by 
 the project of severing them from all communication with the 
 neighboring states. They hoped, when this was accomplished, 
 to be able to surround them so effectually with fleets, armies, and 
 Indian allies, as to compel their unconditional submission. These 
 views led to the scheme for the invasion of the provinces from 
 Canada. 
 
 The regular troops, British and German, allotted to this service 
 amounted to upwards of seven thousand. They were equipped 
 with the finest train of brass artillery ever seen in a British army, 
 [n addition to the regulars, it was supposed that the Canadians, 
 and the loyalists in the neighboring states, would send large 
 reinforcements, well calculated for the peculiar nature of the 
 service. Arms and accoutrements were accordingly provided to 
 supply them. Several nations of savages had also been induced 
 to take up the hatchet, as allies to the British ; but the policy as 
 well as the humanity of employing them, was questioned in 
 Great Britain. The opposers of the scheme contended that 
 Indians were capricious, inconstant and intractable ; their rapac 
 ity insatiate, and their actions cruel and barbarous. On the other 
 hand, the zeal of the British ministry for reducing the revolted 
 colonies was so violent, as to cause them, in their excessive wrath, 
 
ADVANCE OF BURGOYNfi's ARMY. 589 
 
 to forget that their adversaries were men. In their opinion the 
 only method of speedily crushing the rebellion of the Americans, 
 was to involve them in such complicated distress, as would render 
 their situation intolerable. The counsels of cruelty prevailed. 
 Presents were liberally distributed among the savages. Induced 
 by these, and also by their innate love of war and plunder, they 
 poured forth their warriors in immense numbers. 
 
 The whole army was put under the command of Lieutenant 
 General Burgoyne, an officer of distinguished abilities, whose 
 spirit of enterprise and thirst for military fame were notorious. 
 He was accompanied by Major General Philips, of the artillery, 
 who had established a solid reputation during the late war in 
 Germany, and by Major General Reidesel, and Brigadier General 
 Specht, of the German troops, together with the British Generals 
 Frazer, Powel, and Hamilton, all officers of distinguished merit. 
 The army arrived at Quebec in the spring of 1777. 
 
 The British had undisturbed possession of the northern part of 
 Lake Champlain. Their marine force on the lake, with which in 
 the preceding campaign they had destroyed the American ship 
 ping, was considerable. A portion of the army was to be left in 
 Canada for its internal security, and Sir Guy Carleton's military 
 command was restricted to the limits of that province. Though 
 the British ministry attributed the preservation of Canada to his 
 abilities, in 1775 and 1776, yet, by their arrangements for the 
 grand expedition, he was only called upon to act a secondary 
 part to Burgoyne. His behavior on this occasion was moderate 
 and dutiful. Instead of thwarting or retarding a service which 
 was virtually taken out of his hands, he applied himself to sup 
 port and forward it with the same diligence as if the arrangement 
 had been entirely his own and committed to himself for execu 
 tion. 
 
 The plan of the expedition was this. Burgoyne, with the main 
 body, was to advance by the way of Lake Champlain, and force 
 his way to Albany, or, at least, so far as to effect a junction with 
 the royal army from New York. A detachment was to ascend! 
 the St. Lawrence, to Lake Ontario, and from that quarter to pene 
 trate towards Albany, by the way of the Mohawk. This body 
 was put under the command of Lieutenant Colonel St. Leger. and 
 consisted of about two hundred British troops, a regiment of 
 New York loyalists, under Sir John Johnson, and a large body of 
 savages. 
 
 Burgoyne set out from Quebec and advanced rapidly to Lake 
 Champlain, where he embarked his army, and landed at Crown 
 Point in June. Here, on the 20th, he met the Indians, and 
 50* w3 
 
590 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 welcomed them with a war-feast, and a speech well calculated to 
 excite them to take part with the royal army. He pointedly for 
 bade them to shed blood except in battle ; and commanded that 
 aged men, women, children and prisoners, should be held sacred 
 from the knife and hatchet, even in the heat of actual conflict. A 
 reward was promised for prisoners, and a severe enquiry threat 
 ened for scalps ; though permission' was granted to take them from 
 those who were previously killed in fair conflict. These restric 
 tions, however, were not sufficient to restrain their savage 
 barbarities. Burgoyne then issued a proclamation, designed to 
 spread terror among the inhabitants. The numbers of his Indian 
 associates were magnified, and their eagerness to be let loose upon 
 their prey described in high-sounding words. The force of the 
 British armies and fleets, prepared to crush every part of the 
 revolted colonies, was also displayed in swelling terms. All the 
 calamities of war were denounced against those who should be 
 found in arms against the invaders, and pardon and protection 
 were promised to such as should submit. This proclamation was 
 further filled with pompous rhodomontade, and did little more 
 than provoke the ridicule of the Americans. On the 30th of June, 
 the general issued orders, of which the following words are a 
 part: "The army embarks to-morrow to approach the enemy. 
 The services required in this expedition are critical and conspicu 
 ous. During our progress, occasions may occur, in which diffi 
 culty, nor labor, nor life, are to be regarded. This army musi 
 not retreat." 
 
 From Crown Point, the British proceeded to attack Ticon- 
 deroga. On their approach, they advanced with equal caution 
 and order on both sides of the lake, while their naval force kept 
 in its centre. In a few days, they had surrounded three-fourths 
 of the American works at Ticonderoga, and at Mount Indepen 
 dence ; and had also advanced a battery on Mount Defiance so 
 far towards completion, that in twenty-four hours it would have 
 been ready to open. In these circumstances, General St. Clair, 
 the commanding officer, resolved to evacuate the poet; but con 
 ceiving it prudent to take the sentiments of the general officers, he 
 called a council of war. It was represented to this council that 
 the garrison was not sufficient to man one half the works; that 
 as the whole must be on constant duty, it would be impossible for 
 them to sustain the necessary fatigue for any length of time; and 
 that, as the place would be completely invested on all sides within 
 a day, nothing but an immediate evacuation of the post could 
 save the men. The situation of General St. Clair was highly 
 embarrassing. Such was the confidence of the American people 
 
ACTION AT SKENESBOROUGH. 591 
 
 in the fancied strength of this post, that to retreat without risking 
 a battle, could not fail of drawing on him the denunciation of the 
 whole country. On the other hand, to stand still, and by suffering 
 himself to be surrounded, to risk his whole army in the defence 
 of a single post, was contrary to the true interests of the states. 
 In this trying situation, with the unanimous approbation of the 
 council, he adopted the heroic resolution of sacrificing his personal 
 reputation to save his army. The confident countenance of the 
 garrison had induced their adversaries to proceed with caution 
 While from this cause they were awed into respect, the retreat of 
 the Americans was completed with so much secrecy and expedi 
 tion, that a considerable part of the stores was saved, and the 
 whole would have been embarked, had not a violent gale of wind 
 prevented the boats from reaching their station. The works 
 abandoned by the Americans, were chiefly the old French lines 
 constructed in the late war, which had - been repaired the year 
 before, and were in good order. New works were begun on the 
 mount ; but there was neither time nor strength of hands to com 
 plete them. Much timber had been felled between the East creek 
 and the foot of the mount, to retard the approaches of the British. 
 All the redoubts on the low ground were abandoned, for want of 
 men to occupy them. These works, together with ninety-three 
 pieces of ordnance, and a large collection of provisions, fell into 
 the hands of the British. 
 
 The retreating army embarked as much of their baggage and 
 stores as they had any prospect of saving, and despatched it, 
 under convoy of five armed gallies, to Skenesborough. Their 
 main body marched towards the same place by way of Castleton. 
 The British instantly pursued. General Frazer, with the light 
 troops, advanced on the main body of the Americans. General 
 Reidesel was also ordered, with the greater part of the Brunswick 
 troops, to march in the same direction. Burgoyne, in person, con 
 ducted the pursuit by water. The obstructions to the navigation 
 not having been completed, were soon cut through. The two 
 frigates, the Royal George and the Inflexible, together with the 
 gun-boats, came up with, and attacked the American gallies, near 
 Skenesborough falls. On the approach of the frigates, all oppo 
 sition ceased. Two of the gallies were taken, and three blown up. 
 The Americans set fire to their works, mills and batteaux. They 
 were now left in the woods, destitute of provisions. In this forlorn 
 situation, they made their escape up Wood Creek to Fort Anne. 
 Frazsr pursued the retreating Americans, and on the 7th of July, 
 came up and attacked them at Hubbardton. They made a gallant 
 

SUCCESS OF THE BRITISH TROOPS. 593 
 
 resistance, but after sustaining considerable loss, were obliged to 
 give way. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Hall, with the 9th British regiment, was 
 detached from Skenesborough, to take post near Fort Anne. An 
 engagement ensued between him and a few Americans ; but the 
 latter, after a conflict of two hours, set fire to the fort, and 
 retreated to Fort Edward. The destruction of the gallies and 
 batteaux of the Americans at Skenesborough, and the defeat of 
 their rear, obliged St. Clair, in order to avoid getting between two 
 fires, to change the direction of his main body, and to wheel 
 about from Castleton to the left. After a fatiguing march of seven 
 days, he joined General Schuyler, at Fort Edward. Their com 
 bined forces, including the militia, not exceeding in the whole four 
 thousand four hundred men, were, on the approach of Burgoyne, 
 compelled to retire farther into the country, bordering on Albany. 
 
 Such was the rapid torrent of success, which, in this period of 
 the campaign, swept away all opposition from before the royal 
 army. The officers and men were highly elated with their good 
 fortune. They considered their toils to be nearly at an end; 
 Albany was within their grasp, and the conquest of the adjacent 
 provinces reduced to a certainty. In Great Britain, intelligence 
 of the progress of Burgoyne diffused a general joy. As to the 
 Americans, the loss of reputation which they sustained in the 
 opinion of their European admirers, was greater than their loss of 
 posts, artillery and troops. They were stigmatized as wanting 
 resolution. Their unqualified subjugation, or unconditional sub 
 mission was considered near at hand. The opinion now prevailed 
 that the war in effect was over, or that the further resistance of 
 the colonies would serve only to make the terms of their submi^s- 
 sion more humiliating. The terror which the loss of Ticonderoga 
 spread through the New England states was great; yet no dis 
 position to purchase safety by submission appeared in any 
 quarter. The people did not sink under the apprehensions of 
 danger, but acted with vigor and firmness. 
 
 The royal army, after these successes, continued for some days 
 in Skenesborough, waiting for their tents, baggage and provision. 
 In the meantime, Burgoyne put forth a proclamation, in which he 
 called on the inhabitants of the adjacent country to send a depu 
 tation of ten or more persons from their respective townships to 
 meet Colonel Skene at Castleton, on the 15th of July. The troops 
 were at the same time busily employed in constructing a road 
 and clearing a creek, to open a passage for the conveyance of 
 their stores. A party of the royal army, which had been left 
 behind at Ticonderoga, was equally industrious in carrying gun- 
 
594 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 boats, provisions and vessels, over land into Lake George. An 
 immensity of labor in every quarter was necessary ; but animated 
 as they were by past successes and future hopes, they disregarded 
 toil and danger. From Skenesborough, Burgoyne directed his 
 course towards Fort Edward, on the Hudson. Though the 
 distance in a right line is but a few miles, yet such was the 
 wildness of the country, and such were the difficulties thrown 
 in his way by the Americans, that the army advanced hardly more 
 than a mile a day. The Americans, under the direction of 
 Schuyler, had feHed large trees on both sides of the road, cover 
 ing it, with their branches interwoven. The face of the country 
 was likewise so intersected with creeks and marshes, that the 
 British had no less than forty bridges to construct, one of which 
 was built with logs over a morass two miles in extent. 
 
 The opinion formed by General Burgoyne as to the effect of his 
 march from Skenesborough to Fort Edward, on the American 
 garrison, was verified by the event ; for, being apprehensive of 
 having their retreat cut off, they abandoned their fort and burnt 
 their vessels. The navigation of Lake George being thereby left 
 free, provisions and ammunition were brought forward from Fort 
 George to the navigable parts of the Hudson. This was a dis 
 tance of fifteen miles, and the roads were difficult. The intricate 
 combination of land and water carriage,- together with the insuffi 
 cient means of transportation, and excessive rains, caused such 
 delays, that, at the end of fifteen days there were not more than 
 four days' provisions brought forward, nor above ten batteaux in 
 the river. The difficulties of this march through the wilderness 
 were encountered and overcome by the royal army with a spirit 
 and alacrity which could not be exceeded. At length, on the 30th 
 of July, after incredible fatigue and labor, Burgoyne' s army 
 reached the Hudson at Fort Edward. Their exultation, on 
 accomplishing what for a long time had been the object of their 
 hopes, was now unbounded. 
 
 While the British were retarded in their advance by the com 
 bined difficulties of nature and art, events took place which 
 proved the wisdom and propriety of the retreat from Ticonderoga. 
 The army, saved by that measure, still kept between the inhabi 
 tants and their invaders. This abated the panic of the people, 
 and became a point of union for their defence. On the other 
 hand, had they stood their ground at Ticonderoga, they must 
 inevitably either have been cut to pieces or made prisoners. A 
 few days after the evacuation, Schuyler had issued a proclama 
 tion, calling to the minds of the inhabitants the late barbarities 
 of the royal army in the Jerseys j warning them that they would 
 
BARBARITIES OF THE SAVAGES. 595 
 
 be dealt with as traitors if they joined the British, and requiring 
 them to repair with their arms to the American standard. Nu 
 merous parties were employed in felling tree,s and throwing 
 obstructions in the way of the advancing army. At first, an 
 universal panic intimidated the inhabitants ; but they soon recov 
 ered. The laws of self-preservation operated in their full force, 
 and diffused a general activity through the adjacent states. The 
 formalities of convening, drafting, and officering the militia, were in 
 many instances dispensed with. Hundreds seized their firelocks 
 and marched, on the general call, without waiting for the orders 
 of their commanders. The inhabitants had no means of security, 
 but to abandon their habitations and take up arms. Every indi 
 vidual saw the necessity of becoming a soldier. The terror 
 excited by the Indians, instead of disposing the inhabitants to 
 court British protection, had a contrary effect. 
 
 The friends of the royal cause, as well as its enemies, suffered 
 from the indiscriminate barbarities of the savages. Among 
 other instances, the murder of Miss M'Crea, excited an universal 
 
 Murder of Miss M 1 Crea. 
 
 horror. This maiden, in the innocence of youth, and the bloom 
 of beauty, the daughter of a loyalist, and engaged in marriage 
 to a British officer, was, on the very day of her intended nuptials, 
 massacred by the savage auxiliaries of the British army. This 
 barbarity inflamed the American people, and blackened the royal 
 cause. The cruelties of the Indians and the cause in which they 
 were engaged, were associated together, and presented in one view 
 to the alarmed inhabitants. In conjunction with other circum 
 stances, it impressed on the minds of the inhabitants a general 
 conviction that a vigorous, determined opposition, was the. only 
 
596 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 means for their preservation. Could they have indulged the 
 hope of security and protection, while they remained peaceably 
 at their homes, they would have found many excuses for declining 
 to join the army ; out when they contrasted the dangers of a manly 
 resistance with those of a passive inaction, they chose the former, 
 as the least o two unavoidable evils. All the feeble aid which 
 the royal army received from their Indian auxiliaries was infi 
 nitely overbalanced by the odium which it brought on their cause. 
 Men of abilities and of eloquence, thus influenced, harangued 
 the inhabitants in- their several towns, and set forth in high color 
 ing the cruelties of the savage auxiliaries of Great Britain, and 
 the fair prospects of capturing the whole force of their enemies. 
 From the combined influence of these causes, the American army 
 soon amounted to upwards of thirteen thousand men. 
 
 While Burgoyne was forcing his way towards Albany, St. 
 Leger was cooperating with him in the Mohawk country. He 
 had ascended the St. Lawrence, crossed Lake Ontario, and com 
 menced the siege of Fort Stanwix. At his approach, on the 3d 
 of August, General Herkimer collected about eight hundred of 
 the militia of the parts adjacent, for the relief of the garrison. 
 St. Leger, aware of the consequences of being attacked in his 
 trenches, detached Sir John Johnson, with some loyalists and 
 Indians, to lie in ambush, and intercept the advancing militia. 
 The stratagem took effect. Herkimer and his militia were sur 
 prised on the 6th of August, but several of the Indians were 
 killed by their fire. A scene of confusion followed. Some of 
 Herkimer' s men ran off; but others posted themselves behind logs, 
 and continued to fight with bravery and success. The loss on 
 the side of the Americans was one hundred and sixty killed. 
 Among them was their gallant leader. St. Leger availed himself 
 of the terror excited on this occasion, and endeavored, by strong 
 representations of the Indian barbarities, to intimidate the garrison. 
 He sent messages, demanding the surrender of the fort, and 
 stating the impossibility of their obtaining relief, as their friends 
 under Herkimer were entirely cut off, and that Burgoyne had 
 forced his way through the country, and was daily receiving the 
 submission of the inhabitants. He represented the pains he had 
 taken to check the Indians, and promised that, in case of an 
 immediate surrender, every man in the garrison should be spared. 
 He particularly enlarged on the circumstance "that the Indians 
 were determined, in case of their meeting with further opposition, 
 to massacre not only the garrison, but every man, woman and 
 child in the Mohawk country." Colonel jGansevoort, who com 
 manded in the fort, replied, " that he was determined to defend it 
 
SIEGE OF FORT STANWIX. 597 
 
 to the last extremity, against all enemies whatever, without any 
 concern for the consequences of doing his duty." 
 
 Colonel Willet and Lieutenant Stockwell undertook to give 
 information to the neighborhood, of the state of the garrison. 
 These two adventurous officers passed by night through the 
 besiegers' works, and, at the hazard of falling into the hands of 
 savages, made their way for fifty miles through dangers and 
 difficulties, in order to procure relief. In the meantime, the 
 British carried on the siege with such industry, that, in less than 
 three weeks, they had advanced within one hundred and fifty 
 yards of the fort. The brave garrison, in its hour of danger, was 
 not forgotten. General Arnold, with a brigade of troops, had 
 been previously despatched by Schuyler for their relief, and was 
 then near at hand. A person, who had been taken up by the 
 Americans on suspicion of being a spy, was promised his life, on 
 consideration that he should go and alarm the Indians with mag 
 nified representations of the numbers marching against them. 
 This took immediate effect, although St. Leger used every art to 
 retain them. Part of the savages decamped at once, and the 
 remainder threatened to follow, if the British did not immediately 
 retreat. St. Leger was forced to comply, and on the 22d of 
 August, the siege of Fort Stanwix was raised. From the disorder 
 occasioned by the precipitancy of the Indians, the tents and much 
 of the artillery and stores of the besiegers fell into the hands of 
 the Americans. The discontented savages, exasperated at their 
 ill fortune, are said, on their retreat, to have robbed their British 
 associates of their baggage and provisions. 
 
 While the fate of this post was in suspense, it occurred to Bur- 
 goyne that a sudden and rapid movement forward would be of 
 the utmost consequence. As the principal force of his enemy was 
 in front, between him and Albany, he hoped, by advancing on 
 them, to reduce them to the necessity of fighting, or of retreating 
 to New England. Had they retreated up the Mohawk, they 
 would, in case of St. Leger' s success, have put themselves between 
 two fires. Had they retreated to Albany, it was supposed their 
 situation would have been worse, as a cooperation from New 
 York was expected. Besides, in case of that movement, an 
 opportunity would have been given for a junction of Burgoyne 
 and St. Leger. New England seemed to be the only quarter left 
 for their escape. The principal objection against Burgoyne's 
 project was the difficulty of getting provisions for his troops. 
 To keep up a communication with Fort George, so as to obtain 
 from that garrison regular supplies, at a distance daily increasing, 
 was wholly impracticable. The ad vantages 'which were expected 
 51 x3 
 
598 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 from the proposed measure, were too dazzling to be easily relin 
 quished. Though the impossibility of drawing provisions from 
 stores in their rear was known and acknowledged, yet a hope 
 was indulged that they might be elsewhere obtained. Burgoyne 
 expected great resources from the plentiful farms of Vermont. 
 Every day's account induced him to believe that one portion of 
 the inhabitants in that country were panic-struck, and that 
 another, and by far the most numerous, were friends to the royal 
 cause, and only waited for the appearance of a protecting power 
 to show themselves. Relying on this intelligence, on the 14th of 
 August, he detached a body of five hundred troops, with one 
 hundred Indians and two field-pieces, .toward that quarter. 
 This force was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Baum ; and 
 its immediate purpose was to seize upon a magazine of supplies, 
 which the Americans had collected at Bennington, and which was 
 guarded only by the mil tia. 
 
 Baum was instructed to avoid all danger of being surrounded, 
 or of having his retreat cut off. On approaching Bennington, he 
 found the American militia stronger than he had supposed. He, 
 therefore, took post in the vicinity, entrenched his party, and de 
 spatched an express to Burgoyne, with an account of his situation. 
 Colonel Breyman was detached to reinforce him. Though every 
 exertion was made to push forward this reinforcement, yet, from 
 the impracticable face of the country and defective means of 
 transportation, thirty-two hours had elapsed before they had 
 marched twenty-four miles. 
 
 General Stark, who commanded the American militia, instead 
 of acting only on the defensive, determined to attack the enemy. 
 On the 16th of August, he fell upon Baum in his entrenchments, 
 before Breyman could arrive. After a sharp action, the entrench 
 ments were carried, and the whole detachment made prisoners. 
 Thus a body of raw militia, without bayonets or artillery, 
 attacked and routed five hundred regular troops, advantageously 
 posted behind entrenchments, furnished with the best arms, and 
 defended with two pieces of cannon. Breyman, with his regi 
 ment of one thousand German troops and two field-pieces, arrived 
 just as the battle was decided and the Americans had dispersed 
 in pursuit of the fugitives. The tide of success seemed to be 
 instantly turned, and the victory was about to be wrested from 
 the hands of the Americans. But, in this critical moment, a fresh 
 regiment of militia, under Colonel Warner, made its appearance. 
 The Americans rallied, and the battle commenced anew. Both 
 parties fought Avith great courage ; but on the approach of night, 
 the Germans gave way, and were utterly routed. The victory of 
 
BATTLE OF BENNINGTON. 599 
 
 the American militia was complete. The loss of the enemy was 
 nine hundred and thirty-four men, one thousand stand of arms, 
 four brass cannon, two hundred and fifty dragoon swords, twelve 
 drums, eight loads of baggage, and twenty horses. Baum died 
 of his wounds. The American loss did not exceed one hundred 
 men. 
 
 This unexpected success reanimated the drooping spirits of the 
 Americans, and at once turned the tide of war against the inva 
 ders. It was the first occurrence, which, for a long time, had 
 taken place in favor of the American northern army. From 
 December, 1775, it had experienced a series of misfortunes tread 
 ing on each other's heels, and a succession of defeats succeeding 
 defeats. Almost every movement had been a retreat. The 
 transactions after this period present a remarkable contrast. 
 Fortune, which, previous to the battle of Bennington, had not for 
 a moment quitted the British standard, seemed, after that event, 
 totally to desert it. Congress had placed General Gates at the 
 head of the northern army. His arrival, on the 19th of August, 
 gave fresh vigor to the exertions of the inhabitants. The militia, 
 flushed with their recent victory, flocked in great numbers to his 
 standard, and were soon animated with a hope of capturing the 
 whole British army. A spirit of adventure burst forth in many 
 points. While Burgoyne was urging his preparations for advanc 
 ing towards Albany, an enterprise was undertaken by General 
 Lincoln, to recover Ticonderoga and other posts in the rear of 
 the British. He detached Colonel Brown, with five hundred 
 men, to the landing at Lake George. The colonel conducted his 
 operations with so much address, that, on the 18th of September, 
 he surprised all the outposts between the landing at the north 
 end of Lake George and Ticonderoga. He also captured Mount 
 Defiance and Mount Hope, the French lines, and a block house, 
 two hundred batteaux, several gun-boats, and an armed sloop, 
 together with two hundred and ninety prisoners, and at the same 
 time released one hundred Americans. His own loss was trifling. 
 
 When the stores for thirty days' subsistence were brought for 
 ward from Lake George, Burgoyne gave up all communication 
 with the magazines in his rear, and, on the 14th of September, 
 crossed the Hudson. This movement was the subject of much 
 discussion. Some accused the impetuosity of the general, and 
 alleged that it was premature, as he was not yet sure of aid from 
 New York ; but he pleaded the peremptory orders of his superiors. 
 Burgoyne, after crossing the Hudson, advanced southward along 
 its bank, and in four days encamped at Freeman's Farm, about 
 two miles from Gates's army, which was then posted near Still- 
 
600 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 water. The Americans, elated with their successes at Bennington 
 and Fort Stanwix, thought no longer of retreating, but advanced 
 to meet the enemy. The first battle of Stillwater was fought on 
 the 19th of September. The action began a little before noon, 
 between the scouting parties of the two armies. The comman 
 ders, on both sides, supported and reinforced their respective 
 parties. The conflict, though severe, was only partial for an 
 hour and a half; but after a short pause, it became general, and 
 continued for three hours, without any intermission. A constant 
 blaze of musketry -was kept up, and both armies seemed deter 
 mined on death or victory. The Americans and British alter 
 nately drove and were driven by each other. Men and officers 
 dropped every moment. Several of the Americans mounted the 
 trees, and, as often as they could distinguish an officer's uniform, 
 took him off by deliberate aim. Few actions have been charac 
 terized by more obstinacy in attack or defence. The British 
 repeatedly tried their bayonets, but without their usual success. 
 At length, night put an end to the effusion of blood. The British 
 lost upwards of five hundred men, including killed, wounded and 
 prisoners. The Americans, inclusive of the missing, lost three 
 hundred and nineteen. Thirty-six, out of forty-eight British 
 matrosses were killed or wounded. The 62d British regiment, 
 which was five hundred strong, when it left Canada, was reduced 
 to sixty men. 
 
 This hard-fought battle decided nothing apparently ; yet hardly 
 anything could have been more disastrous to the British. The 
 resolution and obstinacy with which the Americans had faced 
 their veteran troops, struck them with the most alarming appre 
 hensions. Burgoyne, who, up to this time, had persisted in the 
 delusive notion that the Americans were cowards, found all his 
 hopes and calculations confounded by this unexpected display of 
 courage. In his confidential letters to the Secretary of State, at 
 this period, he reluctantly confesses that his opinion as to the 
 military character of the enemy had totally changed. Moreover, 
 this indecisive battle was soon followed by important consequen 
 ces. Of these, one was the diminution of the zeal and alacrity of 
 the Indians in the British army. The dangerous service in which 
 they were engaged, was by no means suited to their habits of 
 war. They were disappointed of their expected plunder, and saw 
 nothing before them but hardships and danger. Fidelity and 
 honor were too feeble motives in the minds of savages to retain 
 them in such a profitless service. By deserting in the season 
 when their aid would have been most useful, they furnished a 
 second instance of the impolicy of depending upon them. Very 
 
BATTLE OF BEMUS'S HEIGHTS. 601 
 
 little more perseverance was exhibited by the Canadians and 
 other British provincials. They also abandoned the British 
 standard, when they found that instead of a flying and dispirited 
 enemy, they had a numerous and resolute force opposed to them, 
 These desertions were not the only disappointments which Bur- 
 goyne experienced. From the commencement of the expedition, 
 he had promised himself a strong reinforcement from New York. 
 He depended on its being able to force its way to Albany, and to 
 join him there or in the vicinity. This cooperation, though 
 attempted, failed in the execution, while the expectation of it con 
 tributed to involve him in some difficulties to which he would not 
 otherwise have been exposed. 
 
 On the 21st of September, Burgoyne received intelligence in 
 cipher, that Sir Henry Clinton, who then commanded in New 
 York, intended to make a diversion in his favor, by attacking the 
 fortresses on the Hudson, between New York and Albany. In 
 answer to this, he despatched to Clinton a trusty person with a 
 full account of his situation, and instructions to press the imme 
 diate execution of his design, and to assure him that he should be 
 able to hold his present position till the 12th of October. The 
 reasonable expectation of succor from New York, founded on this 
 intelligence, made it disgraceful for Burgoyne to retreat, and at 
 the same time improper to urge offensive operations. In this 
 posture of affairs, a delay of two or three weeks became neces 
 sary. 
 
 In the meantime, the provisions of the royal army were lessen 
 ing, and the confidence and mmfbers of the American army 
 increasing. The New England people were fully sensible that 
 their all was at stake, and at the same time sanguine, that by 
 vigorous exertions on their part, Burgoyne would be so entangled 
 that his surrender would be unavoidable. Every moment made 
 the situation of the British more critical. From the uncertainty of 
 receiving further supplies, Burgoyne, on the 1st of October, lessened 
 the soldiers' provisions. On the 7th no intelligence of the expected 
 cooperation had arrived, and Burgoyne marched to force a passage 
 round the left of the Americans, at Freeman's Farm. The body 
 of troops employed for this purpose, consisted of fifteen hundred 
 chosen men, commanded by Generals Burgoyne, Philips, Reidesel 
 and Frazer. As they advanced from the camp at Bemus's 
 Heights, they were checked by a sudden and impetuous attack of 
 the Americans, under Arnold. The British grenadiers sustained it 
 with great firmness. The Americans extended their attack along 
 the whole front of the German troops, who were posted on the 
 right of the grenadiers; and they also marched a large body 
 
602 THE UNITED STATffS, 
 
 round their flank, in order to cut off their retreat. To oppose this 
 bold enterprise, the British light infantry were directed to form a 
 second line, and to cover the retreat of the troops into the camp. 
 In the meantime, the Americans pushed forward a fresh and 
 strong reinforcement, to renew the action on Burgoyne's left. 
 That part of his army was obliged to give way ; but the light 
 infantry and 24th regiment, by a 'quick movement, came to its 
 help, and saved it from total ruin. 
 
 The British camp being now exposed to great danger, the 
 troops began to retreat within the lines. Arnold's corps followed 
 close upon their heels, and attacked the works defended by Lord 
 Balcarras at the head of the light infantry ; but the Americans, 
 having an abbatis and many other obstructions to cross, were 
 compelled to retire. Arnold joined another regiment, and attacked 
 the lines and redoubt defended by Breyman, at the head of the 
 German grenadiers. The assailants pushed on with great intre 
 pidity, in the face of a tremendous storm of grape shot, and carried 
 the works. Arnold was one of the first who entered them. Brey 
 man was killed, and his troops were driven from their post. They 
 gained their tents, about thirty or forty yards from their works ; 
 but, on finding that the assault was general, they gave one fire, 
 after which some retreated to the British camp, and others threw 
 down their arms. The night put an end, to the action. 
 
 This day was fatal to many brave men. The British officers 
 suffered more than their common proportion. Among their slain, 
 General Frazer, on account of his distinguished merits, was the 
 subject of particular regret. Sir James Clark, Burgoyne's aid-de 
 camp, was mortally wounded. The general himself had a nar 
 row escape ; a shot passed through his hat, and another through 
 his waistcoat. Majors Williams and Ackland were taken pris 
 oners. The loss of the Americans was inconsiderable. Arnold, 
 to whose courage they were much indebted for the success of the 
 day, was among the wounded. They took more than two hun 
 dred prisoners, besides nine pieces of brass artillery, and the 
 encampment of a German brigade, with all their equipage. 
 
 The royal troops remained under arms the whole of the next 
 day, in expectation of another battle; but nothing more than 
 skirmishes took place. The position of the British army, after 
 the battle at Bemus's Heights, was so dangerous, that an imme 
 diate retreat was necessary. This hazardous movement was exe 
 cuted in the course of a single night, and the sick and wounded in 
 the hospitals were abandoned to the Americans. Gates now saw 
 a fair prospect of capturing his enemy, without exposing his army 
 to the dangers of another battle. His measures were therefore 
 
KAVAGES OF THE BRITISH UNDER CLINTON. 603 
 
 principally designed to cut off the retreat of the British and pre 
 vent their receiving any further supplies. Burgoyne entrenched 
 himself at Saratoga. 
 
 In the meantime, Clinton had been making an attempt to 
 relieve him from New York. On the 5th of October, he con 
 ducted an expedition up the Hudson. This consisted of about 
 three thousand men, with a suitable naval force. After making 
 many feints, he landed at Stony Point, marched across the hills, 
 and attacked and took Forts Montgomery and Clinton, on the 
 river. He then proceeded to ravage the country, and a detach 
 ment, under General Vaughan, sacked the fine village of Esopus, 
 burning every house to the ground. Charity would lead us to 
 suppose that these devastations were designed to answer military 
 purposes. Their authors might have hoped to divert the attention 
 of General Gates, and thus indirectly relieve Burgoyne ; but the 
 artifice did not take effect. The preservation of property was 
 only a secondary object with the Americans. The capture of 
 Burgoyne's army promised such important advantages, that they 
 would not suffer any other consideration to interfere with it. 
 Gates did not make a single movement that lessened his chance 
 of effecting this grand object. 
 
 The passage of the North River was made so practicable by 
 the capture of the two forts, that Clinton, with his whole force, 
 amounting to three thousand men, might have reached Albany, 
 and penetrated to Gates's encampment, before the 12th of October, 
 the day till which Burgoyne had agreed to wait for aid from New 
 York. While the British were laying the country waste, they 
 might, by pushing forward about one hundred and forty miles 
 in six days, have brought the Americans between two fires, at 
 least twenty-four hours before the surrender of Burgoyne. Why 
 this opportunity was neglected, has never yet been satisfactorily 
 explained. 
 
 Gates now posted fourteen hundred men on the heights oppo 
 site the fords of Saratoga, two thousand more in the rear of the 
 British, to prevent a retreat to Fort Edward, and fifteen hundred 
 at a fort higher up. Burgoyne, receiving intelligence of these 
 movements, concluded that Gates meant to turn his right flank. 
 This, if effected, would have entirely enclosed him. To prepare 
 for a retreat to Lake George, he ordered a detachment of arti 
 ficers, with a strong escort of British and loyalists, to repair the 
 bridges, and open the road leading thither. Part of the escort 
 was withdrawn on other duty; and the remainder, on a slight 
 attack by an inconsiderable party of Americans, took to flight. 
 The workmen, thus left without support, were unable to effect 
 
604 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 their purpose. The only practicable line of retreat which now 
 remained was hy a night march to Fort Edward. Before this 
 attempt could be made, scouts returned with the intelligence that 
 the Americans were entrenched opposite those fords on the Hud 
 son, over which it was necessary to pass, and that they were also 
 in force on the high ground between Fort Edward and Fort 
 George. They had, at the same 'time, parties along the whole 
 shore, and posts so near as to observe every motion of the royal 
 army. Their lines now extended nearly in a circle round the 
 British, and they were, by the nature of the ground, in a great 
 measure secured from attacks. The royal army could not long 
 remain stationary for want of provisions ; nor could it advance 
 towards Albany, without attacking a force greatly superior in 
 number ; nor could it retreat without crossing a river, in the face 
 of the enemy. 
 
 Burgoyne now found his condition truly desperate ; abandoned 
 in the most critical moment by his Indian allies, unsupported by 
 the force from New York, his army weakened by the timidity 
 and desertion of the Canadians, worn down by a series of 
 incessant efforts, greatly reduced in their numbers by repeated 
 battles, and invested by an army nearly three times their number. 
 A continual cannonade annoyed his camp, and rifle and grape 
 shot fell in all parts of the lines. The soldiers, nevertheless, 
 retained a great share of fortitude. The i2th of October at length 
 arrived. The day was spent in anxious expectation. But as no 
 prospect of assistance appeared, and their provisions were nearly 
 expended, the hope of receiving any in due time for their relief, 
 could not be further indulged. On the evening of that day Bur 
 goyne took an account of the provisions left in his carnp, and 
 found only a scanty subsistence for three days. In this state of 
 distress a council of war was called, and it was made so general 
 as to comprehend both the field officers and the captains. Their 
 unanimous opinion was that their present situation justified a 
 capitulation on honorable terms. A negotiation was then opened 
 with the American commander, which ended in Burgoyne's 
 surrendering his whole army, on condition that they should be 
 transported to England, and not serve against the Americans 
 during the war. As soon as the capitulation was signed, on the 
 16th of October, the Americans marched into their lines, and were 
 kept there till the royal army had deposited their arms at the 
 place appointed. The delicacy with which this business was 
 conducted reflected honor on the American general. Nor did the 
 politeness of Gates end here. Every circumstance was withheld 
 that could look like an ostentation of triumph in the American 
 
SURRENDER OF BURGOYNE. 605 
 
 army. The captive general was received by his conqueror with 
 respect and kindness. A number of the principal officers of both 
 armies met at General Gates' s quarters, and for a while seemed to 
 forget, in social and convivial pleasures, that they had been ene 
 mies. The British troops partook liberally of the plenty that 
 reigned in the American army. It was the more acceptable to 
 them, as they were destitute of bread and flour, and had only as 
 much meat left as was sufficient for a day. 
 
 Surrender of Burgoyne. 
 
 By this capitulation, five thousand seven hundred and ninety 
 men were surrendered prisoners. The sick and wounded left in 
 camp, when the British retreated to Saratoga, together with the 
 numbers of the British, German and Canadian troops, who were 
 killed wounded or taken, and who had deserted in the preceding 
 part of the expedition, were reckoned at four thousand six hundred 
 and eighty-nine. The whole royal force, exclusive of Indians, 
 was probably much above ten thousand. The stores which 
 the Americans acquired were considerable. The captured artil 
 lery consisted of thirty-five brass field-pieces. There were also 
 four thousand six hundred and fifty-seven muskets, and a variety 
 of other useful articles, which fell into their hands. The regular 
 troops of Gates's army amounted to nine thousand and ninety- 
 three, the militia, to four thousand one hundred and twenty nine, 
 Of the former, two thousand one hundred and three were sick, ov 
 on furlough, and five hundred and sixty-two of the latter were in 
 the same situation. The number of the militia was constantly 
 fluctuating. 
 
 The general exultation of the Americans, on receiving the 
 agreeable intelligence of the capture of Burgoyne, disarmed them 
 
 Y3 
 
606 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of much of their resentment. The burnings and devastations 
 which had been practised by the invaders, were sufficient to have 
 inflamed their minds ; but private feelings were in a great measure 
 absorbed in the general joy at the ultimate success of the Ameri 
 can arms. Immediately after the convention was signed, Gates 
 moved down the river to stop the devastations of the British on 
 the Hudson ; but on hearing of the fate of Burgoyne, they retired 
 to New York. 
 
 About the same time, the British who had been left in Burgoynci's 
 rear as he advanced from Canada, destroyed their cannon, and, 
 abandoning Ticonderoga, retreated towards Montreal. The whole 
 country, after experiencing for several months the ravages of 
 war, was in a moment restored to perfect tranquillity. 
 
 Great was the surprise and mortification of the British ministry, 
 on receiving the intelligence of the fate of Burgoyne. The expe 
 dition had been undertaken with the most confident hopes of 
 success. The quality of the troops he commanded was such, 
 that, by their bravery, and his zeal, talents and courage, it was 
 presumed that all the northern parts of the United States would 
 be subdued before the end of the campaign. The good fortune 
 which for some time followed him justified these expectations ; 
 but the catastrophe proved the shallowness of the ministerial 
 views and the presumption of their gejieral. The capture of 
 Burgoyne was the main event on which the course of the revolu 
 tion turned. While it encouraged the Americans to persevere, 
 by well grounded hopes of final success, it increased the em 
 barrassment of that ministry which had so ineffectually labored 
 to compel their submission. Opposition to their measures at home 
 gathered hew strength, and formed a stumbling-block in the road 
 to conquest. This prevented Great Britain from acting with that 
 collected force, which an union of sentiments and councils would 
 have enabled her to exert. Hitherto, the best informed Americans 
 had entertained doubts of success in establishing their independ 
 ence' but henceforward their language was, "that whatever 
 might be the event of their present struggle, they were forever 
 lost to Great Britain." Nor were they deceived. 
 
 Much effect was produced, in the early part of the struggle for 
 independence, by the writings of Thomas Paine, an author whose 
 ingenuity and vigorous intellect, added to the command of a 
 simple and forcible style of writing, gained him great influence 
 with the multitude of readers. At this period of his life he 
 labored under none of the odium which subsequently fell upon 
 his name, on account of his irreligious works. He came to 
 America in 1774, and his pamphlet, entitled " Common Sense," 
 
THOMAS PAINE. 
 
 607 
 
 which he published soon after hostilities broke out, was so popular 
 and effective that the legislature of Pennsylvania voted him a 
 reward of five hundred pounds. His other revolutionary writings, 
 the "Rights of Man," the "Crisis," and many more, had much 
 effect in strengthening the cause of independence. 
 
 Thomas Paine. 
 
CHAPTER LXII. 
 
 franklin's mission to the French Court. Alliance with France. A French fleet 
 under D'Estaing, arrives in America. The British evacuate Philadelphia. 
 Battle of Monmouth. Misconduct of General Lee. Narrow escape of the 
 British squadron. ^Expedition of the Americans and French against Rhode 
 Island. Inactivity of D^Estaing. Failure of the expedition. Catastrophe of 
 Colonel Baylor's regiment. Abortive expedition against Florida. Georgia 
 invaded by the British. Capture of Savannah, and subjugation of the whole 
 State. 
 
 Franklin. 
 
 THE capture of Burgoyne's army led the way to important con 
 sequences in Europe. Congress had, at an early date, attempted 
 negotiations with the European powers; but the disasters of the 
 campaign of 1776, and the early part of the following year, ren 
 dered the affairs of the revolution too unpromising to admit of a 
 successful result. Dr. Franklin, who had proceeded to Paris 
 shortly after the Declaration of Independence, was received with 
 civility by the French court, and laid before them the plan of a 
 treaty of alliance drawn up by Congress. The jealous spirit 
 which had always subsisted between France and England, offered 
 a strong motive for the cabinet of Versailles to take up the cause 
 of the colonies, and aim .a deadly blow at their ancient rival. But 
 
TREATY OF ALLIANCE WITH FRANCE. 609 
 
 the victorious march of Burgoyne from Quebec to the Hudson, 
 had completely discouraged the friends of American indepen 
 dence in Europe, and all hope of successful resistance on the part 
 of the colonists was considered at an end. The intelligence that 
 soon followed, completely reversed this impression. The capture 
 of a whole British army was an achievement so striking and 
 brilliant, that it immediately arrested the attention of all Europe, 
 and impressed the people with a full confidence in the courage 
 and perseverance of the Americans. Under the influence of these 
 impressions, Franklin pushed his negotiations so ably, that the 
 wavering policy of the French cabinet was fixed, and France 
 entered into a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive, with the 
 thirteen American colonies, agreeing not to lay down her arms 
 till their independence should be acknowledged. On the 6th of 
 February, 1778, this treaty was signed by the .American commis 
 sioners, Franklin, Deane and Lee. It is not unworthy of notice, 
 
 Silas Deane. 
 
 as an interesting anecdote of Franklin, that on the day he accom 
 plished this important work, which set the seal to American 
 independence, he arrayed himself in the identical suit of clothes 
 which he had worn in the British House of Lords, when his plea 
 in behalf of the colonies brought upon his head a torrent of foul 
 and intemperate abuse from the king's solicitor, Wedderburne. 
 On that occasion, the philosopher is said to have suffered the 
 attack with firm complacency, making, however, the significant 
 remark "his master shall pay for it." 
 52 
 
610 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The Marquis de la Fayette, a young Frenchman, had, at an 
 early period of the struggle, embraced the American cause, and 
 signalized himself by his courage in the field. The new treaty 
 was now to afford the Americans the assistance of a formidable 
 fleet and army. A squadron, of twelve ships of the line and four 
 frigates, was immediately despatched from Toulon, under the 
 Count D'Estaing. On the 9th of July, 1778, they arrived in the 
 Delaware. Meantime, war had broken out between France and 
 Great Britain, in consequence of the treaty of alliance. 
 
 The British, despairing of being able to hold Philadelphia, 
 evacuated the city on the 18th of June, shortly before the arrival 
 of the French fleet, and took up their march across the Jerseys 
 for New York, under the command of Sir Henry Clinton. Wash 
 ington, having penetrated into their design, had previously 
 detached a force to cooperate with the Jersey militia in obstruct 
 ing their progress. The British were encumbered with an enor 
 mous baggage, which, together with the impediments thrown in 
 their way, greatly retarded their march. The American army 
 having, in pursuit of the British, crossed the Delaware, six hun 
 dred additional men were immediately detached under Colonel 
 Morgan, to pursue the British. Washington halted his troops 
 when they had marched to the vicinity of Princeton. When 
 Clinton had advanced to Allentown, he determined, instead of 
 keeping the direct course towards Staten Island, to move towards 
 the sea-coast, near Sandy Hook. Washington, on receiving 
 intelligence that Clinton was proceeding towards Monmouth, 
 despatched one thousand men, under General Wayne, and sent 
 La Fayette to take command of the whole advanced corps, with 
 orders to seize the first opportunity of attacking the enemy's rear. 
 General Lee, who, having been lately exchanged, had joined the 
 army, was first offered this command ; but he declined it, as he 
 was against hazarding an attack. The whole army followed at a 
 proper distance for supporting the advanced corps. Clinton, sus 
 pecting the approach of the Americans, placed his grenadiers, 
 light infantry and chasseurs, in his rear, and his baggage in his 
 front. 
 
 Washington increased his advanced corps with two brigades, 
 sending Lee, who now wished for the command, to take charge 
 of the whole ; and followed with the main army. On the morn 
 ing of the 28th of June, he ordered Lee to attack the enemy. 
 When Washington had marched about five miles to support the 
 advanced corps, he found Lee retreating at the head of his troops, 
 and without having struck a blow. Washington, highly excited, 
 rode up to him, and demanded what he was about. Lee answered 
 
BATTLE OF MONMOTJTH. 611 
 
 with warmth and unsuitable language. Washington then ordered 
 Stewart's and Ramsey's battalions to form a line and check the 
 advance of the enemy. Lee was then asked if he would com 
 mand on that ground ; to which he consented. A warm cannon 
 ade immediately commenced between the advanced troops of the 
 British army and the two battalions. These stood their ground 
 till they were intermixed with a part of the British army. 
 Lieutenant Colonel Ramsey, the commander of one of them, was 
 wounded and taken prisoner. General Lee continued till the last 
 on the field of battle, and brought off the rear of the retreating 
 troops. The day was intensely hot, and the men suffered 
 greatly. 
 
 The check the British received, gave time to make a disposition 
 of the left wing and second line of the American army in a 
 wood, and on the eminence to which Lee was retreating. Here 
 some cannon were placed by Lord Stirling, who commanded the 
 American left wing ; which, with the cooperation of some parties 
 of infantry, effectually stopped the advance of the British in that 
 quarter. General Greene took a position on the right of Stirling. 
 The British attempted to turn the left flank of the Americans, 
 but were checked. They also made a movement to the right 
 with as little success ; Greene, with his artillery, repulsed them. 
 Wayne now advanced with a body of troops, and kept up so 
 severe and well-directed a fire, that the British were soon com 
 pelled to give way. They retired, and took the position that Lee 
 had before occupied. Washington resolved to attack them, and 
 ordered General Poor to move round upon their right, and General 
 Woodford to their left ; but this attack could not be made before 
 it was dark. The troops remained upon the ground during the 
 night, with the intention of attacking early the next morning ; 
 and the main body lay on their arms in the field, to be ready for 
 supporting them. 
 
 Washington reposed himself in his cloak under a tree, in hopes 
 of renewing the action the next day ; but these hopes were frus 
 trated. The British troops marched away in the night, in such 
 silence, that General Poor, though very near them, knew nothing 
 of their departure. They left behind them four officers and 
 about forty privates, all so badly wounded, that they could not' be 
 removed. The British, on the 30th of June, pursued their maich 
 without further interruption, and soon reached the neighborhood 
 of Sandy Hook. The American General declined all further pur 
 suit of the royal army, and soon after drew off his troops to the 
 border of the Hudson. The loss of the Americans at the battle 
 of Monmouth, was about two hundred and fifty. The loss of the 
 
612 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 royal army, inclusive of prisoners, was about three hundred and 
 fifty The emotions of the mind, added to fatigue, in a very hot 
 day, had such a fatal effect, that some of the Americans and 
 fifty -nine of the British, were found dead on the field of battle, 
 without any marks of violence upon their bodies. 
 
 Sir H. Clinton. 
 
 It is probable that Washington intended to take no further 
 notice of Lee's misconduct; but the latter could not brook the 
 expressions used by Washington at their first meeting, and wrote 
 him two passionate letters. This occasioned his being arrested 
 and brought to trial. He was found guilty of misbehavior and 
 disobedience of orders, and suspended from his command for a 
 year. Soon after the action of Monmouth, Washington took post 
 at the White Plains, a few miles beyond Kingsbridge ; and the 
 British, though not far distant, did not molest him. The two 
 armies remained in this position from an early day in July, till 
 late in the autumn ; when the Americans retired to Middlebrook, 
 in Jersey, where they quartered themselves for the winter, in 
 huts, in the same manner as they had done at Valley Forge. 
 
 Immediately on the departure of the British from Philadelphia, 
 congress, after an absence of nine months, returned to that city. 
 On the 6th of August, 1778, they were called upon to give a 
 public audience to a minister plenipotentiary from the court of 
 France. The person appointed to this office was M. Gerard, the 
 same who had been employed in the negotiations antecedent to 
 the treaty. 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE FRENCH FLEET. 613 
 
 The British had barely completed the removal of their fleet 
 and army from the Delaware to New York, when they received 
 intelligence that a French fleet was on the coast. The first object 
 of D'Estaing was the surprise of Lord Howe's fleet in the Dela 
 ware ; but the French arrived too late. In naval history there 
 are few more narrow escapes than that of the British fleet on 
 this occasion. It consisted only of six sixty-four gun ships, 
 three of fifty, and two of forty, with some frigates and sloops. 
 Most of these had been on long service and were in a bad condi 
 tion. Their force, when compared with that of the French fleet, 
 was so greatly inferior, that had the latter reached the mouth of 
 the Delaware in seventy-five days after leaving Toulon, their 
 capture was inevitable. This was prevented by the various 
 hindrances which retarded D'Estaing in his voyage to the term 
 of eighty-seven days ; in the last eleven of which, Lord Howe's 
 fleet not only quitted the Delaware, but reached the harbor of 
 New York. D'Estaing, disappointed in his first scheme, sailed 
 for Sandy Hook, where he arrived on the llth of July. The 
 sight of the French fleet roused all the active passions of their 
 adversaries. Transported with indignation against the French, 
 for interfering in what they called a domestic quarrel, the British 
 displayed a spirit of zeal and bravery, which could not be 
 exceeded. A thousand volunteers were despatched from their 
 transports to man their fleet. The masters and mates of their 
 merchantmen at New York took their stations at the guns like 
 common sailors. Others put to sea in light vessels to watch the 
 motions of the enemy. The officers and privates of the army con 
 tended with so much eagerness to serve on board the men-of-war, 
 as marines, that it became necessary to decide the honor by lot. 
 
 D'Estaing came to anchor and continued without the Hook for 
 eleven days. During this time, the British had the mortification 
 of seeing the blockade of their fleet, and the capture of about 
 twenty vessels under English colors. On the 22d of July, the 
 French fleet appeared under weigh. It was an anxious moment 
 for the British. They expected an immediate attack. Nothing 
 less than destruction or victory would have ended the contest. If 
 the first had been their lot, the vast fleet of transports and 
 victuallers and the army must have fallen. But the attack never 
 took place. The pilots of the French fleet declared it impossible 
 to carry the large ships over the bar; and D'Estaing, by the 
 advice of Washington, sailed for Newport. By his departure, 
 the British had a second escape ; for had he remained at the Hook 
 but a few days longer, the fleet of Admiral Byron must have 
 fallen into his hands. That officer had been sent from England 
 52* z3 
 
614 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 to relieve Lord Howe, who had solicited to be recalled; and 
 Byron's fleet was designed to reinforce that which had been 
 previously in service on the coast of America. Byron had met 
 with bad weather, and his ships were separated by storms. They 
 now arrived in a dispersed and shattered condition. Within 
 eight days after the departure of the French fleet, four British 
 ships of the line arrived singly at Sandy Hook. 
 
 The next attempt of D'Estaing was against Rhode Island, 
 of which the British had been in possession since December, 1778. 
 A combined attack by sea and land was projected, in which it 
 was agreed that General Sullivan should command the American 
 land forces. Such was the eagerness of the people of New Eng 
 land to cooperate with their new allies, and so confident were 
 they of success, that some thousands of volunteers engaged in 
 the service. The militia of Massachusetts were under the com 
 mand of General Hancock. The royal troops on the Island, 
 having been lately reinforced, were about six thousand. Sullivan's 
 force was about ten thousand. Lord Howe followed D'Estaing, 
 and came within sight of Rhode Island the day after the French 
 fleet entered the harbor of Newport. The British fleet exceeded 
 the French in number of ships, but was inferior in effective force 
 and weight of metal. On the appearance of Howe, the French 
 admiral put to sea with his whole fleet. to engage him. While 
 the two commanders were exerting their naval skill to gain re 
 spectively the advantages of position, a strong gale of wind came 
 on which greatly damaged both fleets. In this conflict of the 
 elements, two large French ships were dismasted. A partial 
 engagement took place, but no vessel was captured on either side. 
 The British suffered less in the storm than their adversaries ; yet 
 enough to make it necessary to return to New York. The French 
 fleet came to anchor on the 20th of August, near Rhode Island ; 
 but sailed on the 22d for Boston. Before their departure, Generals 
 Greene and La Fayette went on board the admiral ship to consult 
 on measures proper to be pursued. They urged D'Estaing to 
 return with his fleet into the harbor; but his principal officers 
 opposed the measure. He had been instructed to go to Boston if 
 his fleet met with any misfortune. His officers insisted on his 
 ceasing to prosecute the expedition against Rhode Island. 
 
 The American officers protested against withdrawing the fleet 
 to Boston, and there is little doubt that by a diligent cooperation 
 of the land and sea forces, Rhode Island might have been sub 
 dued. To. the great dissatisfaction and chagrin of the Americans, 
 they were unable to prevail upon the French commander, and 
 the opportunity of striking a decisive blow was lost. In conse- 
 
EXPEDITION TO RHODE ISLAND. 615 
 
 quence, it became necessary for the Americans to retreat from the 
 island. Sullivan drew off his army from the camp with great 
 order, but he had not been five hours at the north end of the 
 island, when his troops were fired upon by the British, who had 
 
 La Fayette. 
 
 pursued them on discovering their retreat. By degrees the action 
 became general, and near twelve hundred Americans were en 
 gaged, and the British were repulsed. The loss on each side was 
 between two and three hundred. 
 
 Lord Howe's fleet, with Sir Henry Clinton and four thousand 
 troops on board, being seen off the coast, Sullivan hurried the 
 evacuation of Rhode Island. As the sentries of both armies were 
 within four hundred yards of each other, the greatest caution was 
 necessary. To cover the design of retreating, the show of resist 
 ance was kept up, and on the night of the 28th of August, the 
 army decamped from the island in such perfect order that not the 
 smallest article of camp equipage was left behind. 
 
 With the abortive expedition to Rhode Island, there was an 
 end to the plans of this first campaign of the allies. The Amer 
 icans had been intoxicated with hopes of the most decided success 
 from their united arms, but in every instance they were disap 
 pointed. Lord Howe, with an inferiority of force, not only pre 
 served his own fleet, but defeated all the attempts of D'Estaing. 
 The French fleet gained no victories for the Americans ; jet : ts 
 arrival was of some service to their cause, by deranging the plans 
 of the British. Clinton, finding that the Americans had left 
 
616 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Rhode Island, returned to New York ; but despatched General 
 Grey to New Bedford and the neighborhood, where several Amer 
 ican privateers resorted. Here the British landed, and destroyed 
 seventy sail of shipping and other small craft. They also burnt 
 magazines, wharves, stores, warehouses, vessels on the stocks, and 
 many dwelling-houses. They then proceeded to Martha's Vine 
 yard, where they destroyed a few vessels, obtained considerable 
 plunder in arms and cash, with three hundred oxen and two 
 thousand sheep. 
 
 One of the most disastrous events which occurred at this period 
 of the campaign, was the surprise and massacre of an American 
 regiment of light dragoons, commanded by Colonel Baylor. 
 While employed in a detached situation, to intercept and watch a 
 British foraging party, they took up their lodging in a barn near 
 Tappaan, on the Hudson. General Grey commanded the British. 
 He acquired the name of the "No-flint General," from the com 
 mon practice of ordering his men to take the flints out of their 
 muskets, and trust to the bayonet. A party of militia, which had 
 been stationed on the road by which the British advanced, quit 
 ted their posts without giving any notice to Colonel Baylor. This 
 disorderly conduct was the occasion of the disaster which .fol 
 lowed. Grey's men proceeded with such silence, that they cut off 
 a sergeant's patrol, and surrounded Tappaan, without being dis 
 covered. They then rushed in upon Baylor's regiment while 
 they were in a profound sleep, and incapable of defence. The 
 surprised dragoons cried for quarter. But, unmoved by their 
 supplications, the British despatched nearly the whole of them 
 with the bayonet. A few escaped, and others, after having 
 received from five to eleven wounds, were restored in a course of 
 time to perfect health. Baylor himself was wounded, but not 
 dangerously. He lost in killed, wounded and taken, sixty-seven 
 privates out of one hundred and four. 
 
 In the summer of 1777, an expedition was undertaken against 
 Florida, which had been ceded by Spain to Great Britain in 1763. 
 General Robert Howe, who conducted this enterprise, had under 
 him about two thousand men, a few hundreds of whom were conti 
 nental troops, and the remainder militia of South Carolina and 
 Georgia. They proceeded as far as St. Mary's river without 
 much opposition. At this place the British had a fort, which, on 
 the approach of the Americans, they destroyed, and after some 
 slight skirmishing, retreated towards St. Augustine. The climate 
 was more fatal to the Americans than any opposition from their 
 enemies. Sickness and death raged to such a degree, that an 
 
618 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 immediate retreat became necessary ; but before this was effected, 
 they lost nearly one-fourth of their whole number. 
 
 Hitherto, the conquest of the states had been attempted by pro 
 ceeding from north to south ; but that order was now reversed, 
 and the southern states became the theatre of war. Georgia, 
 being one of the weakest states in the union, and at the same 
 time abounding in provisions, was marked out as the first object 
 of attack. Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, an officer of courage 
 and ability, embarked from New York for Savannah, November 
 27th, 1777, with a force of about two thousand men, and a fleet 
 under Commodore Hyde Parker. At the same time, Major Gen 
 eral Prevost, who commanded the royal forces in East Florida, 
 was directed to advance into the southern part of Georgia. The 
 fleet from New York effected a landing about the middle of 
 December, near the mouth of the river Savannah. From the 
 landing-place, a narrow causeway of six hundred yards in length, 
 with a ditch on each side, led through a swamp. A body of the 
 British light infantry moved forward along this causeway. On 
 their advance they received a heavy fire from a small party, 
 posted for the purpose of impeding their passage ; but the British 
 forced them to retreat. General Howe, the American comman 
 der, posted his little army, consisting of about six hundred regu 
 lars and a few militia, between the landing-place and Savannah, 
 with the river on his left, and a morass in front. This disposition 
 checked the approach of the British. While Campbell hesitated 
 in his attack, he received intelligence from a negro, of a private 
 path through the swamp, on the right of the Americans, where he 
 might pass unseen. Sir James Baird, with the light infantry, 
 was despatched by this route to turn the right wing of the 
 Americans, and attack their rear. As soon as it was supposed 
 that Baird had cleared this passage, the British in front advanced 
 to the assault. Howe, finding himself attacked in front and rear, 
 was obliged to retreat. The British pursued and gained a com 
 plete victory. Upwards of one hundred of the Americans were 
 killed. Thirty-eight officers, four hundred and fifteen privates, 
 forty-eight pieces of cannon, twenty-three mortars, the fort, with 
 its ammunition and stores, the shipping in the river, a large quan 
 tity of provisions, with the capital of Georgia, were all, in the 
 space of a few hours, in the possession of the conquerors. The 
 broken remains of the American army retreated up the river 
 Savannah for several miles, and then took shelter by crossing into 
 South Carolina. 
 
 Campbell acted with great policy in securing the submission of 
 the inhabitants of Georgia. He not only put an end to military 
 
SUBJUGATION OF GEORGIA. 
 
 619 
 
 opposition, but removed for some time every trace of republican 
 government in the colony, and paved the way for the reestablish- 
 ment of a royal legislature. Georgia, soon after the reduction of 
 its capital, exhibited a singular spectacle. It was the only state 
 of the union in which, after the declaration of independence, a 
 legislative body was convened under the authority of the crown 
 of Great Britaia 
 
CHAPTER LXI1I. 
 
 Marauding expeditions of the British in Virginia and Connecticut. Adventure of 
 General Putnam. Exploits of Paul Jones. Capture of Stony Point. Expe 
 dition of Saltonstall and Lovell to the Penobscot. Campaign in the South 
 Invasion of South Carolina. Repulse of D'Estaing from Savannah. Pulaski 
 and Kosciusko. Capture of Charleston by the British. Ravages of war in 
 Carolina. Barbarity of Tarleton. Arrival of DeTiernay and Rochambeau 
 from France. Transactions in the Jerseys. Continental paper currency. 
 Gates appointed to the command in the- south. Defeat of the Americans at 
 Camden. Sufferings of the Carolinians. Battle of King's Mountain, and 
 defeat of the British. A British force arrives in the Chesapeake. Capture of 
 Mr. Laurens. 
 
 Continental money. 
 
 THE predatory excursions of the year 1779, were begun early in 
 the summer. An expedition to the Chesapeake, under the com 
 mand of Sir George Collier, of the navy, and General Ma thews, 
 of the army, served no other purpose than to alarm and distress 
 the towns of Portsmouth, Suffolk, and other places in Virginia. 
 The pleasant line of towns bordering Long Island Sound, in Con 
 necticut, were the next objects of plunder and conflagration. 
 About the beginning of July, Governor Tryon, with a number of 
 
ADVENTURE OF GENERAL PUTNAM. 621 
 
 disaffected Americans, and General Garth, with a ravaging party 
 of British troops and Germans, landed at New Haven, took pos 
 session of the town, plundered and insulted the inhabitants, on 
 whom every outrage was perpetrated. Leaving New Haven, they 
 repaired to Fairfield, where they landed on the seventh of the 
 month. This place suffered a still more cruel fate. The houses 
 were rifled, the inhabitants abused, and after the general pillage 
 and burning of everything valuable in the town, some of these 
 miserable victims were found half distracted in the swamps and 
 fields, whither they had fled in the agonies of despair. This 
 band of marauders were by no means satiated by the distresses 
 of New Haven and Fairfield ; the neighboring towns of Norwalk 
 and Greenfield suffered a similar fate ; the waste of property in 
 shipping and merchandise was there still greater. The whole 
 coast, equally defenceless and exposed to their ravages, expected 
 the same horrors. General Putnam, with about one hundred and 
 fifty men, was attacked at Horse Neck, by Tryon, at the head of 
 a body of fifteen hundred British. Putnam took his station on a 
 high ground near the meeting-house, and by a well-directed fire, 
 kept the enemy in check for some time. At length, finding their 
 force overwhelming, and a strong body of dragoons close upon 
 him, ready to charge, he ordered his men to withdraw rapidly into 
 a neighboring swamp inaccessible to cavalry. Being mounted 
 himself, he plunged fearlessly down a steep flight of a hundred 
 
 Adventure of Putnam. 
 
 stone steps on the side of the hill. The dragoons dared not follow 
 him, and before they could descend by another route, Putnam was 
 in safety, far beyond their reach, notwithstanding a shower of 
 53 A4 
 
622 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 bullets which were discharged at him. Arriving at Stamford, he 
 raised the militia, and pursued Tryon, who shortly retreated to 
 New York. 
 
 In naval affairs, the Americans had met with much success by 
 means of their small privateers, which greatly annoyed the com 
 merce of the British, and benefitted the colonists by the capture 
 of many valuable prizes, not only of merchant ships, but aiso of 
 store-ships and transports, laden with arms, ammunition and 
 supplies, for the British armies. The most famous among the 
 American naval commanders, was John Paul Jones, a native oi 
 Scotland, who had settled in Virginia previous to the breaking out 
 of the revolution. He received the first appointment of Lieuten 
 ant in the American navy, and was so successful in his early 
 cruises with a small vessel, in 1776, that he was sent by congress 
 to France the next year, where he obtained a larger vessel, and 
 in 1778. sailed for the coast of Scotland. Here he kept the coun 
 try in a constant state of alarm, captured Whitehaven, with two 
 forts and twenty pieces of cannon, and burnt the shipping in the 
 harbor. He returned to Brest with two hundred prisoners. In 
 1779, he put to sea again, in the frigate Bon Homme Richard, 
 and on the 23d of September, fought his celebrated action with 
 the British frigate Serapis, off Flamborough Head, on the coast 
 
 Paul Jones. 
 
 of England. The Serapis was much superior in strength to the 
 Richard. This was the most desperate naval battle ever fought. 
 The ships were grappled together, and the guns met muzzle to 
 
BATTLE OF STONY POINT. 
 
 623 
 
 muzzle. Jones's ship lost one hundred and fifty men killed and 
 wounded, most of the latter mortally. The loss of the Serapis 
 was quite as great. Victory decided for the Americans ; but the 
 Bon Homme Richard was so shattered, that she sunk immediately 
 after, and the victors saved themselves on board their prize. 
 
 Meantime, Washington had kept himself on the defensive in 
 New Jersey, but without a movement for any capital stroke after 
 the derangement of a well-concerted plan of an attack on New 
 York. He had expected the aid of the French squadron from 
 the West Indies ; the militia of several states had been collected to 
 assist in the design; the army was in high spirits; sanguine 
 expectations were formed; and everything promised success to 
 the enterprise. But the Count D'Estaing, instead of cooperating 
 with Washington and covering his attempt on New York, thought 
 proper to attempt the reduction of Georgia, on his way. His 
 attack on Savannah, his unexpected repulse and retreat, which 
 we shall presently relate, not only retarded, but totally prevented 
 the movements contemplated by Washington, whose designs 
 caused great alarm to Clinton, and induced him to order the 
 evacuation of Newport, and draw off all his troops from that 
 quarter. 
 
 These circumstances put it out of the power of Washington to 
 prosecute the scheme he had meditated. The militia were 
 dismissed, and many of the regular troops returned home as usual 
 at the expiration of their term of enlistment. Clinton had made 
 several attempts to draw the American commander from his 
 strong post in the Jerseys, by desultory invasions and depreda 
 tions on the defenceless sea-coast. But Washington knew the 
 advantages he might lose by weakening the main body of his 
 army, and was too wise to be ensnared by the manoeuvres of the 
 British commander. 
 
 The cause of Sir George Collier's speedy recall from ravag 
 ing the coast of Virginia, was a design to unite him with General 
 Vaughan, in an expedition up the Hudson. Vaughan, who had 
 before distinguished himself in that quarter, still commanded on 
 the Hudson. On the arrival of Collier with his fleet, they united, 
 and immediately made themselves masters of Stony Point, and 
 the post on Verplank's Neck. These forts had been dismantled 
 the preceding autumn, by Clinton, but the Americans had in part 
 repaired the works. In their defence they behaved with resolu 
 tion ; but as their numbers were inconsiderable and their works 
 unfinished, they soon surrendered. Washington ordered a detach 
 ment, under General Wayne, to attempt the recovery of Stony 
 Point. This enterprise was conducted in a bold manner. The 
 
624 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 soldiers were directed not to load their pieces, but to depend on 
 the bayonet. One man, who appeared discontented at the order, 
 was instantly shot. Though this summary mode of punishment 
 was severe, it was designed to prevent the effusion of blood. 
 Doubtless, had the British been early alarmed by the fire of the 
 American arms, the carnage would have been greater. 
 
 Battle of Stony Point. 
 
 The works had been repaired and strengthened with great 
 expedition, and two British regiments, some loyal Americans, and 
 several companies of artillery were left as a garrison by General 
 Vaughan. On the evening of the 5th of July, after a difficult and 
 hazardous march, Wayne surprised and recovered the fort at 
 Stony Point, in spite of the resolute defence of the British. The 
 acquisition of this post was more creditable than useful to the 
 Americans. An attempt to maintain it would have been fruitless. 
 It had been previously determined, in a council of war, that on 
 the success of Wayne, the works should be demolished and the 
 stores brought off, which was accordingly done. 
 
 Several manoeuvres took place about this time near New 
 York and the more central parts of the country, which kept up 
 the spirit of enterprise and the honor of the American arms ; but 
 a more important affair occupied the public attention in the east 
 ern states. A Colonel Maclean had been sent with a party ot 
 British troops from Halifax, to land at the mouth of the Penob- 
 scot. He erected a fort and established a strong post in a con 
 venient situation for harassing the trade and distressing the 
 settlements in the neighborhood. When this intelligence was 
 received at Boston, the hardy and enterprising men of Massachu- 
 
EXPEDITION TO THE PENOBSCOT. 625 
 
 setts made immediate preparation to dislodge the enemy. Within 
 ten days after Maclean's attempt was known at Boston, the 
 Warren, a handsome new frigate, commanded by Commodore 
 Saltonsta.ll, and seventeen other public and private ships, were 
 equipped and ready for sea. They were accompanied by a 
 number of transports, with a considerable body of land forces, 
 who embarked in high spirits, and with the sanguine expectation 
 of a short and successful campaign. The expedition was princi 
 pally conducted by the legislature of Massachusetts. The mem 
 bers of the continental navy board would not consent to hazard 
 the public ships, unless the commanding officers were ordered to 
 execute their design immediately. They were apprehensive that 
 any delay might give opportunity for the British to send a supe 
 rior force from New York. By the dilatory conduct of the 
 Americans, they did not reach the Penobscot till the 25th of July, 
 1779. A few days afterwards, Sir George Collier, with a heavy 
 squadron from New York, appeared for the relief of Maclean. 
 
 General Lovell, who commanded the American land troops, 
 was a man of little military experience, and took no effective 
 measures to dislodge the British from their post, or in any way to 
 complete an undertaking that required decision, promptitude and 
 judgment. Commodore Saltonstall showed even less activity, 
 talent and decision than Lovell. Thus, by the shameful delay 
 of both, and to the mortification of the brave officers who accom 
 panied them, the expedition terminated in the disgrace of both 
 army and navy, and the total destruction of the fleet. On the 
 first appearance of Collier, the American shipping moved up the 
 river, with a show of resistance, but in reality to enable the men 
 to escape by land. Two of their best ships fell into the hands 
 of the British ; the remainder were burnt by the crews. The 
 panic-stricken troops, after leaving their own ships, chagrined at 
 the conduct of Saltonstall and Lovell, made their escape through 
 the woods, in small parties of soldiers and sailors. After much 
 fatigue, hunger and difficulty, they reached the settlements on the 
 Kennebec, and brought the intelligence of their own defeat. 
 
 It was not in the power of the infant states to repair their mar 
 itime loss during the war ; and to complete the ruin of their little 
 navy, some of their best ships were lost in the defence of 
 Charleston, the year following, as will be seen hereafter. What 
 added to the mortification caused by this last calamity was, 
 that these ships were prepared and ready to sail, in order to 
 prosecute a very flattering expedition projected by the navy board, 
 in the eastern department, when they received an express order 
 from Congress to send them to South Carolina. 
 53* 
 
626 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The hazardous situation of Georgia, and the imminent danger 
 of South Carolina, had spread a wide alarm. General Lincoln 
 had been sent forward to take the command in the southern 
 department. He reached Savannah a short time after Colonel 
 
 General Lincoln. 
 
 Campbell's arrival there ; bat he found himself not in so eligible 
 a situation as might have been wished. The number of troops 
 under his command fell far short of his expectation ; the artillery 
 and stores were insufficient ; and every difficulty was enhanced 
 by the want of order and discipline in the militia, who refused to 
 submit to the necessary subordination of armies ; they left their 
 posts and retired at pleasure. Lincoln maintained his character 
 for bravery and good conduct under a variety of disappointments. 
 He was, however, forced into a circuitous march from place to 
 place, by the rapid movements of General Prevost through the 
 state of Georgia, until he was obliged to move with more serious 
 prospects towards Charleston. 
 
 The British seized a moment of advantage ; suddenly crossed 
 the Savannah at different points, and penetrated into South 
 Carolina, with little or no opposition. A party under Colonel 
 Moultrie, consisting chiefly of militia, on seeing themselves 
 surrounded on all sides by British troops, retreated hastily, and 
 secured themselves within the city of Charleston. Prevost hav 
 ing succeeded even beyond his most sanguine expectations, and 
 prompted by the importunities of the loyalists, formed the bold 
 resolution of marching directly upon Charleston. He crossed the 
 
SIEGE OF SAVANNAH, 627 
 
 river Ashley on the llth of May, 1779, and within a few days, 
 summoned Charleston to surrender. He had every assurance 
 from the disaffected Americans that the city would submit with 
 out resistance. Prevost did not immediately succeed to the full 
 completion of his hopes ; but, on the first summons, the citizens 
 assured him that no opposition should be made, provided they 
 might be permitted to continue in a state of neutrality till the 
 conclusion of the war. 
 
 This was the only instance in America of an offer made so 
 derogatory to the honor of the union. No single state, whatever 
 might have been its distress, ever expressed a wish, during the 
 contest, to be bound to a neutral repose, while the other states 
 were making every sacrifice in support of the common cause. 
 The conduct of the citizens of Charleston cannot be accounted 
 for, but from the momentary panic to which communities are 
 liable, when sudden danger presses upon them. Prevost, en 
 couraged by success, and animated with the hope of subduing 
 Charleston, rejected the offer of neutrality, and all further negoti 
 ation ceased. The city immediately recovered its former spirit, 
 and preparation was made on both sides for the most vigorous 
 attack and defence. 
 
 Lincoln had been slow in his movements, in consequence of a 
 belief that Prevost had no farther design in crossing the Savannah 
 than to procure forage and provisions. But soon finding more 
 serious consequences were to be expected, he pushed onward his 
 whole force with so much alacrity that Prevost thought it pru 
 dent to withdraw from Charleston, lest his retreat should be cut 
 off. He encamped his troops on the islands near the harbor, in 
 anxious expectation of reinforcements from New York. This 
 being delayed until the advance of the summer heats and the 
 sickly season of that country, all active hostilities were suspended 
 for 1779 in Carolina. Affairs in Georgia requiring his presence, 
 Prevost repaired thither soon after the siege of Charleston was 
 raised. He left a force in Port Royal, to encourage his friends by 
 keeping up the appearance of some permanent establishment in 
 that province. But early in the autumn, the unexpected arrival 
 of the squadron under Count D'Estaing, on the southern coast, 
 gave the most flattering promise to the Americans of a new turn 
 of affairs in Georgia and the Carolinas. 
 
 D'Estaing, on his arrival in the Savannah, in September, 1779, 
 landed his troops with all possible expedition, and in conjunction 
 with the Americans, laid siege to the capital of Georgia. On the 
 16th of September he demanded a surrender of Savannah. The 
 place was not very strongly fortified, but Prevost resolved not to 
 
628 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 yield but at the last extremity. He returned a polite, but evasive 
 answer to the French commander ; and had the address to obtain 
 a truce of twenty-four hours to deliberate. In this interval, the 
 arrival of Colonel Maitland, with a body of troops from Port 
 Royal, put an end to the deliberation. The most resolute defence 
 was made, and D'Estaing proceeded to bombard the place. On 
 the llth of October, an attempt was made to carry it by storm, 
 but the assailants were repulsed with great slaughter. They, 
 however, kept up the appearance of a blockade until the 16th, 
 when they requested a truce to carry oif their dead and wounded. 
 This was readily granted. The conflict had been bloody, indeed, 
 and both sides equally wished for repose. Soon after, the French 
 and Americans took advantage of a dark -and foggy night, and 
 retreated with all possible precipitation, breaking down the bridges 
 as they passed, to prevent a pursuit. 
 
 D'Estaing had now an opportunity to survey the condition of 
 his fleet when he found the sailors sickly and dispirited ; nor 
 was the army less so, from the unhealthiness of the climate, and 
 the failure of their late enterprise. D'Estaing himself had been 
 wounded in the course of the siege, and had lost several of his 
 best officers and many men. This disaster deeply aflected the 
 French commander. He left the coast of Georgia, and shortly 
 afterwards gave up all his designs of conquest in America, and 
 left the country, never to return. Among those who fell at the 
 siege of Savannah, was Count Pulaski, a Polish nobleman, cele 
 brated for his bravery and enterprising spirit, not only in America, 
 but in his own country. He had once, amid the fierce contests of 
 the Polanders, seized on the person of the king of Poland, and 
 for a time held him his prisoner, though he had only two or three 
 associates. One of these betrayed him, and the king was rescued. 
 The count was obliged to fly his country, and a few years after 
 he repaired to America. Pulaski was not the only officer of his 
 nation who distinguished himself in the American war. Kos- 
 ciusko. for his firmness, valor, and sufferings, merits particular 
 notice. He was amiable and virtuous, as well as brave, and 
 maintained a character that will not be passed over in silence in 
 the history of either Poland or America. 
 
 From the unavoidable inactivity of the Americans in some 
 parts of the continent, and the misfortunes that had attended 
 their arms in others, in the summer of 1779, Sir Henry Clinton 
 was left without any impediment to prosecute his expedition to 
 the southern colonies. The opulence of the planters there, the 
 want of discipline in their militia, the difficulty of reinforcing 
 them, and the sickly state of the inhabitants, promised an easy 
 
SURRENDER OF CHARLESTON. 629 
 
 conquest, and a rich harvest to their invaders. In December, 
 1779. Clinton embarked from New York, with a strong body of 
 troops, and a squadron under Admiral Arbuthnot ; but they pro 
 ceeded slowly on their way; and it was not until the ensuing 
 spring was far advanced that the admiral arrived before Charles 
 ton. The first summons to surrender, on the 16th of April, 1780, 
 was rejected by General Lincoln, the American commander, 
 though it announced the threat of a cannonade and storm. The 
 most vigorous operations then ensued on both sides, but with 
 great advantage in favor of the British, till the eighth of May, 
 when Clinton again summoned the American commander to 
 prevent the further effusion of blood, by an immediate surrender. 
 He warned him that, " if he refused this last summons, he should 
 throw on him the charge of whatever vindictive severity an exas 
 perated soldiery might inflict on the unhappy people." Lincoln 
 summoned a council of war, who were unanimously of opinion 
 that articles of capitulation should be proposed. Some of the 
 terms offered were rejected, others were mutilated, and all relaxa 
 tion or qualification being refused by the British commander, it 
 was unanimously agreed that hostilities should re-commence. 
 Accordingly, an incessant fire was kept up from the 9th to the 
 llth of May, when an address from the principal inhabitants of 
 the town and a number of the country militia expressed their 
 satisfaction with the terms already offered by Clinton. At the 
 same time, the lieutenant-governor and council requested that 
 negotiations might be renewed, and that they might not be sub 
 jected to the horrors of a city taken by storm. The militia had 
 thrown away their arms ; the troops on the lines were worn down 
 with fatigue, and their provisions were exhausted. Thus closely 
 invested on every side, a disaffected, factious party within, no 
 hopes of succor from without, and all possibility of retreat cut 
 off, Lincoln again offered terms, and Charleston was surrendered 
 on the 12th of May, 1780. 
 
 Though the conditions were not the most favorable to the 
 inhabitants, nor honorable to the soldiery, yet, perhaps, they were 
 as lenient as could be expected from an enemy confident of suc 
 cess. The continental troops were to retain their baggage, but to 
 remain prisoners of war until exchanged. Seven general officers 
 were among 'the prisoners. The inhabitants, of all conditions, 
 were to be considered as on parole; but they soon experienced 
 the severities usually felt by a conquered city. All who were 
 capable of bearing arms were enrolled in the British service ; and 
 the whole state was laid under heavy contributions. Before 
 Clinton left Charleston, some new and severe regulations were 
 
 B4 
 
630 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 established, that could not well be justified either by the letter or 
 the spirit of the capitulation. All persons in the city were for 
 bidden the exercise of their commercial pursuits, excepting such 
 as were friends of the British government. Confiscation and 
 death were threatened, by proclamation, to any who should be 
 found in arms, unless in support of royal authority. 
 
 Clinton, vainly flattering himself, that he had entirely subdued 
 one wealthy colony at the extremity of the continent, and that 
 everything was in a hopeful train for other brilliant strokes of 
 military prowess, left the command of the southern forces to Lord 
 Cornwallis, and repaired to New York, from whence he imme 
 diately detached a strong body, under the command of Lord 
 Rawdon, to Carolina. Marches, countermarches, bloodshed, 
 pillage and massacre, had for some months distressed all parts of 
 the state, and whichever party gained the advantage, the inhabi 
 tants were equally wretched. But a particular detail of the 
 miseries of the southern states through this period would be more 
 painful than entertaining to the reader, and is a task from which 
 every writer of humanity would wish to be excused. Imagination 
 may easily paint the distress, when surveying a proud and potent 
 army, flushed with recent success, and irritated by opposition 
 from an enemy they despised ; their spirit of revenge continually 
 stimulated by the refugees who followed them, embittered beyond 
 description against their countrymen. No 1 partisan distinguished 
 himself on either side more than Colonel Tarleton, who became 
 notorious in the ravage of the Carolinas. He was equally 
 conspicuous for bravery and barbarity, and had the effrontery 
 afterwards in England to boast, in the presence of a lady of 
 respectability, that he had killed more men, and ravished more 
 women, than any man in America. Sumter, Morgan, Marion, 
 Lee, and other brave officers, continually counteracted the 
 intrigues of the loyalists, and attacked, harassed and frequently 
 defeated the British parties. Nor did the repulse in Georgia, the 
 loss of Charleston, nor the armament sent to the Chesapeake by 
 Sir Henry Clinton, to aid Lord Cornwallis, check, in the smallest 
 degree, the vigorous efforts of these spirited leaders. 
 
 France had this year given a new proof of her zeal in favor of 
 American independence. The Count de Rochambeau arrived, 
 on the llth of July, 1780, at Newport, with six thousand land 
 forces, and a numerous squadron commanded by Admiral de 
 Tiernay. They brought the promise of further and immediate 
 support. Some ineffectual movements were made on both sides, 
 in consequence of these expectations ; and on the arrival :>f the 
 British Admiral Graves, at New York, with six sail of the line 
 
FINANCIAL EMBARRASSMENTS OF CONGRESS. 631 
 
 and some transports, an attempt was made by Sir Henry Clinton, 
 with the assistance of these fresh reinforcements, to attack the 
 French at Rhode Island. This plan was frustrated by Wash 
 ington, who now threatened New York with an attack. This de 
 sign, however, was counteracted by the intelligence from the West 
 Indies, that the French Admiral, De Guichen, had sailed directly 
 for France, instead of repairing with all his fleet, as was expected, 
 to aid the united operations of Washington and Rochambeau. Ad 
 miral de Tiernay died soon after at Newport. It was thought by 
 many that this brave officer fell a sacrifice to chagrin and disap 
 pointment. After the failure of these brilliant hopes, little more 
 was done through the summer, in the middle and eastern states, 
 except by skirmishing parties, which served only to keep up the 
 hope of conquest on the side of Britain, while it preserved alive 
 some military ardor in the American army. 
 
 While thus situated, the British troops were frequently de 
 tached from New York and Staten Island, to make inroads and 
 destroy the settlements in the Jerseys. The most important of 
 their movements was in June, 1780, when General Knyphausen, 
 with about five thousand regular troops, aided by some new 
 levies, advanced upon the right wing of the American army, 
 under General Greene. Their progress was slow until they 
 arrived at Springfield, where they were checked by a party of 
 Americans. After various manosuvres and skirmishes, Greene 
 took post on a ridge of hills, from whence he detached parties to 
 prevent the ravages of the enemy; who committed all sorts of 
 havoc wherever it was in their power, and retreated towards 
 Elizabethtown. This detachment from the British army fin 
 ished their marauding excursion, and recrossed to Staten Island in 
 July. 
 
 The year 1780, witnessed a combination of powers in Europe 
 against Great Britain. Spain had now declared war, and acted 
 with decision; and many new indications among other nations 
 threatened both the maritime and internal state of Great Britain 
 with serious troubles. At the same time neither the pen of the 
 historian nor the imagination of the reader can fully depict the 
 embarrassments suffered by congress, by the commander-in-chief, 
 and by men of firmness and principle in the several legislative 
 bodies, at this period. These embarrassments were caused chiefly 
 by financial troubles. Specie was scarce, and the decline in the 
 value of paper money tended strongly to diminish confidence in 
 all public bodies. 
 
 One of the first proceedings of congress, after the commence 
 ment of hostilities, was to provide money, the sinews of war. 
 
632 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 There was hardly any specie in the country, and it was impossi 
 ble to obtain loans in Europe on the credit of an insurgent people 
 struggling for political existence. The only expedient was the 
 establishment of a paper currency, and this was effected in 1776, 
 Above twenty millions of paper dollars were issued the first year, 
 and, by the end of the year 1781, more than three hundred and 
 fifty-seven millions were issued. 'This money had nothing but 
 the authority of congress to give it value, and although no means 
 existed for its redemption, yet such was the patriotism of the 
 people, that it continued to pass current, in spite of a constant 
 depreciation, till the close of the struggle. The ultimate holders 
 of the bills received nothing for them. Yet, as the decline in 
 their value was gradual, and the less common to every one, the 
 proceeding amounted to nothing more than a new form of taxa 
 tion. The continental currency proved one of the most efficient 
 means of the salvation of the country, and perhaps history does 
 not afford another instance of so bold and gigantic a scheme of 
 finance. 
 
 Immediately after the news reached congress, that Charleston 
 had surrendered, the Baron de Kalb, a brave and experienced- 
 Russian officer, who had been some time in the American service, 
 was ordered to Virginia, with sanguine hopes of checking the 
 further progress of the British arms. General Gates, the success 
 ful conqueror in the north, was now vested with the chief com 
 mand in the southern states ; it was an appointment very popular. 
 The presence of an officer of his fame and experience at once 
 emboldened the friends of independence and intimidated the 
 wavering and disaffected. The renowned soldier, who had cap 
 tured one British general and his army, was at this time viewed 
 with peculiar awe and respect by the others. 
 
 De Kalb had been previously despatched from head-quarters ; 
 he led a detachment of fourteen hundred men; halted a few 
 weeks in Virginia, and proceeded to, Carolina, where he sooii 
 after met General Gates. After the junction of Gates and De 
 Kalt, these officers, with unexampled patience and fatigue, 
 marched an army of several thousand men through a barren 
 country, that afforded no subsistence except green fruits. They 
 reached the borders of South Carolina, and encamped at Clermont 
 on the 13th of August, 1780. On his arrival in the vicinity of 
 the British head-quarters, Gates published a proclamation, invi 
 ting the patriotic inhabitants of South Carolina to join him. 
 His situation at Clermont was not very advantageous, but his 
 design was, by a sudden movement, to fall unexpectedly on Lord 
 Rawdon, who had fixed his head-quarters at Camden. This 
 
BATTLE OF CAMDEN. 633 
 
 place was about thirteen miles from Clermont, on the borders of 
 the Santee, from whence the communication was easy to the in 
 terior parts of the country. 
 
 Cornwallis had gained intelligence of the movements of the 
 American army, and had arrived at Camden himself, intending 
 with a sudden blow to surprise Gates. He effected his purpose 
 with a facility beyond his own expectations. The two armies 
 met at Camden, on the night of the fifteenth of August. Mu 
 tually surprised by the sudden necessity of action, a loose skir 
 mish was kept up until morning, when a general engagement com 
 menced. The British troops were not equal in number to the 
 Americans, including their militia, while the renowned char 
 acter of General Gates heightened the confidence of his troops. 
 The onset on both sides began with equal spirit and bravery, and 
 was continued with valor equally honorable to both parties, until 
 the militia gave way, threw down their arms and fled. The 
 order of the army was immediately broken, and the utter defeat 
 of the Americans was the immediate consequence. De Kalb was 
 mortally wounded, and died rejoicing in the services he had ren 
 dered America. The proportion of slain among the Americans 
 was much greater than among the British. Brigadier General 
 Gregory was killed, with several other brave officers. The total 
 rout of the Americans was completed by the pursuit and destruc 
 tion of a corps at some distance from the scene of the battle, com 
 manded by Colonel Sumter. 
 
 Censure for a time fell heavily on General Gates, for the pre 
 cipitation of his retreat. He scarcely halted until he reached 
 Hillsborough, an hundred miles from the field of battle. Yet 
 neither the courage nor the fidelity of the long tried veteran could 
 be called in question; the strongest human fortitude has fre 
 quently suffered a momentary eclipse from that panic under which 
 the mind of man sometimes unaccountably falls, when there is no 
 real or obvious cause of despair. Gates, though he had lost the 
 day at Camden, lost no part of his courage, vigilance, or firmness. 
 After he reached Hillsborough, he made several efforts to collect a 
 force sufficient again to meet Cornwallis in the field ; but the public 
 opinion bore hard upon his reputation. He was immediately 
 superseded, and a court martial appointed to inquire into his con 
 duct. He was fully justified by the result of this military investi 
 gation, and treated with the utmost respect by the army and by 
 the inhabitants, on his return to Virginia. 
 
 Cornwallis did not reap all the advantages he had expected 
 from his victory at Camden. His severity did not aid his designs, 
 though he sanctioned by proclamations the summary execution 
 54 
 
634 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of the unfortunate men who had, by compulsion, borne arms in the 
 British service, and were afterwards found enlisted under the 
 American banner. Many of these persons suffered immediate 
 death. Their houses were burnt, and their families obliged to fly, 
 naked, to the wilderness to seek some miserable shelter. 
 
 From the desultory movements of the British after the battle of 
 Camden, and the continual resistance and activity of the Ameri* 
 cans, attack and defeat, surprise and escape, plunder, burning, 
 and devastation, pervaded the whole country, when the aged, the 
 helpless, the women, and the children, alternately became the prey 
 of opposite partisans. But the defeat of Major Ferguson, a favor 
 ite British officer, early in the autumn of 1780, was a blow that 
 discovered at once the spirit of the people, and displayed to Corn- 
 wallis the general disaffection of that part of the country where 
 he had been led to place the most confidence. Ferguson had for 
 several weeks taken post in Tryon county, near the mountains in 
 the western part of Carolina. He had there collected a body of 
 royalists, who, united with his regular detachments, spread terror 
 and dismay through all the adjacent country. This aroused to 
 action all the patriots who were capable of bearing arms. A body 
 of militia collected in the highlands of North Carolina, and a party 
 of riflemen, forming a numerous and resolute band, determined to 
 drive him from his strong hold at King's Mountain. The Ameri 
 cans were under various commanders, who had little knowledge 
 of each other, yet they combined their operations with so much 
 skill and resolution that they totally defeated the British. This 
 action was fought on the 7th of October, 1780. Ferguson with 
 one hundred and fifty of his men were killed, and seven hundred 
 made prisoners, from whom were selected a few, who, from 
 motives of public zeal or private revenge, were immediately exe 
 cuted. This bloody deed was done by some of those fierce and 
 uncivilized chieftains, who had spent most of their lives in the 
 mountains and forests. 
 
 While Cornwallis was thus embarrassed by various unsuccess 
 ful attempts in the Carolinas, Clinton made a diversion in the 
 Chesapeake, in favor of his designs. A body of about three 
 thousand men was sent thither, under General Leslie. He was 
 directed to take his orders from Cornwallis ; but not hearing from 
 him for some time after his arrival, he was at a loss in what 
 manner to proceed. In October, he received letters from Corn 
 wallis, directing him to repair to Charleston, to assist with all his 
 forces, in the complete subjugation of the Carolinas. 
 
 Early in the year 1780, the Hon. Henry Laurens, of South Car 
 olina, late president of congress, was entrusted with a mission to 
 
MISSION TO HOLLAND. 
 
 635 
 
 Holland, to negotiate a treaty with the Dutch, but he was unfor 
 tunately captured on his voyage by the British, and sent to 
 England, where he experienced all the suffering of a severe 
 imprisonment in the tower of London, usually inflicted on state 
 criminals. 
 
CHAPTER LXIV. 
 
 Treason of General Arnold. Capture and execution of Major Andre. Fidelity of 
 three American soldiers. Catastrophe of Captain Hale. Adventure of Champe. 
 Revolt of the Pennsylvania line. Mutiny of the Jersey troops quelled. Hos 
 tile movements of Spain against Great Britain. Conquest of West Florida by 
 the Spaniards of Louisiana. Conduct of the Dutch government. War between 
 Great Britain and Holland. Imprisonment of Mr. Laurens in London. Mis- 
 sion of Mr. Adam* to Holland. 
 
 Major Andrf. 
 
 THE year 1780 was marked by the treason of General Arnold, 
 who deserted the American cause, sold himself to the enemies of 
 his country, and engaged in the British service. He was a man 
 without principle from the beginning; and before his treachery 
 was discovered, he had sunk a character, raised by impetuous 
 valor attended with success, without being the possessor of any 
 other intrinsic merit. He had accumulated a fortune by pecula 
 tion, and squandered it discreditably, long before he formed the 
 plan to betray his country. Montreal he had plundered in haste ; 
 but in Philadelphia he went to work deliberately to seize every 
 thing he could lay hands on, which had been the property of the 
 disaffected party, and converted it to his own use. He entered 
 
TREASON OF GEN. ARNOLD. 
 
 637 
 
 into contracts for speculating and privateering, and at the same 
 time made exorbitant demands on congress, for compensation 
 for his services. In his speculations he was disappointed by the 
 common failure of such adventures ; in the other attempt he was 
 rebuffed and mortified by the commissioners appointed to examine 
 his accounts, who curtailed a great part of his demands as unjust, 
 and for which he deserved severe reprehension. Involved in debt 
 by his extravagance, and reproached by his creditors, his resent 
 ment wrought him up to a determination of revenge for this public 
 ignominy. 
 
 West Point. 
 
 The command of the important post at West Point, on the 
 Hudson, had been given to Arnold. No one suspected, notwith 
 standing the censures that had fallen upon him, that he had a 
 heart base enough treacherously to betray his military trust. 
 Who made the first advances to negotiation, is uncertain ; but it 
 appeared, on a scrutiny, that Arnold had proposed overtures to 
 Clinton, characteristic of his own baseness, and not very honor 
 able to the British commander, if viewed apart from the usages 
 of war, which too frequently sanction the blackest crimes. His 
 treacherous proposals were listened to, and Clinton authorized 
 Major Andre, his adjutant general, a young officer of great integ 
 rity and worth, to hold a personal and secret conference with the 
 traitor. The British sloop of war Vulture had been stationed for 
 some time at a convenient place in the river to facilitate the 
 design ; it was also said that Andre and Arnold had kept up a 
 friendly correspondence on some trivial matters, previous to their 
 personal interview, which took place on the twenty-first of Sep. 
 tember, 1780. Andre was landed in the night near West Point 
 54* c4 
 
 
638 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 on a beach, without the military boundaries of either army. He 
 there met Arnold, who communicated to him the state of the 
 army and garrison at West Point, the number of men considered 
 as necessary for its defence, and a return of the ordnance, and the 
 artillery corps. These accounts he gave Andre in writing, V) ith 
 plans of all the works. 
 
 The conference continued so long that it did not finish in time 
 for the safe retreat of Andre. He was conducted, though without 
 his knowledge or consent, within the American posts, where he 
 was obliged to conceal himself in company with Arnold, until 
 the ensuing morning. The Vultute, in the meantime, from which 
 he had been landed, shifted her station while he was on shore, 
 and lay so much exposed to the fire of the Americans, that the 
 boatmen whom Arnold had bribed to bring Andre to the confer 
 ence, refused to venture a second time on board. This rendered 
 it impossible for him to return to New York by water ; and he 
 was reduced to the necessity of hurrying, like a disguised criminal, 
 through the posts of his enemies. Furnished with a passport 
 from Arnold, under the name of Anderson, he had nearly reached 
 the British lines, when he was suddenly arrested within the 
 American posts, by three private soldiers. He was instantly 
 aware of his desperate situation, taken in the night, in a dis 
 guised habit, under a fictitious name, with a plan of the works at 
 West Point concealed in his boots, containing the situation, the 
 numbers and the strength of the American army. He offered a 
 purse of gold, an elegant gold watch, and other very tempting 
 rewards, if he might be permitted to pass unmolested to New 
 York. But his captors, rejecting all pecuniary rewards, had 
 the fidelity to convey their prisoner immediately to the head 
 quarters of the American army. Such instances of patriotism and 
 such contempt for private interest, when united with duty and 
 obligation to the public, are so rare, that the names of John Paul- 
 ding, David Williams and Isaac Yanwert ought never to be 
 forgotten in American history. 
 
 When Arnold was first apprized of the detection of Andre, he 
 was struck with astonishment and terror. He called for a horse, 
 mounted instantly, and rode down a craggy steep, never before 
 passed on horseback. He took a barge, and showing a flag of 
 truce, passed the fort at Verplank's Point, and soon found himself 
 safe beneath the guns of the Yulture. Before he took leave of 
 the bargemen, he made them very generous offers, if they would 
 act as dishonorably as he had done; he promised them higher 
 and better wages, if they would desert their country, and enlist 
 in the service of Britain ; but they spurned at the offer. Arnold 
 
EXECUTION OF MAJOR ANDRE. 639 
 
 got safe to New York, and wrote to Washington in behalf of his 
 wife. In this letter he endeavored to justify his own conduct 
 and urged the release of Andre, with much insolence. He also 
 shortly afterwards published an address to the people of America, 
 fabricated by his new masters, and couched in very insolent and 
 overbearing language. He cast many indecent reflections on 
 congress, on the French nation, and on the alliance between 
 America and France. Soon after his arrival in New York, he 
 received the price of his treason, ten thousand pounds sterling, 
 in cash, with a general's commission under the crown of Great 
 Britain. 
 
 A court-martial of the American officers was convened for the 
 trial of Andre. Much influence was exerted to save his life, even 
 by the Americans. He was, however, convicted of being a spy, 
 and agreeably to the common usages of war, condemned to death. 
 He was hanged at Tappaan, on the 2d of October. The fate of 
 Andre was lamented by his enemies ; his sufferings were soothed 
 by the politeness and generosity of the commander-in-chief 
 and the officers of the American army; while the unfortunate 
 Nathan Hale, an American officer, who was captured while 
 attempting to gain intelligence of the designs of the British, in 
 the same clandestine manner, had been hanged in New York, in 
 1776, without a day to prepare himself for death. This event 
 took place soon after the action on Long Island. The dilemma 
 to which Washington was reduced, and the situation of his army, 
 rendered it necessary for him to gain some intelligence of the 
 movements of the British. This being intimated to Captain 
 Hale, a young man of unimpeachable character, and rising hopes, 
 he generously offered to risk his life for the service of his coun 
 try. He ventured into the city, was detected, and acknowledged 
 that he was employed in a business that could not be forgiven by 
 his enemies. Without the smallest token of compassion from any 
 one, he was cruelly insulted, and executed with disgraceful rigor. 
 
 The Americans would willingly have exchanged Andre for 
 Arnold, but the British commander-in-chief would not consent to 
 give up the traitor. A bold and desperate scheme was planned 
 by Sergeant Major Champe, of the American dragoons, in New 
 Jersey, to seize Arnold by a stratagem. Champe, by a connivance 
 with his commanding officer, deserted from the camp and galloped 
 towards the shores of the Hudson, just above New York. He 
 was so hotly pursued by several of the American troopers, who 
 were not in the secret, that he was obliged to leap from his horse 
 into the river, and swim on board a British vessel of war in the 
 stream. He was sent to New York, and joined a body of troops 
 
640 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 which Arnold was raising. Here he had nearly matured his 
 plan for seizing Arnold in the night and conveying him across the 
 river in a boat, when the design was suddenly frustrated by the 
 general's changing his quarters. Champe remained for some time 
 with the British, but found no other opportunity for executing his 
 design. He subsequently had the good fortune to get back in 
 safety to the American army. 
 
 Sergeant Major Champe's adventure. 
 
 In addition to the alarming circumstances already recapitulated, 
 the most dangerous symptoms were exhibited in the conduct of a 
 part of the army, towards the end of the year 1780. The revolt 
 of the whole Pennsylvania line spread a temporary dismay 
 throughout the country. On the 1st of January, 1781, upwards of 
 a thousand men, belonging to that portion of the army, marched in 
 a body from the camp, in the Jerseys. Others, equally disaffected, 
 soon followed them. They took post on an advantageous ground, 
 chose for their leader a sergeant major, a British deserter, arid 
 saluted him as their major general. On the third day of their 
 revolt, a message was sent from the officers of the American 
 camp; this they refused to receive ; but to a flag which followed, 
 requesting to know their complaints and intentions, they replied, 
 that "they had served three years; that they had engaged to 
 serve no longer; nor would they return or disperse until their 
 grievances were redressed and their arrearages paid." 
 
 General Wayne, who commanded the line, had been greatly 
 beloved and respected by the soldiers, nor did he at first doubt 
 but that his influence would soon bring them back to their duty. 
 He did everything in the power of a spirited and judicious officer, 
 
REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE. 641 
 
 lo quiet their clamors, in the beginning of the insurrection : but 
 many of them pointed their bayonets at his breast ; told him to 
 be on his guard ; that they were determined to march to congress 
 to obtain a redress of grievances ; that though they respected him 
 as an officer and loved his person, yet, if he attempted to fire on 
 
 General Wayne. 
 
 them, "he was a dead man." Sir Henry Clinton soon gained 
 intelligence of the confusion and danger into which the Ameri 
 cans were plunged. He improved the advantageous moment, and 
 made the revolters every tempting offer. But the intrigues of the 
 British officers, and the measures of their commander-in-chief, 
 had not the smallest influence ; the revolted troops, though dissat 
 isfied, appeared to have no inclination to join the British army. 
 They declared, with one voice, that if there was an immediate 
 necessity to call out the American forces, they would still fight 
 under the orders of congress. Several British spies were detected, 
 busily employed in endeavoring to increase the ferment, who 
 were tried and executed with little ceremony. 
 
 The prudent conduct of the commander-in-chief, and the dis 
 position which appeared in government to do justice to their 
 demands, subdued the mutiny. A committee was sent from con 
 gress to hear their complaints and as far as possible to relieve 
 their sufferings. Those whose term of enlistment had expired, 
 were paid off and discharged ; the reasonable demands of others 
 were satisfied ; and a general pardon was granted to the offenders, 
 who cheerfully returned to their duty. But the contagion and 
 
642 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 mutinous example of the Pennsylvania line, had spread in some 
 degree its dangerous influence over other parts of the army; it 
 operated more particularly on a part of the Jersey troops, soon 
 after the pacification of the disorderly Pennsylvania soldiers, 
 though not with equal success and impunity to themselves. A 
 few of the principal leaders of the revolt were tried by a court- 
 martial and found guilty. As a second general pardon, without 
 any penal inflictions, would have had a fatal effect on the army, 
 two of them suffered death for their mutinous conduct. This 
 example of severity put a period to every symptom of open revolt, 
 though not to the* silent murmurs of the army. They still felt 
 heavily the immediate inconveniences of the deficiency of almost 
 every article necessary to life; they. had little food and seldom 
 any covering, except what was forced from the adjacent inhabi 
 tants by military power. 
 
 France had acknowledged the independence of America ; and 
 the whole house of Bourbon now supported the claim of the 
 United States, though there had yet been no direct treaty between 
 America and Spain. It had been the general expectation, for some 
 time before it took place, that Spain would soon unite with France 
 in support of the American cause. From this expectation, the 
 Spaniards in South America had prepared themselves for a rup 
 ture, a considerable time before any formal declaration of war had 
 taken place. They were in readiness to take the earliest advan 
 tage of such an event. They had accordingly seized Pensacola, 
 in West Florida, and several British posts on the Mississippi, 
 before the troops stationed there had any intimation that hostilities 
 were declared, in the usual style, between England and Spain. 
 
 Don Bernard de Galvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana, 
 had proclaimed the independence of America, in New Orleans, at 
 the head of all the forces he could collect, as early as the 19th of 
 August, 1779, and had proceeded immediately to surprise and 
 conquer, wherever he could, the unguarded British settlements. 
 The British navy, generally masters of the ocean, had, early after 
 hostilities commenced, beaten some of the Spanish ships, inter 
 cepted the convoys, and captured or destroyed several of the 
 homeward bound fleets of merchantmen. But by this time the 
 arms of Spain had been successful in several enterprises by sea; 
 at the Bay of Honduras and in the West Indies they also soon 
 gained several other advantages. Galvez had concerted a plan 
 with the governor of Havana, to surprise Mobile. He encoun 
 tered storms, dangers, disappointments and difficulties, almost 
 innumerable. This enterprising Spaniard recovered, however, in 
 some measure, his losses; and receiving a reinforcement from 
 
POLICY OF THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT. 643 
 
 Havana, with a part of the regiment of Navarre, and some other 
 auxiliaries, he landed near Mobile, and reduced the whole province 
 of West Florida, in May, 1781. 
 
 It was indeed some time after the accession of Spain, that any 
 other European power explicitly acknowledged the independence 
 of the United States; but Mr. Izard, who was sent by congress 
 to Tuscany, and Mr. William Lee, to the court of Vienna, in 
 1778, inspired with that lively assurance which is sometimes the 
 pledge of success, had met with no discouraging circumstances. 
 Holland had a still more difficult part to act than France, Spain, 
 or perhaps any other European power, who actually had adhered 
 to. or appeared inclined to favor the cause of America. Her 
 embarrassments arose in part from existing treaties with Great 
 Britain, by which the latter claimed the Dutch republic as their 
 ally. 
 
 The unfortunate capture of Mr. Laurens, the American envoy, 
 prevented for a time all public negotiations with Holland. He 
 had been vested with discretionary powers, and had suitable 
 instructions given him, to enter into private contracts and negoti 
 ations, as exigencies might offer, for the interest of his country, 
 until events had ripened for his full admission as ambassador of 
 the United States of America. The British commander knew not 
 the rank of his prisoner, until the packages thrown overboard by 
 Mr. Laurens were recovered by a British sailor. Notwithstand 
 ing the resentment of the British envoy at the Hague, the conduct 
 of the Dutch court remained for some time so equivocal, that 
 neither Great Britain nor America were fully satisfied with their 
 determinations. It is true a treaty with the United States was 
 for some time postponed ; but the answer of the Dutch govern 
 ment to the remonstrances of Sir Joseph Yorke, the British envoy, 
 not being sufficiently condescending and decided, his resentment 
 daily increased. He informed his court, in very strong terms, of 
 the effect of his repeated memorials, of the conduct of the Dutch 
 government, and of that of the principal characters of the 
 Batavian provinces. Great Britain soon after, in the recess of 
 parliament, amidst all her other difficulties, at war with France/ 
 Spain and America, and left alone by all the other rxrvers of 
 Europe to decide her own quarrels, declared hostilities against 
 the Netherlands ; and a long manifesto from the king was sent 
 abroad in the latter part of December, 1780. 
 
 The capture of Mr. Laurens was, however,- no small embar 
 rassment to the British ministry. Their pride would not suffer 
 them to recognise his public character ; they dared not condemn 
 him as a rebel ; the independence of America was too far 
 
644 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 advanced, and there were too many captured noblemen and 
 officers in the United States, to allow of such a step, lest imme 
 diate retaliation should be made. He was confined in the Tower, 
 forbidden the use of pen, ink and paper, and all social intercourse 
 with any ons ; and was even interdicted converse with his young 
 son, who had been several years in England for his education. 
 
 Immediately after the news of. the capture and imprisonment 
 of Mr. Laurens, the American congress directed John Adams, 
 who had a second time been sent to Europe in a public character, 
 to leave France and repair to Holland, there to transact the affairs 
 with the States-General, which had before been entrusted to Mr. 
 Laurens. Mr. Adams's commission was enlarged. From a confi 
 dence in his talents and integrity, he was vested with ample 
 powers for negotiation, for the forming treaties of alliance and 
 commerce, or the loan of monies, for the United States of America. 
 Not fettered by precise instructions, he exercised his discretionary 
 powers with judgment and ability. Thus, in strict amity with 
 France and Spain ; on the point of a treaty of alliance with the 
 Batavian Republic, and in the meantime Sweden and Denmark 
 balancing and nearly determined on a connexion with America, 
 the foreign relations of the United States in general wore a very 
 favorable aspect. 
 
. CHAPTER LXV. 
 
 Cessation of the continental currency. Invasion of Virginia by Arnold. Greene* a 
 campaign in the Carolinas. Victory of the Americans at the Cowpens. Battle 
 of Guilford Vicissitudes of the American army. Battle oj Eutaw Springs. 
 Cornwallis marches towards Virginia. Designs of Washington upon New 
 York. New plan of the campaign. Washington marches towards the south. 
 Arrival of De Grasse in the Chesapeake. Battle between De Grasse and Admiral 
 Graves. Siege of Yorktown. Surrender of Cornwallis. Arnold's expedition 
 to Connecticut. British treatment of American prisoners. Conclusion of the 
 campaign in the south. Change of ministry in England. American Independ 
 ence acknowledged. Troubles in the American army. General peace. Ameri 
 can army disbanded. 
 
 Surrender of Cornrvallis. 
 
 THE year 1781 witnessed an important change in the financial 
 system of the United States. The continental paper money, 
 issued by congress, ceased to circulate. The sums emitted now 
 amounted to upwards of three hundred and fifty millions of 
 dollars, in addition to what had been counterfeited by the British 
 and introduced into the country. The utter impossibility of pro 
 viding any means of redeeming these bills had been so long 
 apparent, that nothing could hinder their constant and rapid 
 depreciation. At last, when they had sunk to the value of one 
 hundred and twenty for one, they were, by common consent, 
 thrown aside. The necessity for this measure was so obvious, 
 55 D4 
 

 646 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 that it excited little murmuring and no disturbance. Trade had 
 heen opened with the French and Spanish West India islands, by 
 which means a considerable supply of gold and silver was intro 
 duced into the country. A subsidy of six millions of livres was 
 obtained from the king of France ; and ten millions more were 
 borrowed from the Dutch, for which the French king became 
 security. The finances of the country soon assumed a more 
 promising aspect. 
 
 The British were determined to push the war vigorously in the 
 south. General Leslie, who had been sent to the Chesapeake, 
 towards the close of 1780, with a force of two thousand men, 
 had marched to Charleston, by order of Cornwallis. An addi 
 tional force of sixteen hundred men was despatched from New 
 York, under Arnold, now a brigadier general in the British 
 service. In January, 1781, they made a descent on the coast of 
 Virginia, burning, plundering and ravaging in every direction. 
 Washington detached La Fayette, with twelve hundred American 
 troops, against Arnold. A French ship of the line and two frig 
 ates accompanied them to the Chesapeake. They captured a 
 British forty-four gun frigate and ten other vessels. An engage 
 ment ensued between the British fleet under Admiral Arbuthnot 
 and the French under D'Estouches, off the Capes of Virginia. The 
 action was not decisive, but the French ships were so much 
 crippled that they were forced to put back to Rhode Island, with 
 out accomplishing the main object of the expedition. A British 
 fleet, with two thousand additional troops under General Philips, 
 arrived in the Chesapeake. They formed a junction with Arnold's 
 force, captured Petersburg, Williamsburg and Yorktown, destroy 
 ing tobacco and other merchandise to an immense amount. 
 
 The command of the American army in the south had been 
 transferred from General Gates to General Greene. The army, in 
 the beginning of the year 1781, amounted to no more than two 
 thousand men, half of whom were militia. They had been for a 
 long time without pay, and were very deficient in clothing. The 
 army of Cornwallis was much superior in numbers and discipline 
 his troops were well clothed and regularly paid ; and when Greene 
 first arrived, they were flushed with recent successes, particularly 
 the defeat of Gates at Camden. It is true the death of Major 
 Ferguson, and the rout of his party, was a serious disappoint 
 ment, but not of sufficient consequence to check the designs and 
 expectations of a British army, commanded by officers of the first 
 military experience. The inhabitants of the Carolinas were 
 divided in opinion ; bitter, rancorous and cruel in their animosities, 
 and many of them without any fixed political principles. Fluctul 
 
BATTLE OF THE COWPENS. 647 
 
 ating and unstable, sometimes they were the partisans of Britain, 
 and huzzaed for royalty; at other times, they were the militia 
 of the state in continental service, and professed themselves 
 zealots for American independence. But General Greene, with 
 remarkable coolness and intrepidity, checked their licentious 
 conduct, and punished desertion and treachery by necessary 
 examples of severity ; and thus in a short time he established a 
 more regular discipline. 
 
 The British troops had yet met with no check, which in any 
 degree damped their ardor, except the defeat of Ferguson. The 
 most important movement which took place for some time after 
 this affair, was an action between Morgan and Tarleton, in Janu 
 ary, 1781. General Morgan was an early volunteer in the Amer 
 ican warfare ; he had marched from Virginia to Cambridge, at the 
 head of a body of riflemen, to the aid of Washington, in 1775. 
 General Greene, convinced that no officer could more effectually 
 accomplish any bold undertaking, ordered Morgan, with a consid 
 erable force, to march to the western parts of South Carolina. 
 Cornwallis, having gained intelligence of this movement, de 
 spatched Tarleton in pursuit of Morgan. In a few days, they met 
 near the river Paulet. General Morgan had reason to expect, 
 from the rapid advance of Tarleton, that a meeting would have 
 taken place sooner ; but by various manoeuvres he kept his troops 
 at a distance, until a moment of advantage might present. The^ 
 Americans had kept up the appearance of retreat, until they 
 reached a spot called the Cowpens. Tarleton came up, and a 
 resolute engagement ensued on the 17th of January, when, after 
 a short conflict, the British were totally defeated, with the loss of 
 above eight hundred killed, wounded and prisoners. The loss of 
 the Americans was only twelve killed, and sixty wounded. 
 
 Tarle ton's defeat was a blow entirely unexpected by Cornwallis, 
 and induced him to march from Wynesborough, to the Yadkin, 
 in pursuit of Morgan, with the hope of overtaking him and 
 recovering the prisoners. The British troops endured this long 
 and fatiguing march, under every species of difficulty, crossing 
 rivers, swamps, marshes and creeks, with uncommon resolution 
 and patience. Greene, on hearing that Cornwallis was in pursuit 
 of Morgan, left his post near the Pedee, under the command of Gen 
 eral Huger, pushed rapidly forward with a small party, one hun 
 dred and fifty miles, and joined Morgan before Cornwallis arrived 
 at the Catawba. In this pursuit Cornwallis cut off some of the 
 small detachments, not in sufficient force for effectual opposition. 
 General Davison made a successful stand on the banks of the 
 Catawba, with three or four hundred men ; but the British fording 
 
648 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the river unexpectedly, he was himself killed and his troops dis 
 persed. The passage of the river by the British army was no 
 farther impeded. 
 
 Greene had ordered Colonels Huger and Williams, whom he 
 had left some days before at the Pedee, to join him with their 
 troops ; however, it was but a short time after this junction, before 
 Greene had the strongest reason -to conclude that the safety of 
 his troops lay only in retreat ; nor was this accomplished without 
 the utmost difficulty. His march was frequently interrupted by 
 steep ascents and unfordable rivers. But he adroitly escaped 
 a pursuing arid powerful army, whose progress was, fortunately 
 for the Americans, checked by the same impediments, and at 
 much less favorable moments of arrival.- The freshets swelled, 
 and retarded the passage of the British army, while they seemed 
 at times to suspend their rapidity in favor of the Americans. 
 After a flight and pursuit of fifteen or twenty days, supported by 
 the most determined spirit and perseverance on both sides, Greene 
 reached Guilford, about the middle of February, where he ordered 
 all the troops he had left near the Pedee, under officers on whom 
 he could depend, to repair immediately to him. 
 
 Cornwallis. 
 
 Greene and Cornwallis lay at no great distance from each other ; 
 but Greene kept his position as much as possible concealed, as 
 he was not yet in a situation to venture upon a decisive action ; 
 and though he was obliged to move earlier towards the British 
 encampment, no engagement took place until the middle of March. 
 
ACTION AT GU1LFORD. 649 
 
 In the meantime, by his ability and address, he eluded the vigi 
 lance of his enemies, and kept himself secure by a continual 
 change of posts, until strengthened by fresh reinforcements of the 
 North Carolina and Virginia militia. The few continental troops 
 he had with him, joined by these and a number of volunteers 
 from the interior of the mountainous tracts of the western wilder 
 ness, induced him to risk a battle. 
 
 On the 15th of March, 1781, the two armies met at Guilford, 
 and seemed at first to engage with equal ardor ; but, as usual, the 
 raw militia were intimidated by the valor and discipline of the 
 British veterans. Almost the whole corps of Carolinians threw 
 down their arms and fled, many of them without even discharg 
 ing their firelocks. This deranged the order of the American 
 army ; yet they supported the action with great spirit and bravery 
 for an hour and a half, when they were entirely broken, and 
 obliged to retreat with the utmost precipitation. Both armies 
 suffered much by the loss of many gallant officers and a con 
 siderable number of men. Cornwallis kept the field and claimed 
 the victory ; but the subsequent transactions discovered that the 
 balance of real advantage lay on the other side. Cornwallis soon 
 decamped from the neighborhood, and marched with all possible 
 expedition toward the eastern parts of North Carolina. He found 
 many difficulties in his way, but pursued his route with great per 
 severance. His army cheerfully sustained the severest fatigujgj| 
 but, as they had frequently done before, they marked their way 
 with the slaughter of the inhabitants, through a territory of many 
 hundred miles in extent from Charleston to Yorktown. It was 
 afterwards computed that fourteen hundred widows were made, 
 during this year's campaign only, in the district Ninety-Six. 
 
 A detail of all the small rencounters that took place this year 
 in both the Carolinas, would only fatigue the reader. It is enough 
 to observe that the Americans, under various leaders, were con 
 tinually attacking, with alternate success and defeat, the chain of 
 British posts planted from Camden to Ninety-six ; and as Greene 
 himself expressed his sentiments in this embarrassed situation, 
 "We fight, get beaten; rise and fight again; the whole country 
 is one continued scene of slaughter and blood." Fierce encoun 
 ters were still kept up between the British detachments posted on 
 advantageous heights, and on the banks of deep and unfordable 
 rivers which intersected each other, and the hardy chieftain who 
 led the Carolinian bands over mountains, declivities, swamps and 
 rivers to the vicinity of Charleston. Thence they were often 
 obliged to retreat back from the borders of civilization, again to 
 seek safety in the dreary wilderness ; until the British, wearied by 
 55* 
 
650 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 a perpetual course of hostilities without decision, drew in their 
 cantonments, and took post, about the beginning of September, at 
 the Eutaw Springs, nearly fifty miles from Charleston. 
 
 General Greene, when near the waters of the Congaree, where 
 the two armies were separated at the distance of only fifteen 
 miles, had attempted to bring the enemy to a close engagement; 
 but there appeared at that time no inclination in the British com 
 mander to meet him. Greene now found the enemy were about 
 to take a new position. This induced him to follow them by a cir 
 cuitous march of seventy or eighty miles. Desultory skirmishes 
 continued through the month of August ; and in the next month, 
 Greene again renewed his challenge, and advanced to the Springs, 
 where the main body of the British troops were collected. He 
 had with him only about two thousand men; but these were 
 commanded by some of the best of his officers. They attacked 
 the British encampment on the 8th of September. The battle 
 was severe, but the Americans obtained the advantage. The loss 
 of the British amounted to eleven hundred men; that of the 
 Americans to five hundred. Colonel Stewart, the British com 
 mander, claimed the victory, though it was a drawn battle. 
 Greene suffered the loss of many brave soldiers, and some very 
 valuable officers. Colonel Campbell, of Virginia, fell towards the 
 termination of the action, and had time, after the mortal wound, 
 only to observe, that, " as the British fled, he died contented." 
 
 Stewart wrote to Sir Henry Clinton a detail of the affair, in the 
 pompous style of a victor ; but notwithstanding he arrogated so 
 much on the occasion, the action at Eutaw Springs put a period 
 to all further offensive operations in that quarter ; and the British 
 troops after this, seldom ventured beyond the boundaries of 
 Charleston. Besides the numbers slain in this action, four or five 
 hundred of the British troops were taken prisoners. The Ameri 
 cans suffered equally, and perhaps in greater proportion to their 
 numbers than the British. After this action, Greene retired again 
 for a time to the heights bordering on the Santee. He had 
 accomplished much during the year. He opened the campaign 
 with the most gloomy prospects ; he closed it with honor to him 
 self and great advantage to the country. 
 
 Cornwallis, soon after the battle of Guilford, marched to Wil 
 mington, in North Carolina. In the expectation that the force left 
 in South Carolina, under Lord Rawdon, would be able to hold 
 the Americans in check in that quarter, he turned his attention to 
 Virginia. The conquest of that state by the British, appeared to 
 be the most efficacious method of striking a blow which should 
 overwhelm all the southern colonies. Their force was strong. 
 
BRITISH FORTIFY THEMSELVES AT YORKTOWN. 651 
 
 The Americans had no considerable army in Virginia. Washing 
 ton lay in his cantonments about New York, where the hostile 
 attitude of Clinton demanded his constant vigilance. With these 
 inviting prospects, Cornwallis marched from Wilmington, in April, 
 1781, and with some occasional resistance from small parties of 
 the Americans, reached Petersburg, in Virginia, on the 20th of 
 May. Here he was joined by the British forces under General 
 Philips, and shortly after by a reinforcement of fifteen hundred 
 men from New York. 
 
 Cornwallis now found himself at the head of an army amount 
 ing nearly to ten thousand men, a force sufficiently formidable 
 to bear down all opposition. The troops of the Americans did 
 not exceed three thousand men, two-thirds of whom were militia. 
 These were commanded by La Fayette, who retired as Cornwallis 
 advanced. After crossing James river, the British marched and 
 countermarched for some weeks. They took Charlotteville, and 
 destroyed a great quantity of stores. Cornwallis then fell back 
 upon Richmond, and on the 26th of June, retreated to Williams- 
 burg. La Fayette had the address to make his force appear much 
 greater than it really was ; and by keeping in an imposing atti 
 tude, he compelled his adversary to act with caution. Many 
 skirmishes took place, but no decisive action ensued. About the 
 first of July, Cornwallis received letters from Clinton, stating his 
 fears of being attacked in New York, and requesting a reinforce 
 ment from the army of Cornwallis. He recommended that the 
 troops remaining in Virginia, should take post in some strong 
 situation, till the danger at New York had passed. To comply 
 with these suggestions, Cornwallis resolved to retreat toward the 
 shores of the Chesapeake. Portsmouth, near Norfolk, where the 
 British had a strong garrison, was first fixed upon as the station 
 for the army ; but on account of the fleet, Yorktown was after 
 ward found a preferable spot. The troops were therefore removed 
 from Portsmouth to Yorktown, and here the whole British army 
 fortified themselves in July, 1781. The detachment, however, 
 to reinforce Clinton was not sent away. Cornwallis expected to 
 be further strengthened by the speedy arrival of a British squa 
 dron from the West Indies. 
 
 Washington, in the meantime, had been eyeing the movements 
 of Cornwallis in the south with great anxiety. During the early 
 part of the season, he had hopes of striking an important blow, 
 by attacking New York, in conjunction with the French land and 
 sea-forces, and a strong body of militia, to be suddenly raised for 
 that purpose. The failure of several of the states to forward 
 their militia in season, and the arrival of three thousand German 
 
652 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 troops at New York, caused this design to miscarry. Washing 
 ton felt the deepest mortification at this disappointment ; yet, 
 before long, he had cause to regard it as one of the most fortunate 
 events of his life. He was soon enabled to employ his army with 
 the most brilliant success in another quarter. 
 
 Early in August, intelligence was received that a powerful 
 French fleet, under the Count de Grasse, was to sail immediately 
 from the West Indies for the Chesapeake, with several thousand 
 land troops on board. Washington now saw an opportunity for 
 making a most important change in the campaign. Cornwallis 
 had shut himself* up in Yorktown, and Washington discerned at 
 once the possibility of uniting his army with the French in Vir 
 ginia, and overpowering his enemy at a single stroke. This plan 
 required great skill and address ; but the American commander 
 accomplished it with an ability that has seldom been equalled. 
 To abandon the neighborhood of New York with all his forces, 
 would lay the country open to the incursions of the strong British 
 army in that city ; but a stratagem of Washington obviated the 
 danger from this source. He wrote letters to the officers at the 
 south, stating his inability to assist them with any part of his 
 army, as he was about to make an immediate attack on New 
 York. These letters were intercepted by the British, as had been 
 foreseen, and Clinton was completely deceived as to the real 
 intentions of Washington. Fearing an immediate attack, he 
 dared not send aid to Cornwallis, but left that officer to his fate. 
 
 Washington, by a variety of well-combined mano3uvres, kept 
 New York and its dependencies in a continual state of alarm for 
 several weeks, when, towards the end of August, judging that the 
 proper conjuncture had arrived, he suddenly broke up his camp, 
 made a rapid march across the Jerseys and Pennsylvania, to the 
 head waters of the Chesapeake, embarked the army in boats, 
 descended the bay, and landed safely in Virginia. He reached 
 Williamsburg on the 14th of September. 
 
 In the meantime, the fortunate arrival of a French fleet under 
 the Count de Grasse, in the Chesapeake, on the 30th of August, 
 hastened the decision of important events. No intelligence of this 
 had reached New York ; nor could anything have been more un 
 expected to the British admiral, Sir Samuel Hood, who arrived 
 soon after in the Chesapeake, than to find a French fleet, of twenty- 
 eight sail of the line, lying there in perfect security. About the 
 same time, near twenty British ships of the line, from the West 
 Indies, joined the squadron under Admiral Graves, before New York. 
 
 This fleet sailed for the Chesapeake, and entered the bay six 
 days after the arrival of the Count de Grasse. The French 
 
SIEGE OF TORKTOWN. 653 
 
 squadron had not been discovered by the British commander, nor 
 had he gained any intelligence that de Grasse was on the Ameri 
 can coast, until the morning of the fifth of September, when the 
 English observed them in full view within Cape Henry. The 
 fleets were nearly equal in strength, and a spirited action ensued ; 
 equal gallantry was exhibited on both sides, but neither could 
 boast of victory. Both squadrons were considerably injured, and 
 one British seventy-four was rendered totally unfit for service, and 
 set on fire by the crew. The English, indeed, were not beaten, but 
 the French gained a double advantage ; for while the Count de 
 Grasse remained at a distance, watched by the British navy, he 
 secured a passage for the fleet of the Count de Barras from Rhode 
 Island, and gained to himself the advantage of blocking up the 
 Chesapeake against the enemy. Barras brought with him the 
 French troops from Rhode Island, amounting to about three thou 
 sand men. These joined La Fayette, whose numbers had been 
 greatly reduced. This reinforcement enabled him to support him 
 self by defensive operations, until, in a short time, they were all 
 united under the command of the Count de Rochambeau. The 
 British fleet continued a few days in the Chesapeake. Their ships 
 were so much injured, that a council of war pronounced it neces 
 sary to return to New York. 
 
 In the meantime, Clinton wrote letters full of specious pro 
 mises, to buoy up the hopes of Cornwallis, by strong assurances 
 that no time should be lost in sending forward a force sufficient 
 for his relief. He informed him that a fleet, under the command 
 of Lord Digby, who had recently arrived at New York, would 
 sail for the Chesapeake by the fifth of October ; that Clinton him 
 self was nearly ready to embark with a large body of troops. 
 These flattering assurances from the commander-in-chief induced 
 Cornwallis to avoid a general action. His situation had been for 
 some time truly distressing. Embarrassed between his own opin 
 ion and the orders of his superior, flattered by the promise of timely 
 relief, in such force as to enable him to cope with the united 
 armies of France and America, he waited the result, and would 
 not suffer himself to be impelled by any circumstances to risk his 
 army beyond the probability of success. The mouth of the river 
 at Yorktown was blocked up by the French fleet ; the American 
 army, in high health and spirits, strengthened by daily recruits, 
 led on by Washington, in conjunction with a French army, under 
 Rochambeau, an officer of courage, experience, and ability, were 
 making rapid advances. On the 28th of September, they left 
 Williamsburg, and on the 6th of October, 12,000 strong, they 
 opened their trenches before Yorktown. 
 
 4 
 
654 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Cornwalhs determined, notwithstanding the difficulties that 
 pressed upon him, to make a desperate defence. His army was 
 worn down by sickness and fatigue, but there was no want of 
 resolution or valor ; his officers were intrepid and his men brave. 
 They acquitted themselves with spirit, and kept their ground from 
 the sixth to the sixteenth of October without despairing. But the 
 besiegers pressed their attacks with such vigor, that Cornwallis at 
 length plainly saw he had only to choose between an immediate 
 surrender, and an effort to escape and save a part of his army by 
 flight. He determined on the latter expedient. For this purpose, 
 he passed, on the night of the sixteenth, the greatest part of his 
 army from Yorktown across the river to Gloucester, leaving only 
 a detachment behind to capitulate for the- town's people, the sick, 
 and the wounded. 
 
 But fortune did not favor the enterprise. The boats had an 
 easy passage, but, at the critical moment of landing the men, the 
 weather suddenly changed from a calm to a violent storm of rain 
 and wind, which carried the boats down the river, with many of 
 the troops, who had not time to disembark. It was soon evident 
 that the intended passage was impracticable ; and the absence of 
 the boats rendered it equally impossible to bring back the portion 
 of the army that had passed. The troops were dispersed by the 
 storm by which the boats were driven down the river, though 
 some of them returned to Yorktown the 'ensuing day. Desperate 
 as was the situation of the British, a faint resistance was still 
 made, by an order to Colonel Abercrombie to sally out with four 
 hundred men, to advance, attack, and spike the cannon of two 
 batteries of the besiegers, which were nearly finished. This was 
 executed with spirit and success, but attended with no important 
 consequences. The besiegers continued their vigorous operations, 
 without the smallest intermission, until prepared for the last 
 assault on the town, which they began on the morning of the 17th. 
 In this hopeless condition, the British works in ruins, most of the 
 troops sick, wounded or fatigued, and without rational expecta 
 tion of relief from any quarter, Cornwallis found it necessary to 
 propose terms of submission. 
 
 The officers appointed on the part of the Americans to draw up 
 the articles of capitulation, were the Count de Noailles and 
 Colonel John Laurens, a son of the American ambassador at this 
 time confined in the tower of London, and very severely treated. 
 By a strange concurrence of events, Lord Cornwallis, constable of 
 the tower of London, was now on the point of becoming a prisoner, 
 with his army, under the dictation of the son of Mr. Laurens. 
 The capitulation was signed on the 19th of October, 1781, and the 
 
SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS. 655 
 
 whole army, consisting of upwards of seven thousand men, were 
 surrendered prisoners of war. The British were permitted only 
 the same honors of war that Cornwallis had granted the Ameri 
 cans on the surrender of Charleston. The officers were allowed 
 their side arms, but the troops marched with their colors cased, 
 and made their submission to General Lincoln, precisely in the 
 same manner as his army had done to the British commander a 
 few months before. Within five days after the surrender of all 
 the posts that had been held by Lord Cornwallis, a British fleet 
 from New York, under Lord Digby, with Sir Henry Clinton and 
 seven thousand troops on board, entered the Chesapeake, in full 
 confidence of success; but, to their inexpressible mortification, 
 Cornwallis had fallen, and they could only show themselves and 
 retreat. 
 
 By the capitulation of Cornwallis, all the shipping in the harbor 
 was left to the disposal of the Count de Grasse, with the excep 
 tion of the Bonetta sloop of war. This was granted to the 
 British to carry their despatches to New York. It included the 
 liberty of conveying as many of the troops as it was convenient, 
 to be exchanged for an equal number of Americans. The 
 humanity of Cornwallis prompted him to avail himself of this 
 liberty, to ship off, instead of soldiers, the most violent of the 
 loyalists, who were terrified beyond description at the thought of 
 falling into the hands of their countrymen. After the return of 
 the Bonetta, she also was to be delivered to the French Admiral. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the exultation that appeared throughout 
 America on the capture of the British army at Yorktown. The 
 thanks of congress were presented to the Count de Rochambeau, 
 General Washington, and the Count de Grasse. Public rejoicings 
 took place throughout the country, and thanksgivings were 
 offered in the churches. 
 
 While the French and American armies were advancing to the 
 siege of Yorktown, Arnold, at the head of a body of British, made 
 an incursion from New York into Connecticut On the 6th of 
 September, 1781, he landed at New London. A party of his 
 troops, led on by Colonel Eyre, attacked Fort Griswold, at the 
 entrance of the harbor. The garrison defended themselves with 
 great courage, but after a severe action, the fort was carried by 
 assault. A British officer, on entering the place, enquired who 
 commanded. Colonel Ledyard answered, "I did; but you do 
 now," at the same time surrendering his sword. He was imme 
 diately run through the body. After this barbarous murder, many 
 of the soldiers were also butchered, offering no resistance. New 
 London and Groton were then set on fire, with such of the ship- 
 
656 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ping as had not escaped up the river. After a marauding excur 
 sion of eight days, the British returned to New York, having 
 gained nothing but a reputation for useless and wanton cruelty. 
 
 In consequence of the capture of Lord Cornwallis and some other 
 decided successes in the southern states, a general exchange of 
 prisoners soon after took place. Many of the captured Americans 
 had been sent to Great Britain, where they were treated with 
 almust every severity, short of death. Some of them were trans 
 ported to the East Indies; others put to menial services on board 
 ships ; but after some time those who were conveyed to England 
 might be deemed' happy, when their sufferings were contrasted 
 with those of their countrymen who perished on board the prison 
 ships in America, under the eye of the British commanders. No 
 time will wipe off the stigma that is left on the names of Clinton 
 and Howe; for posterity will remember that during six years 
 of their command in New York, eleven thousand Americans died, 
 mostly from ill treatment, .on board the Jersey prison ship at that 
 place. Nor was the proportion smaller of those who perished in 
 their other jails, dungeons, and prison hulks. 
 
 Upon the restoration of tranquillity in Virginia, General Wayne 
 was ordered with the Pennsylvania line, to march with the utmost 
 despatch to South Carolina, to the aid of Greene, who had yet 
 many difficulties to encounter. The distance from the central 
 states, and the long service at the southward, had exposed the 
 American commander and his army there to indescribable suffer 
 ings. After the action at the Eutaw Springs, we left Greene on 
 the High Hills of San tee, to which place he repaired to secure and 
 recruit the remainder of his army. After a short stay he advanced 
 towards Jacksonborough. There the light troops from Virginia, 
 that had been under Laurens and Lee, joined him ; but the whole 
 army was so destitute of ammunition and every other necessary 
 for hostilities, that they had scarcely the means of supporting 
 themselves in a defensive condition. Some small skirmishes 
 ensued, without much advantage to either party. It was fortu 
 nate for the Americans that their enemies were now almost as 
 much reduced in number as themselves. Yet the various causes 
 of distress among this small remnant of continental soldiers, were 
 almost innumerable. They were in an unhealthy climate, always 
 unfriendly to northern constitutions; they were almost without 
 the means of supporting human life. Their general had disaffec 
 tion, discontent and mutiny, to combat in his own army. The 
 Maryland line, particularly, indulged a mutinous spirit to an 
 alarming extreme, which it required all the address of the comman- 
 der-in-chief to suppress. In this wretched situation, Greene and 
 
RAVAGES OF THE BRITISH IN GEORGIA. 657 
 
 his little army continued through the winter of 1780 ; and such 
 was the severe and vigilant duty of the officers, that, for seven 
 months, the general himself was hardly able to take off his clothes 
 for a night. The advance of Wayne, with his detachment from 
 Virginia, which reached South Carolina before the close of 1781, 
 had been impatiently expected. Without this, it would have been 
 impossible for Greene to have held out much longer. Some pro 
 visions, clothing and other necessaries reached the army in the 
 ensuing spring. This partially relieved the American comman 
 der from the complicated distresses he had suffered the preceding 
 winter. 
 
 Wayne did not continue long in South Carolina, but marched 
 forward, by order of Greene, to cross the Savannah. He was 
 reinforced by a party from Augusta. Though Georgia was con 
 sidered by the British as completely subjugated, yet there was a 
 considerable number of the inhabitants who still took part with 
 congress, and continued to send a delegation of members to that 
 body, through all the hostile movements and changes, for several 
 years. Georgia was relieved at a time when the inhabitants 
 least expected it. Animated by the successes in Virginia, the 
 advance of Wayne was rapid, and his arrival on the borders sur 
 prised Clarke, the British general, who commanded at Savannah. 
 
 On the first rumor of the approach of the Americans, orders 
 were given by Clarke to the officers commanding his outposts, to 
 burn and destroy everything on the banks of the river, and retire 
 with the troops within the works, in the suburbs of Savannah. 
 These orders were obeyed. After this waste of property, and the 
 destruction of their crops, the Georgians not only suffered from 
 hunger, fatigue and the attacks of British partisans, but also from 
 the irruptions of the Creek Indians, and other savages in the Brit 
 ish service. The inhabitants were reduced to despair, but the 
 speedy arrival of Wayne's detachment revived their sinking 
 spirits, and roused them to new exertions in defence of their 
 country. The people from every quarter flocked to the standard 
 of Wayne. After crossing the Savannah, he was attacked by 
 Colonel Brown, who had marched with a considerable party from 
 the city. This body of troops fell suddenly on Wayne's advancing 
 forces; they fought with great spirit and valor, but were soon 
 defeated and driven back by the Americans. A few days after 
 this, a very large body of the Creek Indians, headed by a British 
 officer attempted in the night to surprise Wayne in his quarters. 
 But this vigilant officer was in greater readiness for their recep 
 tion than they expected. The assailants gained little advantage 
 by their sudden onset. The battle was bloody, but did not con- 
 56 
 
658 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 tinue Jong. The Indians were put to flight with great loss. The 
 low state of British affairs in the Carolinas, and the advance of a 
 body of American troops, were circumstances so discouraging to 
 the invaders, that they did not think proper to make any vigorous 
 resistance. A period was soon put to these hostilities, that had 
 for several years ravaged the southern states. Savannah was 
 evacuated by the British on the 21st of July, and they were 
 driven finally from the Carolinas, in December, 1782. 
 
 When the British parliament met after the news of the surren 
 der of Cornwallis, the total defeat of the expedition to the Chesa 
 peake, and the declining aspect of affairs in the southern colonies, 
 the speech from the throne was yet manifestly dictated by the spirit 
 of hostility. The king, though he. lamented in the preamble of 
 his speech the loss of his brave officers and troops, and the unfor 
 tunate termination of the campaign in Virginia, still urged the 
 most vigorous prosecution of the war, and of such hostile mea 
 sures as might extinguish what he called "the spirit of rebellion." 
 But these views encountered great opposition. It was said in 
 parliament, that " the enormous expense, the great accumulation 
 of public debt, occasioned by the contest with America, the effu 
 sion of blood which it had occasioned, the diminution of trade, 
 and the increase of taxes, were evils of such magnitude, as could 
 be scarcely overlooked by the most insensible spectator. Further 
 efforts to reduce the revolted colonies to obedience by force, under 
 the present circumstances, would only increase the mutual enmity, 
 so fatal to the interests of Great Britain and America, forever 
 prevent a reconciliation, and would weaken the efforts of Great 
 Britain against the house of Bourbon and other European ene 
 mies." Thus, the colonies alienated, Ireland in a state of despera 
 tion, Scotland little less discontented, a considerable part of the 
 West Indies lost to Great Britain, and the affairs of the East Indies 
 in the most deranged and perturbed state, it was impossible for 
 the existing ministry, the ostensible agents of these complicated 
 evils, longer to maintain any degree of popularity. 
 
 A detail of the expenses of the fruitless war with America, was 
 laid before the house of commons, and though many arguments 
 were used in favor of the ministry, no subterfuge could screen 
 them, nor any reluctance they felt, retard their resignation. This 
 was called for from every quarter, in terms severe and sarcastic. 
 The hollow murmur of discontent at last penetrated the ear of 
 royalty, and compelled the king to listen to the voice of the nation 
 in favor of peace. A motion was made in the house of com 
 mons, by General Conway, for an address to the king, requesting 
 him to put an immediate end to the destructive war in America. 
 
INDEPENDENCE ACKNOWLEDGED, AND TREATY OF PEACE. 659 
 
 This motion was lost, only by a single vote. But the object was 
 not relinquished; the address was again brought forward, and 
 finally carried. After various expedients, Lord Cavendish moved 
 that the house should resolve that the enormous expenses of the 
 nation, the loss of the colonies, a war with France, Spain, Hol 
 land and America, without a single ally, was occasioned by a 
 want of foresight and ability in his majesty's ministers, and that 
 they were unworthy of further confidence. In consequence of 
 which, on the 20th of March, 1782, Lord North resigned his 
 place, and declared to the house of commons, that the present 
 administration from that day ceased to exist. 
 
 Thus, after the blood of thousands of the best soldiers in 
 England had been shed, after the nation had been involved in 
 expenses almost beyond calculation, her trade ruined, and the 
 national character disgraced, Great Britain abandoned the contest 
 as utterly hopeless. A new administration was formed, under the 
 direction of the Marquis of Rockingham, the members of which 
 were opponents of the American war. All active prosecution of 
 hostilities ceased from this time. Negotiations were opened with 
 the American ministers, and at length, on the 30th of November, 
 1782, provisional articles of peace between Great Britain and 
 America were signed by Messrs. Franklin, Adams, Jay and 
 Laurens, on the part of the United States, and Messrs. Fitzher- 
 burt and Oswald, on the part of Great Britain. By these articles, 
 the independence of the states was fully acknowledged. The 
 definitive treaty between Great Britain and the United States 
 was signed at Paris, on the 3d of September, 1783, by Messrs. 
 Franklin, Adams and Jay, on the part of America, and David 
 Hartley, on the part of Great Britain. A treaty of peace between 
 Great Britain, Spain and Holland, was also concluded on the 
 same day. Peace had been signed with France on the 20th of 
 January, 1783 ; and thus a general pacification was accomplished. 
 The war of the American Revolution cost Great Britain not only 
 the total loss of the colonies, but fifty thousand men, and one 
 hundred millions sterling. 
 
 Meantime, the deranged state of the American finances, in con 
 sequence of a depreciating currency, the difficulty of obtaining 
 loans of moneys and various other causes, had sufficiently im 
 pressed the people with a deep sense of their danger. These 
 circumstances had led the army to submit to a delay in the 
 payment of their wages during the war, notwithstanding their 
 personal sufferings. But, on certain intelligence that peace was 
 at hand, that it had been proposed to disband the aimy by fur 
 loughs, and that there was no appearance of a speedy liquidation 
 
660 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of the public debts, many of the officers and soldiers grew loud 
 in their complaints and bold in their demands. They called for 
 an immediate payment of all arrearages, and insisted on the 
 fulfilment of the commutation proposed by congress some time 
 before, on the recommendation of Washington. He had requested 
 that the officers of the army might be secured seven years' whole 
 pay, instead of half pay for life, which had been previously stipu 
 lated. This proposal, after reducing the term to five years, con 
 gress had accepted. The soldiers also demanded a settlement 
 for rations, clothing, and proper consideration for the delay of the 
 payments which .had long been due. They chose a committee 
 from the army to wait on congress, to represent the general 
 uneasiness, and to lay the complaints of, the army before them, 
 and to enforce the requests of the officers, most of whom were 
 supposed to have been concerned in the business. Anonymous 
 addresses were scattered among the troops, and the most inflam 
 matory resolutions drawn up and disseminated through the army ; 
 these were written with ingenuity and spirit, but the authors were 
 not discovered. Reports were everywhere circulated that the 
 military department would do itself justice ; that the army would 
 not disband until congress had acceded to all their demands ; and 
 that they would keep their arms in their hands until they had 
 compelled the states to a settlement, and congress to a compliance 
 with all the claims of the public creditors. 
 
 In answer to the address of the officers of the army, congress 
 endeavored to quiet the complaints by expressions of kindness, 
 encouragement and hope. Several months passed in this uneasy 
 situation ; the people were anxious, the officers restless, the army 
 instigated by ambitious and interested men. Washington, both 
 as commander-in-chief, and as a man who had the welfare of 
 his country at heart, did everything in his power to quiet the 
 complaints, and to dissipate the mutinous spirit of the army. By 
 his assiduity, prudence and judgment, the sedition was stilled for 
 a short time. But the fire was not extinguished ; the secret dis 
 satisfaction, that had rankled for several months, at last broke out 
 into open insurrection. 
 
 On the 20th of June, 1783, a part of the Pennsylvania line, 
 with some other troops, marched from Lancaster to Philadelphia. 
 There they were joined by some discontented soldiers in the bar 
 racks within the city, who had recently returned poor, emaciated 
 and miserable, from the southern service. This seditious host 
 surrounded the state-house where congress was sitting, placed 
 guards at the doors, and threatened immediate outrage unless 
 their demands were complied with in the short space of twenty- 
 
FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES. 661 
 
 four minutes. Congress, thus rudely assaulted, resented the 
 affront, and judged it improper to continue longer in a city 
 where they could not be sure of protection. They agreed to 
 leave Philadelphia immediately, and to meet on the 26th at 
 Princeton. 
 
 Washington, very far from countenancing any of the measures 
 of the mutineers, lost not a moment after he was informed of 
 these riotous proceedings; he ordered General Robert Howe to 
 march with a body of fifteen hundred men to quell the mutineers. 
 Aided by the prudent conduct of the magistrates of Philadelphia, 
 matters were not carried to the extremities apprehended; the 
 refractory soldiers were soon reduced to obedience ; tranquillity 
 was restored without bloodshed. Some of the ringleaders were 
 taken into custody, but soon after received a pardon from con 
 gress. The most decided steps were immediately taken, not only 
 to quell the clamors of the rioters, but to do justice to the claims 
 of the soldiers. The commutation was finally agreed on ; five 
 years' full pay was granted, instead of half-pay, during the lives 
 of the officers of the army. To this was added a promise of a 
 large quantity of land in the western territory, to be distributed 
 among them according to their rank in the army. Yet they were 
 not satisfied ; their complaints were loud ; the grievances and the 
 merits of the army were strongly urged. 
 
 The distressed state of the American finances was highly 
 alarming ; congress was without revenue, or fiscal arrangements 
 that promised to be sufficiently productive; without power or 
 energy to enforce any orders until the consent of each individual 
 state was obtained. There had been a violent opposition to a 
 proposal for raising a revenue, by an impost of five per cent, on 
 all goods imported from foreign countries. As this was an 
 experiment, it was limited to twenty-five years. Had the expe 
 dient been adopted, it might have prevented many subsequent 
 difficulties and embarrassments. Meantime, Sir Guy Carleton 
 had taken command of the royal forces in North America. On 
 the 25th of November, 1783, all the British troops evacuated the 
 city of New York. General Carleton embarked the same day; 
 and Admiral Digby sailed for England, with the remainder of tho 
 fleet, that had for many years infested the sea-coasts of America. 
 Thus the shores of the Atlantic states, that had so long been dis 
 tressed by the ravages of the British navy, were left in repose. 
 No sufficient apology was, however, yet made for the detention of 
 the western posts ; they were long retained ; and this breach of 
 faith was afterwards attended with very important consequences. 
 Under the frivolous pretences of non-compliance, on the part of 
 56* F4 
 
662 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the United States, with some articles stipulated in the definitive 
 treaty, a long line of posts in the western territory was still held 
 by the British. 
 
 Washington, in full possession of the confidence of the people, 
 the applause of his country, the love of the army, the esteem of 
 all the friends of liberty throughout the world, disbanded his 
 troops without inconvenience or murmur on their part. By order 
 of the commander-in-chief, the peace was celebrated at New 
 York on the 1st day of December, 1783 ; and on the twenty-third 
 of the same month Washington resigned his commission to con 
 gress and retired to private life. 
 
 Before the separation of the army, the general took an affection 
 ate leave of his faithful soldiers, and of each of his officers singly, 
 at New York. His farewell to his brave associates through the 
 perilous scenes of the war, was attended with singular circumstan 
 ces of affection and attachment. His address to the army was 
 energetic and impressive. While the sensibility of the commander- 
 in-chief appeared in his countenance, it was reciprocated in the 
 faces of both officers and soldiers ; and in the course of this solemn 
 farewell, tears stole down the cheeks of men of courage and har 
 dihood, long inured to scenes of slaughter and distress, which too 
 generally deaden the best feelings of the human heart, 
 
Washington* 
 

 CHAPTER LXVI. 
 
 Defects of the old confederation. Stagnation of trade. Insurrection of Shays, in 
 Massachusetts. Necessity for a new system of government. The convention of 
 Philadelphia. Formation of the federal constitution. Washington first presi 
 dent. Organization of the federal government. United States bank established. 
 Rise of party spirit. The whiskey insurrection in Pennsylvania. Indian war. 
 Defeat of Harmer and St. Clair. Wayne's campaign. Defeat of the sav 
 ages on the Miami. Treaty with Spain respecting the Mississippi. Jay's 
 treaty with Great Britain. 
 
 THE contest for political freedom was over, the United States 
 of America had become an independent nation, and John Adams 
 was received as American minister to the British court in 1785. 
 But a task almost equally difficult remained, to settle the domestic 
 affairs of the country on a permanent basis. While the war con 
 tinued, the mighty pressure of foreign hostilities had operated as 
 a bond of union upon the various members of the confederacy ; 
 but that pressure being now removed, the necessity was imme 
 diately felt for a more durable form of government. The states 
 had carried on the war with unanimity, it is true, but the ties that 
 united them were loose and precarious. They formed but a tem 
 porary confederacy, and not a systematic union. The powers of 
 congress were not legislative but advisory; almost everything 
 depended on the will of the separate states. It was easy to per 
 ceive that this system of general administration could last no 
 longer than the immediate exigency to which it owed its origin. 
 
 During the first years that elapsed after the peace, the revolu 
 tionary confederation continued. Congress sent forth annual 
 requisitions to the states for the sums of money wanted for the 
 public service, while each state collected its own revenue. The 
 first evil of this system was felt in the embarrassment of trade. 
 Congress having no power to levy duties or regulate commerce, 
 all mercantile transactions were loose and uncertain. The gov 
 ernment being without an efficient head, no treaties of commerce, 
 on a permanent basis, could be made with foreign powers; and for 
 the same reasons, no public loans could be raised nor credit estab 
 lished, nor debt funded. Foreign commerce became almost annihi 
 lated, and the supplies of the precious metals were cut off. Thus, 
 without specie or paper currency, trade was almost at an end, 
 
SHAY'S INSURRECTION. 666 
 
 and property of every description depreciated in value to a ruinous 
 extent, When taxes were to be paid, any article useful to man 
 was received in lieu of money. 
 
 The general distress soon led to murmurs, and from thence to 
 internal tumults. This uneasy and refractory spirit had for some 
 time shown itself in the states of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, 
 and Connecticut, and some other portions of the union, but Mas 
 sachusetts seemed to be the chief seat of discontent. Bristol, 
 Middlesex, and the western counties, Worcester, Hampshire and 
 Berkshire, were violently disturbed by seditious movements. The 
 people met in county conventions in 1786, drew up addresses to 
 the general court, with a long list of grievances, some of them reai, 
 others imaginary. They published many resolves, most of which 
 were absurd in the extreme. They censured the conduct of the 
 officers of government, called for a revision of the constitution of 
 Massachusetts, voted the senate and judicial courts to be griev 
 ances, and proceeded, in a most daring and insolent manner, to 
 prevent the sitting of the courts of justice in Hampshire and Berk 
 shire. These disturbances were for a time truly alarming, and 
 gave cause for serious apprehensions that civil convulsions might 
 spread through the whole country. The high-handed and threat 
 ening proceedings of the insurgents assumed every day a more 
 formidable aspect. There were among them many veteran sol 
 diers, who had been very serviceable in the field during the revolu 
 tionary war. They assembled in great numbers, and seemed to 
 bid defiance to all law, order and government. 
 
 In the winter of 1786, several thousand of these persons, armed 
 and embodied, appeared in the neighborhood of Springfield. 
 They chose for their leader Daniel Shays, a person who had been 
 a subaltern officer during the war ; threatened to march to Boston, 
 and by compulsory measures to oblige the general court to redress 
 the grievances of the people, which they alleged were brought 
 upon them by enormous taxation and other severities. They, 
 however, thought proper to send forward a petition, instead of 
 marching, sword in hand, to the capital. 
 
 In this situation of affairs, Governor Bowdoin was empowered 
 by the legislature to order a military force to march against the 
 insurgents, under the command of General Lincoln. But before 
 the troops from the eastern counties had collected at Worcester, 
 great numbers of the insurgents had embodied and marched, with 
 Shays at their head, to Springfield, on the 25th of January, 1787, 
 with a design to attack the arsenal at that place. This was 
 defended by General Shepard, who took every precaution to 
 prevent the shedding of blood. He expostulated with their lead, 
 
666 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ers, and warned them against the fatal consequences of persever 
 ance in their rebellious proceedings. The insurgents, however, 
 marched against the arsenal, but Shepard, by a single discharge 
 from his cannon, dispersed their whole body, and they immedi 
 ately took to flight. A few days afterward they again collected 
 from all quarters, and took a position on the heights of Pelham. 
 
 Lincoln arrived immediately after at Springfield, and took com 
 mand of all the state forces. He detached a party to Middlefield, 
 who captured a body of sixty of the rebels, with a quantity of 
 stores. He then marched, in pursuit of Shays, towards Pelham. 
 The insurgent leader, aware of his desperate situation, attempted 
 to negotiate for a pardon. Lincoln replied only by summoning 
 him to surrender. Shays, finding l\e could not deal with Lincoln, 
 despatched a petition to the general court, jointly with several of 
 his officers, proposing to lay down his arms on condition of a gene 
 ral amnesty ; but from the insolent style of the petition, it was 
 rejected. Shays was now at the head of two thousand men, and 
 the insurrection appeared so threatening that another strong body 
 of militia was sent to reinforce the army of the state. The rebels 
 maintained a menacing attitude till February, when they began 
 to lose heart, finding that the insurrection spread no further. 
 One of their leaders abandoned them, and shortly after, they 
 retreated from Pelham and marched towards Petersham. It was 
 now the depth of winter, and the most intense cold prevailed. 
 Lincoln pursued them rapidly in their retreat, against a furious 
 northerly snow storm. At Petersham he came suddenly upon the 
 rebel army, attacked, and completely dispersed them. 
 
 Small bodies of the insurgents had made their appearance in 
 other places, but they were quickly routed by the militia. On the 
 26th of February, a body of those who had fled into the state of 
 New York appeared again in the county of Berkshire, and plun 
 dered the town of Stockbridge. The militia of the neighborhood 
 turned out and attacked them at Sheffield. After a sharp action, 
 the rebels were defeated. Shays, after his rout at Petersham, was 
 unable to make any stand against the forces of the government, 
 and was soon driven out of the state. The insurgents everywhere 
 laid down their arms, and tranquillity was speedily restored. No 
 person suffered capital punishment in consequence of this rebel- 
 tion. Shays himself received a full pardon the following year, 
 and passed the remainder of a long life in obscurity, entirely 
 forgotten by the world. 
 
 The necessity for a consolidated system of government became 
 more and more pressing. Congress at first called upon the states 
 to enlarge their powers j this was done by some, but others fet- 
 
FORMATION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 6G7 
 
 tered their grants with so many restrictions, that no general 
 improvement of the system was effected. The more sagacious 
 and reflecting among the American statesmen at length became 
 convinced that the old system of the confederacy had become 
 totally inadequate for the purposes of government, and that the 
 only hope of the country lay in a perfect union of the states under 
 a single head. The first proposal of a federal system was made 
 by Mr. Madison, in the legislature of Virginia. This proposal 
 was encouraged by men of influence in every quarter of the coun 
 try, and was received with such general favor as to bring forth 
 a resolution in congress, recommending a convention of delegates 
 to be held at Philadelphia, on the second Monday in May, 1787, 
 for the purpose of re-modelling the government. This suggestion 
 was complied with by all the states, and the convention met at 
 the time appointed. Washington was president of the convention. 
 They held a session of nearly four months, with closed doors, and 
 agreed on a plan of general government. This they reported to 
 congress, recommending that it should be submitted to a separate 
 convention in each state for ratification. In this quiet and simple 
 manner was formed and ushered into the world that most noble 
 of all political works, the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Convention at Philadelphia forming the Constitution. 
 
 At the present day, we are hardly able to understand how a 
 scheme so absolutely necessary to the welfare of the country, 
 could have found any opposers. Yet the constitution, although 
 recommended by Washington, Franklin, Adams, and the whole 
 host of revolutionary patriots, aroused a numerous band of 
 enemies. Here we notice the origin of those factions which have, 
 
668 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 down to the present day, disturbed the tranquillity, and at times 
 threatened the safety of the country. Parties began to form, de 
 fending and opposing the federal constitution, and great strife and 
 animosity were excited. The friends of the constitution, how 
 ever, who took the name of federalists, were much the more 
 numerous party, and far exceeded their opponents in talent, 
 influence and general respectability. John Adams, residing in 
 London as American minister, published, in 1787, a most able 
 work, entitled "Defence of the American Constitution" Madison, 
 Hamilton and Jay wrote " The Federalist," a series of essays, dis 
 playing with great acuteness the excellencies of the new system. 
 These writings had a powerful effect, and the general voice pro 
 nounced loudly in favor of the federal government. Ten of the 
 thirteen states gave their adhesion to it before the 14th of July, 
 1788, and it was on that day ratified by congress. The other 
 states had liberty to join the Union or continue as separate govern 
 ments. They did not hesitate long. New York acceded July 26, 
 1788. North Carolina in November, 1789, and Rhode Island in 
 May, 1790. 
 
 The government of the new American republic was to go into 
 action on the 4th of March, 1789. George Washington was 
 elected first President of the United States, and John Adams Vice 
 President. The first congress met at New York on the 4th of 
 March, and proceeded without delay to raisfc a revenue by imposing 
 duties on importations ; to constitute a federal judiciary by estab 
 lishing a supreme court ; to organize the executive administration 
 by creating the departments of war, foreign affairs and the treas 
 ury. The navy of the United States did not exist. The next ob 
 jects were, to fund the national debt, assume the individual debts 
 of the states, and establish a national bank. The payment of 
 the demands of the revolutionary soldiers was provided for, and 
 measures taken to build up the national credit. Hamilton, the 
 secretary of the treasury, regulated the administration of the 
 finances with talent and foresight. Aided by his labors, the 
 fiscal concerns of the United States were soon placed on a re 
 spectable footing. Hamilton proposed a national bank, and this 
 institution was incorporated by congress in February, 1791, with 
 a capital of ten millions of dollars, and a charter for twenty 
 years. The public securities, which had before depreciated to one 
 eighth of their nominal value, now rose to par ; confidence was 
 restored ; property rose in value, and trade rapidly revived. 
 
 Party spirit, however, the bane of popular governments, mixed 
 its bitterness with the sweets of returning prosperity. The 
 federal system now having become the government of the coun- 
 
"WHISKEY INSURRECTION " 669 
 
 try, all citizens were federalists, yet the appellation continued to 
 be applied as the badge of a party, although the dissensions arose 
 upon new topics. Hamilton, the author of the new financial sys 
 tem, was regarded by his friends as the main instrument of the 
 successful change which had redeemed the national honor, and res 
 cued the declining fortunes of the people. By his enemies, on the 
 contrary, he was denounced as a monarchist, because he had pro 
 posed in the convention that the president and senate should hold 
 their offices during good behavior. Hamilton's plans of finance 
 were, in some degree, copied from British institutions ; and this, 
 though without the smallest reason, was urged against him as a 
 reproach. The country, meantime, was enjoying unexampled 
 prosperity ; yet so absurd is faction, that the supporters of the fed 
 eral government were stigmatized as the enemies of the people, 
 combined in a plot for the ruin of the republic. 
 
 An unfortunate disturbance, which broke out in Pennsylvania, 
 tended to exasperate parties still more. Congress had imposed an 
 excise on the distillation of spirits. This law was particularly 
 displeasing to the people on the west of the Alleghany mountains, 
 and led to the troubles known as the "Whiskey Insurrection." 
 The people in this quarter had strongly disapproved of the federal 
 constitution, and particularly of Hamilton's system of finance. 
 In September, 1791, a delegation of the malecontents met at Pitts- 
 burg, and denounced as enemies to the country all who should 
 obey the excise law. The revenue officers were obstructed in 
 their duty, and, though the law was revised and softened by con 
 gress in May, 1792, the opposition continued as strong as ever. 
 The government, by adroit manoeuvres, kept the disaffected quiet 
 for some time, but in 1794 they proceeded to open violence. On 
 the 15th of July, the marshal, while upon duty, was shot at by a 
 band of armed men. The next day the house of the inspector was 
 attacked by a body of five hundred rioters, who set fire to several 
 buildings, robbed the mail, and committed other outrages. The laws 
 of the country were now openly set at defiance. It was calculated 
 that the insurgents could muster a force of seven thousand men. 
 
 Washington, in this emergency, acted with circumspection and 
 coolness, but also with decision and energy. He made a requisition 
 on the governors of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Vir 
 ginia, for fifteen thousand militia, and on the 7th of August, issued 
 a proclamation commanding the insurgents to disperse before the 
 first day of September. The government of Pennsylvania took 
 the same step. The militia assembled from the several states 
 under the command of Governor Lee, of Virginia, and marched 
 into the disturbed district. The insurgents fled before them 
 57 G 4 
 
670 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 without making the slightest opposition. No blood was shed ; a 
 few of the most obstinate characters, refusing to declare their sub 
 mission to the laws, were arrested for trial, but the inhabitants in 
 general quietly returned to their duty as citizens. Thus, in a few 
 months, the government of the United States, by prompt resolu 
 tion and firm proceedings, suppressed a dangerous insurrection 
 without the loss of a life, or any act discreditable to the character 
 of the free institutions of America. The arts of demagogues 
 availed nothing against the power of the laws and the self-respect 
 of the American people. 
 
 In the meantime, the country was threatened with an Indian 
 war. The savages on the northern borders could muster the for 
 midable force of five thousand warriors ; half of these were in open 
 hostility to the United States. They'had fire-arms, and were now 
 much more formidable than at the early settlement of the coun 
 try. Pacific overtures were made to the northwestern Indians, but 
 without success ; and in 1790 a force of fourteen hundred men, 
 mostly militia, under General Harmer, marched against the Indian 
 towns on the Scioto and Wabash. Some of the settlements were 
 burnt, and the country laid waste ; but several detachments of the 
 troops were attacked and cut off by the savages. These successes 
 so encouraged them, that they repeated their incursions upon the 
 American settlements, and the country suffered more than ever. 
 A new army of two thousand men was raised in 1791, and placed 
 under the command of General St. Clair, governor of the northwest 
 ern territory. The troops reached the banks of the Ohio in Septem 
 ber, and marched towards the Indian villages 011 the Miami. As 
 they approached the enemy's territory, a body of sixty militia 
 deserted : a regiment was despatched in pursuit of them, which 
 reduced the army to fourteen hundred men. Within about fifteen 
 miles of the Miami villages, they were attacked by the Indians at 
 sunrise on the 4th of November. At the first surprise, the militia in 
 the outposts were driven into the main camp in the utmost disorder., 
 The main body made a resolute defence, but the savages in great 
 numbers were screened by the woods and thickets, and committed 
 great slaughter among the troops. They were repeatedly harged 
 with the bayonet and driven off, but they constantly returned to 
 the fight in such numerous parties that the Americans were forced 
 to retreat to Fort Jefferson, about thirty miles off. More than six 
 hundred of the troops were killed and wounded. The loss of the 
 Indians is not known. The Americans likewise lost four hun 
 dred horses, six pieces of cannon, and all their baggage, stores 
 and ammunition. This was the most serious defeat which the 
 Americans ever received from the natives : it was in a great meas- 
 
WAYNE'S VICTORY OVER THE INDIANS. 671 
 
 ure owing to the ill behavior of the raw troops, who threw away 
 their arms most disgracefully. The Indians, on the contrary, 
 fought with the most heroic courage and obstinacy. 
 
 Congress, determined to suppress the Indian hostilities, author 
 ized a further levy of troops, increasing the army to five thousand 
 men, which were put under the command of General Wayne. 
 He advanced into the Indian territory, in the autumn of 1793, and 
 erected a fortification on the spot where St. Clair had been de 
 feated, which he named Fort Recovery. The season was too far 
 advanced for military operations, and he wintered in the neigh 
 borhood. The early part of the summer was spent in attempts to 
 negotiate with the enemy, and cautious movements on the part of 
 the Americans. At length, on the 8th of August, 1794, he reached 
 the rapids of the Miami with a force of three thousand men. Here, 
 in the neighborhood of the Indians, he made another overture for 
 peace, which was rejected. He then moved cautiously down the 
 river to meet the enemy, who were strongly posted in a fortifica 
 tion skirted by a thick wood and the rocky bank of the stream. 
 On the 20th of August, Wayne attacked them in their intrench- 
 ments. where they had collected above two thousand warriors. 
 
 General Wayne's victory over the Indians. 
 
 After an obstinate battle of an hour, the Indians were defeated and 
 driven from their fort with great loss. They took refuge in a wood, 
 under the guns of a fortification which was still held by the British 
 troops, although within the territory of the United States. For sev 
 eral days Wayne continued in the neighborhood, destroying the 
 Indian corn-fields and laying waste their country. By these deci 
 sive measures the savages were thoroughly intimidated, and an 
 effectual stop was put to their incursions. On the 3d of August, 
 
672 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 1795, a treaty was concluded at Greenville, which established 
 peace between the Indian tribes and the United States, and restored 
 peace and tranquillity to the frontier settlements. 
 
 In the foreign relations of the country, some difficulties arose 
 with the Spaniards, who at that time held possession of Louisi 
 ana. They had used their endeavors, while the treaty of 1782 
 was in progress, to prevent the extension of the boundaries of the 
 United States westward. They were unable, however, to accom 
 plish this, and the Americans became possessed of the territory on 
 the upper part of the Mississippi. The Spaniards holding the 
 outlet of the river,' refused the free navigation of it to the settlers 
 upon its banks. The inhabitants of the west, who were cramped 
 in their commerce by this restriction,, and who regarded the river 
 as a great highway, free for the use of all who dwelt upon its 
 banks, uttered loud murmurs, and made demonstrations of pro 
 ceeding to extremities against the Spaniards of Louisiana. There 
 was reason for some time to fear that a war with Spain would 
 grow out of these conflicting claims, but the government of the 
 United States took such prudent measures as averted all hostili 
 ties. Mr. Thomas Pinckney was sent as envoy extraordinary to 
 the Court of Madrid, and in the year 1794, he concluded a treaty 
 with the king of Spain, by which the navigation of the Missis 
 sippi was formally granted to the United States. 
 
 Mr. Adams, the American minister at London, had attempted, 
 before the establishment of the federal government, to negotiate a 
 treaty of commerce with Great Britain; but the circumstances of 
 the country were unpropitious, and the negotiation failed. Aftei 
 the federal constitution had secured to the United States an effi 
 cient and respectable government, the attempt was renewed by 
 Mr. Jay, who was sent envoy extraordinary to London in 1794. 
 He concluded a commercial treaty with Great Britain which was 
 ratified the same year. This treaty settled all the disputes then 
 existing between the two countries ; it provided for the surrender of 
 the American posts still held by the British, opened a limited 
 trade with the British West Indies, and made arrangements for 
 the payment of debts and claims due from one country to the 
 other. Mr. Jay considered the treaty as the best that could be 
 made in actual circumstances, and altogether highly beneficial to 
 the United States. Yet a violent clamor was raised against it by 
 a numerous party in the country, because it did not contain a 
 stipulation that "free ships should make free goods." This was 
 a popular maxim with the American merchants, but the British 
 were strenuous in opposing it and the American government, pos 
 sessing no navy, and as yet without weight or influence as a 
 
COMMERCIAL TREATY WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 673 
 
 maritime power, were forced to waive the point for that time. 
 In spite of argument and prudential considerations, however, 
 the opposition in every quarter was so formidable, that although 
 the treaty was ratified by the president and senate, the appropri 
 ations for carrying it into effect were voted in the house of repre 
 sentatives by a very small majority. The treaty took effect with 
 I he most beneficial consequences. The posts were given up to 
 the United States, and compensa ion was made to the whole body 
 of British creditors by the payment of six hundred thousand 
 pounds sterling by the American government, in full for all debts 
 due from citizens of the United States. Thus ended all the con 
 troversies which grew out of the war of the revolution. 
 
 57* 
 
 George III. 
 
CHAPTER LXVII. 
 
 Commencement of the French Revolution. War between France and England. 
 Genet's mission to the United States. Unwarrantable conduct of that minister 
 and his successor, Adet. John Adams elected president. Intrigues of the French 
 Directory. Hostilities with France. Exploits of the frigate Constellation. 
 Treaty with Bonaparte. Death of Washington. Purchase of Louisiana. 
 Prosperity of the United States. Naval war with Tripoli. Loss of the frigate 
 Philadelphia. Bombardment of Tripoli. General Eaton's expedition from 
 Egypt. Capture of Derne. Peace with Tripoli. Mr. Jefferson chosen Presi 
 dent. Death of Hamilton. Burr's conspiracy. Progress of party. Impress 
 ment of American sailors by the British. Attack on the Chesapeake. Paper 
 blockades. Napoleon's Berlin and Milan decrees. The British orders in council. 
 Depredations on American commerce. Embargo. Mr. Madison elected pres 
 ident. Erskine's treaty. Affair of the President and Little Belt. Reparation 
 for the attack on the Chesapeake. Revocation of the Berlin and Milan decrees. 
 War declared against Great Britain. Desperate nature of the contest. 
 Opposition of parties. Repeal of the orders in council. Overwhelming power 
 of the British navy. Baltimore mob. Affair of John Henry. 
 
 THE year in which the federal constitution went into effect, was 
 marked by the birth of an event in Europe, which exercised the 
 most momentous influence, not only in that country, but upon the 
 whole of the civilized world. The French revolution began in 
 1789, and its effects were so rapid and important that Europe and 
 America were speedily involved in war. Although the origin and 
 progress of this great political convulsion possess the deepest 
 interest to the general reader, and a knowledge of them is in some 
 degree necessary in order to understand the full import of the 
 transactions recorded in the remaining portion of this history, yet 
 the subject is too copious to be introduced here. We can only 
 touch lightly upon the main facts. The French nation had 
 imbibed republican notions by their alliance with America. The 
 brilliant success of a nation which had fought for liberty and 
 established a free government, dazzled a lively people, ever suscep 
 tible of enthusiastic and quick impressions. The government of 
 France was arbitrary ; the titled orders were insolent and oppres 
 sive; the court was profligate, and the whole nation was sinking 
 under an intolerable load of debt. The sudden rise of the American 
 republic was the only stimulant wanting to arouse them. A new 
 order of things was called for. The States General, or popular 
 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 675 
 
 assembly of the nation, met at Versailles, in 1789, to consult upon 
 measures adapted to the exigencies of the times. From moderate 
 beginnings they proceeded to radical changes in the government 
 A written constitution was formed; restrictions were placed on 
 royal authority, and the political rights of all citizens secured. 
 But, unfortunately, the French people had neither the wisdom, 
 the intelligence, the moderation, nor the virtue of the Americans 
 of 1776. The work, begun judiciously, soon ran into precipitate 
 extravagance, criminal excesses, and at length into the most 
 furious and reckless political fanaticism. The throne was over 
 turned, the king beheaded, one form of government succeeded 
 another, and one party triumphed over another, while no real 
 government or authority prevailed, except that of epidemic terror 
 or the momentary sway of a faction or a demagogue. 
 
 War broke out between France and England in 1793. The 
 French were at this time so infatuated with their new politics, 
 that they imagined themselves destined to revolutionize the whole 
 world. It was their wish to draw the United States into their 
 quarrel with England. The American people wished success to 
 the French in their struggle for liberty ; and the first appearance 
 of the French revolution was hailed by the republicans of the 
 west as the dawning of European freedom. The bloody excesses 
 of the French revolutionists soon damped these reasonable hopes, 
 and at length utterly disgusted all sober and reflecting people. 
 Soon after the execution of Louis XVI., Mr. Genet was sent as 
 minister to the United States. This man was of an ardent tem 
 per and fired by the common enthusiasm of the revolutionary 
 French. He seems to have regarded his office as a mission to 
 stir up the people of the United States to a war with the enemies 
 of France. 
 
 Genet landed at Charleston, eight hundred miles from the seat 
 of government. This was done for the purpose of sounding the 
 disposition of the people, and concerting his plans before his 
 interview with Washington, whose prudence and firmness were 
 likely to be obstacles in the way of the hair-brained Frenchman. 
 At his first landing, he proceeded to acts violating the rules of 
 international law, by commissioning armed vessels from Charles 
 ton to cruise, against the British. Before his arrival was known 
 by the government, a resolution had been taken to adopt a strictly 
 neutral position in the contest. The British minister at Philadel 
 phia complained of Genet's proceedings, and Washington sent 
 instructions, accompanied with rules for the observation of neu 
 trality, to the governors of all the states. Genet resented this, 
 and attempted to excite a popular clamor against it. He issued 
 
676 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 publications designed to excite opposition to the laws, by appeals 
 to the passions and caprices of the multitude. He affirmed, like 
 other disturbers of the public tranquillity in more recent times, 
 that authority did not reside in the government, but in the people 
 separate from the government. These wild and mischievous 
 notions were caught up by many unthinking people, and Genet 
 soon had a party of adherents, who encouraged him to such inso 
 lent behavior, that Washington refused to hold any dealings 
 with him, and obliged his government to order him home. 
 
 Genet's successors, Fauchet and Adet, were more moderate in 
 their conduct, but their designs were the same, and troubles soon 
 followed, though in a different quarter. The French Directory, 
 rinding they could not stimulate thie Americans to a war with 
 England, began to view them with a hostile eye. Complaining 
 that the Americans allowed their ships to be searched by British 
 cruisers in pursuit of French property, they issued orders for the 
 capture of all American vessels. This was tantamount to a 
 declaration of hostilities ; yet, as the United States at this period 
 had no navy, the insult could not be promptly resented. Mr. 
 Charles C. Pinckney was sent minister to France, to accommodate 
 matters by negotiation. The Directory refused to receive him ; 
 he was ordered to quit the French territory, and informed that the 
 French would not receive another American minister until after a 
 "redress of grievances." 
 
 In the meantime, the election of president approached in the 
 autumn of 1796. Adet, the French minister, addressed a note to 
 the secretary of state, couched in the most extraordinary language, 
 utterly inconsistent with the rules and courtesy of diplomacy, and 
 intended solely to inflame the popular passions. This strange 
 document, insolent to the government, and palpably designed to 
 influence the pending election, was sent by the writer to a printer 
 on the day it was penned, November 15th, and circulated widely 
 throughout the country. Like an over-charged gun, however, it 
 recoiled upon its manager. So impertinent an interference in the 
 domestic politics of the country disgusted all judicious people, 
 and Adet's intrigues had no small influence in causing the election 
 of John Adams, the one among all the candidates whom he had 
 the strongest reason to dislike. 
 
 Under the administration of President Adams, three envoys 
 extraordinary, Pinckney, Marshall and Gerry, were sent to Paris, 
 to attempt a second negotiation, in 1797. The Directory, under 
 frivolous pretexts, delayed to accredit them publicly, but in an 
 indirect manner demanded a large sum of money as a requisite 
 to begin the negotiation. This being promptly refused, Pinckney 
 
DEATH OF WASHINGTON. 677 
 
 and Marshall were ordered to quit the country, but Gerry was 
 allowed to remain. The intelligence of these proceedings excited 
 the highest indignation in the United States, and the government 
 ordered the capturing of all armed French vessels. On the 9th 
 of February, 1799, the American frigate Constellation, of thirty- 
 six guns, commanded by Captain Truxton, being on a cruise 
 among the West India Islands, fell in with the French fngate 
 1'Insurgente, of forty guns, and captured her after an engagement 
 of an hour and a quarter. This was the first time an American 
 frigate had taken a ship of superior force. On the 1st day of 
 February, 1800, the Constellation fought another battle with the 
 French frigate La Vengeance, of fifty- four guns. After four hours' 
 fighting, the French ship was silenced, but a squall suddenly 
 springing up, enabled her to escape, and she arrived at Curasao 
 in a shattered condition, with one hundred and sixty men killed 
 and wounded. 
 
 The insults of the French government nearly united all parties 
 in defence of the national honor. Popular addresses poured in 
 upon the president from every quarter of the union, assuring him 
 of every necessary support in the stand he had taken. Congress 
 voted to raise an army. Washington was appointed to the com 
 mand, and the United States assumed a dignified attitude. This 
 firmness had its effect across the Atlantic. Three other envoys, 
 Messrs. Ellsworth, Davie, and Murray were sent to Paris in 1800. 
 The government of France was now in the hands of the First 
 Consul, Bonaparte, who received the envoys with respect, and 
 entered upon this business with the promptness and despatch 
 which always characterized that extraordinary man. On the 
 30th of September, 1800, a treaty was concluded, which settled all 
 differences between France and America. 
 
 On the 14th of December, 1799, Washington died, after an ill 
 ness of a single day. This event caused a general mourning 
 throughout the United States. The new seat of government on 
 the banks of the Potomac was called by his name, and the city of 
 Washington became the capital of the United States in 1800. 
 
 In 1803, the United States received a large acquisition of territory, 
 by purchasing from France the whole of the region west of the 
 Mississippi, then called Louisiana, which included not only the 
 present state of that name, but Arkansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, 
 Iowa, and the vast wild region of the west. This country had 
 been recently ceded to the French by the Spaniards ; and Bona 
 parte, who wanted money more than colonies, transferred it to the 
 United States for the sum of fifteen millions of dollars. 
 
 The people of the United States now promised themselves a 
 
 4 
 
678 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 period of lasting tranquillity. The government had been settled 
 upon a secure, basis, the Indians quieted, the friendship of 
 
 Tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon. 
 
 England, France and the other great European powers secured 
 by amicable treaties commerce and industry began to thrive with 
 wonderful rapidity, the national revenue increased, and every 
 external appearance denoted an increasing and permanent pros 
 perity. But events were already in progress which soon dis 
 turbed the tranquillity of the nation, and before long involved the 
 United States in foreign war. The treaties with France and 
 England opened a wide field of commerce to the American mer 
 chants, into which they immediately entered with that enterprise 
 and activity which have now become their strong characteristics. 
 The sea was soon covered by their ships, and American commerce 
 was ere long exposed to the depredation of the belligerent Euro 
 pean powers; it had no protection abroad, as the United States 
 could hardly boast of possessing a ship of war. 
 
 The American navy during the war of the revolution consisted 
 of a few small frigates and minor craft. Most of these were lost; 
 and after the capture of Charleston, the navy came entirely to an 
 end, by the sale of the remainder as worthless. For many years 
 the government did not possess a single ship; but in 1794 an act of 
 congress authorized the building of six frigates. These were the 
 Constitution, the President, the United States, the Constellation, the 
 Congress, and the Chesapeake. Some smaller vessels were soon 
 
NAVAL WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 679 
 
 added, and the navy was not long idle. We have mentioned the 
 cruises of the Constellation against the French. The next mari 
 time hostilities arose with one of the Barbary powers. The Ameri 
 can commerce had speedily found its way into the Mediterranean, 
 and became exposed to the insults of the piratical African states. 
 The Bashaw of Tripoli, in 1799, demanded a heavy tribute of the 
 United States, and being refused, he captured five American 
 vessels. In August, 1801, the United States schooner Enterprise, 
 Capt. Sterrett, fell in with a Tripolitan cruiser off Malta, and after 
 an obstinate action of two hours, captured her. Captain Ster- 
 rett's instructions did not allow him to make prize of the vessel ; 
 accordingly, after cutting away her masts, and throwing her guns 
 overboard, he gave her up to the crew, leaving them sail and rig 
 ging sufficient to carry them into port. From this time till 1803, 
 the United States kept several ships of war in the Mediterranean, 
 and some small actions took place off Tripoli. In August, 1803, 
 Commodore Preble was despatched with a squadron, consisting of 
 the Constitution and Philadelphia frigates, the Argus, Siren and 
 Nautilus brigs, and the Vixen and Enterprise schooners. On their 
 arrival off Tripoli, the Philadelphia, in chasing a vessel into port, 
 struck on a rock, and before she could be got off, was surrounded 
 by the Tripolitan gun-boats and compelled to surrender. On a 
 change of wind she was set afloat and towed into the harbor of 
 Tripoli. The American squadron sailed for Syracuse to refit. 
 
 While at this place, a scheme was planned to retake or destroy 
 the Philadelphia. This expedition was entrusted to Lieutenant 
 Stephen Decatur. He sailed from Syracuse in a small schooner, 
 with seventy-six men, accompanied by the brig Siren. On the 
 16th of February, 1804, they arrived off Tripoli. The schooner 
 entered the harbor at night, and ran alongside the Philadelphia 
 before it was discovered that she was an enemy. The Americans 
 boarded her, sword in hand, soon cleared her decks, and gained 
 entire possession of the ship. The castle, the batteries and the 
 Tripolitan flotilla opened a tremendous fire upon them, and the 
 harbor was soon covered with launches approaching to the rescue; 
 but Decatur and his men set fire to the Philadelphia and escaped 
 to sea in safety. 
 
 The American squadron having arrived from Syracuse, pro 
 ceeded to the attack of Tripoli. On the 3d, the 7th, and 29th of 
 August, the town was cannonaded, and assaults were made on 
 the shipping in the port. The Tripolitan batteries mounted one 
 hundred and fifty guns, and the town was defended by an army 
 of forty-five thousand Arabs. The enemy sustained much dam 
 age, and several of their gun-boats were captured. On the 4th of 
 
THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Burning of the Philadelphia. 
 
 September, the Intrepid, a fire-ship, was sent into the harbor 
 under the command of Lieutenants Somers, Wadsworth, and 
 Israel. She was charged with one hundred barrels of powder 
 and three hundred shells, to be exploded under the enemy's bat 
 teries, while the crew escaped in a boat. Before this could be 
 done, two galleys, of one hundred men each, suddenly shot along 
 side the Intrepid, and she instantly blew up, with the most terrible 
 effect, destroying both her crew and enemies. It is not known 
 whether accident or the self-devotion of the Americans caused 
 this awful catastrophe. 
 
 The negotiations with the Bashaw proving fruitless, the 
 American government determined to push the war with additional 
 rigor. An opportunity for a naval enterprise soon presented 
 itself. Hamet, the ex-bashaw, had been expelled by his brother, 
 and was now an exile in Upper Egypt! General William Eaton 
 was despatched to gain him over to the Americans. Hamet com 
 manded an army of Mamelukes, then at war with the Turkish 
 government. Eaton visited the ex-bashaw and brought him into 
 his plan. Hamet furnished the American general with a strong 
 body of Arabs, well mounted, and seventy Greek soldiers, With 
 this force, Eaton left Alexandria on the sixth of March, 1805, for 
 an expedition across the sandy desert of Barca. In a march of a 
 thousand miles, the troops endured a degree of peril and suffering 
 hardly equalled in romance, and on the 25th of April, arrived 
 before the town of Derne, in the Tripolitan territory. Eaton's 
 
TREATY WITH TRIPOLI. 681 
 
 expedition had become known to the bashaw, and his army was 
 within a day's march of the place when the invaders approached 
 it. No time was to be lost; the town was summoned to sui- 
 render; but the commandant returned for reply, "My head, or 
 yours!" Eaton stormed the walls on the 27th, and Derne was 
 taken by as motley an armament as ever was combined under 
 the American flag, Arab cavalry, Greek infantry, and Ameri 
 can ships, which arrived in the bay in season to assist in the 
 capture. 
 
 Hamet set up his government in Derne, and the Arabo- Ameri 
 can army fortified themselves in the new capital. On the 18th 
 of May, the Tripolitan army arrived and assaulted the place, but 
 after a contest of four hours, they were repulsed, and withdrew 
 to the mountains, although they outnumbered their opponents ten 
 to one. Many skirmishes followed, and on the tenth of June, 
 another general battle was fought. The small American vessels 
 in the harbor kept up a well directed fire, and checked every ad 
 vance of the Tripolitans. The next day the Constitution arrived, 
 and struck such terror into the enemy that they fled instantly to 
 the desert, leaving most of their baggage behind them. The whole 
 history of the Tripolitan war is colored with a high degree of ro 
 mance; but we have not space for the details. General Eaton dis 
 tinguished himself by uncommon talent and courage. Finally, 
 in June, 1805, a treaty was concluded with the Bashaw. This 
 treaty was negotiated by Mr. Lear, the agent of the American 
 government. Had the business of the war been entrusted to 
 the sole management of Eaton, there is every reason to believe 
 he would have penetrated to Tripoli, liberated the American 
 captors without ransom, deposed the Bashaw, reinstated Hamet, 
 and concluded an advantageous commercial arrangement for 
 the United States. By the treaty, Hamet was left to his fate, 
 and sixty thousand dollars were paid for the release of the 
 American prisoners. 
 
 The domestic politics of the United States, in the meantime, 
 had become more and more disturbed by party spirit. In 1801, 
 Thomas Jefferson became President, and Aaron Burr Yice-Presi- 
 dent There had been no choice by the electors, and in conse 
 quence of an original provision of the constitution, which has since 
 been amended, thirty-six ballotings took place in the house of 
 representatives before the president was chosen. The two par 
 ties which divided the country, were now known as the " federalists 
 and democrats." Jefferson and Burr, the successful candidates, 
 were both of the latter party; but Mr. Burr, during the election, 
 was suspected of intriguing to supplant Jefferson, and in conse- 
 58 
 
682 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 quence, declined in favor with his political associates. He 
 attempted to regain his lost influence by entering into a canvass 
 for the office of governor of New York. In this scheme he was 
 opposed by Hamilton, who had been long his political antagonist. 
 His opposition defeated the attempt, and Burr determined on re 
 venge. He challenged his rival to a duel, and Hamilton fell, at 
 Hoboken, on the llth of July, 1804. 
 
 This tragical occurrence entirely destroyed what remained of 
 Burr's popularity ; but the restless spirit and ambition of the man 
 were not in the least quieted. He conceived a scheme as daring 
 as it was magnificent, the establishment of a new empire in the 
 southwest, of which he was to be the head. The stupendous rev 
 olutions which were then convulsing Europe, agitated all minds. 
 
 Bonaparte crossing the Alps. 
 
 The brilliant fortune of Bonaparte, who, from an obscure soldier, 
 had suddenly become the supreme ruler of the most powerful 
 kingdom in Christendom, dazzled every imagination. Great 
 changes seemed to menace the whole world; arid it was no 
 wonder that Burr, a man of unquestionable talent and courage, 
 insatiable ambition, and intriguing temper, should believe him 
 self able to become the Napoleon of the west. He began by 
 tampering with Eaton and Truxton, then preeminent for their 
 achievements in the American army and navy. His designs 
 were at first darkly hinted, but he succeeded in gaining many 
 partisans to his scheme, some of them persons of wealth and 
 influence. The common belief was that he designed to erect an 
 independent state beyond the Alleghanies, either out of the Ameri 
 can territories, or by revolutionizing the Spanish provinces. In 
 December, 1806, he assembled a number of the most desperate of 
 
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR. 683 
 
 his followers, on the Ohio, and proceeded down the river. The 
 rumor of his expedition had caused a great excitement in the 
 country, but hy adroit management, Burr contrived to avoid all 
 obstruction from the legal authorities. The federal government 
 had sufficient knowledge of his designs, to warrant his arrest, and, 
 on his passage down the Mississippi, he was stopped at Natchez, 
 and cited before the supreme court at that place, on the 2d of 
 February, 1807. His accomplices were arrested at New Orleans 
 and elsewhere. Burr made his escape from Natchez in disguise, 
 but was overtaken and captured on the Tombigbee, and carried 
 prisoner to Richmond. The grand jury found true bills for trea 
 son against Burr, Blannerhassett, and some others. Their trial 
 took place before the circuit court of the United States at Rich 
 mond, on the 27th of August, 1807. From a want of precise 
 and legal evidence they were acquitted, though no doubt existed 
 as to the fact of their being engaged in a mad and lawless under 
 taking. The restless, intriguing and ambitious Aaron Burr sunk 
 at once into an obscurity from which he never afterwards emerged. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson was re-elected president in 1804. Party spirit, at 
 this period, had abated none of its fierceness ; and the Americans, 
 as if their domestic affairs were not sufficient to occupy their 
 attention, almost universally took sides, as far as freedom of 
 speech was concerned, in the contest then raging between France 
 and England. They had soon matters of serious interest to 
 entangle them with one of the parties. The right of searching 
 American ships and impressing British sailors from them, had 
 been strongly insisted on by the British ; and this right, although 
 in the highest degree repugnant to the feelings of the American 
 people, had not been contested by the treaty of 1794. Such a 
 license could not fail to be scandalously abused by the British 
 cruisers, who were then the undisputed lords of the ocean. It 
 
684 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 was not long before a gross insult was perpetrated upon the 
 American flag. On the 22d of June, 1807, the American frigate 
 Chesapeake, a few hours after she had sailed from Norfolk, was 
 attacked by the British frigate Leopard, for the purpose of taking 
 from her a number of her crew, alleged to be British sailors. 
 After receiving several broadsides, and having a number of men 
 killed, she struck her colors. Four men were taken from her, one 
 of whom was hanged as a British deserter. The Chesapeake 
 was of inferior strength to her antagonist, and was not armed for 
 a cruise ; yet, Captain Barren, her commander, was considered as 
 not having acted .with becoming spirit in surrendering his ship 
 without making a more resolute defence. 
 
 This gross and wanton outrage inflamed the whole population 
 of the United States with indignation, and for the moment extin 
 guished all party spirit in the national feeling which it aroused. 
 The president issued a proclamation, ordering all British ships 
 out of the waters of the United States. The British government 
 disavowed the act of Admiral Berkley, who commanded the 
 squadron to which the Leopard belonged, and removed him from 
 his command on the American station; but the claim of the 
 right of search and impressment was not abandoned. The 
 American commerce continued to be annoyed by British ships of 
 war, which captured American vessels whenever the dishonesty 
 or caprice of their commanders prompted f them. The sources of 
 these troubles were soon enlarged. The system of " paper block 
 ades" was adopted by the British; the whole coast of a country 
 was laid under a commercial interdict by a single proclamation ; 
 and American ships, entering the ports of France and other coun 
 tries in possession of the French, were captured and condemned 
 by the British. 
 
 Napoleon resented this arrogant assumption of power, and 
 retorted it upon his enemy. From the imperial camp at Berlin, 
 on the 21st of November, 1806, he issued his famous decree, com 
 plaining of the violation of the rights of nations by the British 
 government, and declaring it necessary to enforce against them 
 their own maritime code. The British islands were therefore 
 declared in a state of blockade, and all intercourse with them was 
 forbidden to neutral nations. Against the Berlin decrees the 
 British government issued, on the 7th of January and llth of 
 November, 1807, their Orders in Council, declaring in a state of 
 blockade all ports in Europe from which the British flag was 
 excluded, and all trade in the products or manufactures of such 
 countries, contraband. Napoleon again retorted by a decree, dated 
 at Milan, on the 17th of December, 1807, declaring that every 
 
OUTRAGES ON THE COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. 685 
 
 ship, of whatever nation, which should submit to a search from an 
 English vessel, should be liable to capture and condemnation as 
 English property. The same penalty was denounced against all 
 ships holding any intercourse with Great Britain or her colonies, 
 or any country occupied by British troops. The French emperoi, 
 however, affirmed that these regulations should be annulled as 
 soon as the British government should renounce their own barba 
 rous system of maritime war, which had provoked his retalia 
 tion. In this manner the American commerce became the prey 
 of the two most powerful nations of Europe. 
 
 Year after year these unjustifiable outrages were repeated by 
 both nations upon the commerce of the United States. Every 
 insult of the British was followed by one of equal enormity from 
 the French, on the plea that the quiet submission of the Ameri 
 cans to the interference of the British, was an act of hostility to 
 their enemies. The commerce of the Americans suffered, and the 
 national character was disgraced by the inability of the govern 
 ment to prevent these outrages. While continually exposed to 
 insult and plunder, the American shipping had no protection from 
 the navy of the United States, which consisted only of a few 
 frigates and brigs. During Jefferson's administration, a new 
 scheme of maritime defence was concerted. Instead of large 
 ships, a numerous fleet of gunboats had been built. These vessels, 
 which were of very little service at home, and good for nothing 
 abroad, soon fell into utter disrepute, and brought the navy of the 
 United States into discredit. 
 
 The reckless and adventurous spirit of the American merchants 
 prompted them to the most hazardous adventures, and in spite of 
 the hostile fleets of Great Britain and France, the Atlantic was 
 still covered with American ships. Such of these as escaped the 
 piracies of the belligerent powers, made profits so enormous, that 
 the avarice of the traders received a tenfold stimulant. More 
 than a thousand American vessels were captured before the 
 year 1812. To check these proceedings, congress, in the winter 
 of 1807, passed an act laying an embargo, by which all trade 
 with Great Britain, France and other nations, was interdicted. 
 The most violent clamors were raised throughout the country, 
 especially in the maritime towns, by this act. The embargo was 
 denounced as unconstitutional, and the two parties which divided 
 the country were inflamed into the most bitter animosities. The 
 commerce of the United States became in an instant reduced to a 
 mere coasting trade, and the stagnation of business was felt by 
 hundreds of thousands. The embargo, however, although de 
 fended by a majority of the people, did not answer the expecta- 
 58* 1 4 
 
686 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 tions of its friends. The temptations to evade it were so strong^ 
 that great numbers of cargoes were despatched illegally from the 
 ports of the United States. In the eastern parts of the Union, the 
 emba.rgo was particularly hateful to the people, and here it 
 encountered the most serious opposition. After a trial of about a 
 year, it was therefore partially repealed, and an act of non-inter 
 course with Great Britain and France substituted in its place. 
 
 In 1809, James Madison became president of the United States. 
 Shortly after his accession, Mr. Erskine, the British minister at 
 Washington, proposed an arrangement for the settlement of the 
 disputes between .the two countries. He agreed that the Orders 
 in Council should be revoked, as far as concerned the United 
 States, provided the non -intercourse with Great Britain should be 
 repealed. He also offered reparation for the attack on the Chesa 
 peake, and agreed that an envoy extraordinary should be sent by 
 Great Britain to conclude a treaty for the full adjustment of all 
 affairs depending between the two powers. These proposals were 
 immediately embraced by the American cabinet, and a treaty was 
 signed and ratified on the 19th of April, 1809. In consequence 
 of this, the president issued his proclamation, announcing that he 
 had received official information that the Orders in Council would 
 be repealed on the 10th of June, and that the trade between the 
 United States and Great Britain might be renewed on that day. 
 
 So severe had been the pressure of tha commercial restrictions, 
 that this announcement caused as much joy throughout the coun 
 try as a proclamation of peace. The event was celebrated every 
 where by public rejoicings and illuminations, and all parties 
 united in applauding the measure and its promoters. This 
 universal exultation, however, was soon followed by the most 
 mortifying disappointment. The British government, as soon 
 as they heard of the treaty, disavowed it, and recalled their 
 minister, on the plea that he had transcended his instructions. 
 Erskine was succeeded at Washington by Mr. Jackson, who 
 renewed the negotiation, but in so insulting a style towards the 
 American government, that they refused to hold any intercourse 
 with him, and he was shortly afterward recalled. 
 
 The British, in the meantime, continued their depredations and 
 insults upon -the American shipping; but their outrages did not 
 always escape punishment. On the 16th of May, 1811, the Brit- 
 ish sloop-of-war Little Belt, fell in with the United States frigate 
 Piesident, off the Capes of Virginia. It was a dark evening, and 
 the ships did not understand each other's force. Commodore 
 Rogers, who commanded the President, hailed the Little Belt, and 
 was answered by a shot. Broadsides were then fired by both 
 
WAR DECLARED WITH ENGLAND. 
 
 687 
 
 ships, till the Little Belt was silenced, with thirty-two men killed 
 and wounded. Captain Bingham, of the Little Belt, represented 
 this as a hostile attack upon his ship, and affirmed that the Pres 
 ident fired the first gun. The British government demanded 
 satisfaction, and a court of inquiry was ordered by the Americans. 
 Full evidence appeared that the British ship began the attack, 
 and after a clear statement of the case by Mr. Monroe, the secre 
 tary of state, the British minister pressed the matter no further. 
 
 Not long after this, reparation was made by the British gov 
 ernment for the attack on the Chesapeake. The men taken from 
 her were given up, and a pecuniary compensation made to the 
 families of the killed and wounded. No disposition, however, 
 was manifested to remove the main cause of the troubles still 
 existing between the two countries. The Orders in Council were 
 not revoked, and it became evident that some decisive measures 
 must be determined on, to save the commerce of the United States 
 from total ruin. On the 1st of May, 1810, congress passed an act, 
 declaring that if either Great Britain or France, should, before the 
 3d of March following, cease to violate the neutrality of the 
 United States, the non-intercourse should be repealed with regard 
 to that power. In consequence of this, the French government 
 informed the American minister at Paris that the Berlin and 
 Milan decrees would be revoked on the 2d of November, 1810. 
 Intercourse with France was therefore opened by a proclamation 
 from the president. When the American minister at London 
 pressed the British government to follow this example, he was 
 answered that no proof existed of the repeal of Napoleon's 
 decrees. In fact, the repeal had never been formally made public 
 at Paris, although the capture of American vessels by the French 
 ceased at the time specified. At length, after much negotiation, 
 Napoleon published his act of repeal on the 28th of April, 1811. 
 The British cabinet then, in consequence of promises repeatedly 
 given to follow the example of France, revoked conditionally 
 their Orders in Council, on the 23d of June, 1812 ; but it was 
 too late ; war with Great Britain had already been declared by 
 the United States. 
 
 The patience of the American government and people had 
 become exhausted. All their negotiations with the British resulted 
 in little more than chicanery and equivocation. It was evidently 
 the wish of their government to protract the settlement of affairs 
 as long as possible. The American commerce offered a rich harvest 
 of plunder for the British cruisers, and the American crews were 
 a constant source for the supply of recruits for tfeei/navy ,b'y im*- 
 pressment. ^Qiousands of sailors, with the l^al eyidense-'of 
 
 4 
 
 Iks 
 
688 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 citizenship in their pockets, were taken forcibly from American 
 ships and compelled to serve in the British navy. Remonstrances 
 against these outrages were vain ; the Americans had no naval 
 force sufficient to make them feared or respected abroad, and the 
 British despised them, as a people who might be plundered and 
 insulted with impunity. Nothing, short of a decidedly hostile 
 attitude in the people of the United States, appeared likely to offer 
 a remedy for these evils. Accordingly, President Madison con- 
 j vened congress on the 4th of November, 1811, and after recapitu- 
 "ff lating the wrongs which the United States had suffered from the 
 + belligerent powers of Europe, recommended that the country 
 should be put into a state of defence. Measures were accordingly 
 taken by congress for strengthening the ,army and navy, but so 
 feeble were the hopes of national defence or glory from the latter 
 / source, that appropriations were made only to repair three small 
 Vj frigates and build three others. On the 14th of March, 1812, a 
 loan of eleven millions of dollars was authorized. 
 
 /The prospect of a war with England shook the country with 
 violent party dissensions. No one denied that grievous wrongs 
 / and insults had been sustained from that power, yet the opposition 
 to the war was very strong. The commercial towns of the 
 f Eastern states, which had the most to suffer from hostilities, were, 
 of course, the most strenuous in opposing it. The extravagant 
 gains of commerce, in spite of the enormous hazards attending it, 
 offered still an irresistible lure. The country, moreover, was in a 
 / wretched state of defence, with fifteen hundred miles of sea-coast 
 unprotected by anything deserving to be called a navy. The 
 maritime strength of the British, on the other hand, surpassed 
 everything known in history, ancient or modern ; it comprised, at 
 this period, above one thousand ships of war. The whole coast 
 of the United States would lie at their mercy, and not an American 
 J sail would be seen upon the ocean. Such were the disheartening 
 representations made, and not without reason, by the advocates 
 of a pacific policy. 
 
 ) The feeling of resentment, however, against Great Britain was 
 so deep and general, and the persuasion that force alone would 
 \ compel her to do justice, was so strongly grounded in the minds 
 ' of the greater part of the American people, that their ardent 
 f temperament overlooked the desperate odds against them in the 
 . struggle. The popular disposition was so clearly manifested, that 
 the president, on the 1st of June, 1812, sent a message to congress, 
 directly proposing the question of hostilities for their serious con 
 sideration. The wrongs suffered by the United States at the 
 hands of the British, were declared to be intolerable, and without 
 
Andrew Jackson. 
 
 Martin Van Burcn. 
 
William Henry Harrison. 
 
 John Tyler 
 
PARTY EXCITEMENT. 689 
 
 any prospect of redress or discontinuance. It was admitted, also, 
 that France had deeply injured the country, and still owed 
 reparation. The point was then submitted, whether the Ameri 
 can nation should continue passive under these aggressions, or 
 take up arms in defence of their rights. The result of this com 
 munication was, that the committee on foreign relations reported 
 a bill declaring war with Great Britain. The bill passed in the, 
 house of representatives by a majority of thirty, and in the 
 senate by a majority of six. On the 18th of June, 1812, it was 
 signed by the president, and the United States were at war. 
 
 Had the intelligence that the Orders in Council were rescinded, 
 reached this country earlier, it might have delayed, but probably 
 would not have prevented ultimately, the declaration of war. 
 The main causes of discord between the two nations would have 
 continued; the impressment of American seamen; the habitual 
 disregard of the neutral rights of the United States, and the 
 unreserved contempt which the British, in their overbearing naval 
 strength, had always shown towards those unable to oppose them 
 on the ocean, would not have been removed. At this period they 
 no more dreamed of encountering resistance from an American 
 navy, than from the navy of the Portuguese or Neapolitans. 
 The victories of Aboukir and Trafalgar had set the seal on British 
 naval glory and supremacy; and the assertion that "Britannia 
 rules the waves," had become sober fact, and not poetry. On the 
 other hand, the Americans had as little expectation of acquiring 
 strength on the ocean, as their adversaries had of losing it. The 
 small navy of the United States appeared small, indeed, when 
 compared with the thousand ships of Britain. The calculations, 
 however, of very sagacious men are often strangely contradicted 
 by the course of real events. It was a secret, but unerring 
 instinct which impelled the American people to a war with the 
 mightiest naval power of the world. 
 
 The chance of the war was mos,t desperate for the United 
 States in the outset; army, navy, revenue, military experience, 
 unanimity of feeling in the people, consolidation and strength in 
 the government, all were wanting. The opposition did not fail 
 to descant upon these topics, and prognosticate the ruin and 
 disgrace of the country. The heats of party raged more stron gly 
 than ever, and soon broke out into serious disturbances. Balti 
 more was convulsed with the proceedings of a mob, which, on the 
 20th of June, 1812, attacked and pillaged the office of a news 
 paper which had been filled with violent invectives against the 
 war. The papei was removed and printed in Georgetown, but 
 continued to be circulated in Baltimore. On the 28th of July, the 
 
690 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 mob assaulted the house of one of the editors, which was defended 
 by a number of armed men. Stones were thrown, and at length 
 muskets fired ; a person in the street was killed, and the assailants 
 were about to batter the house with a cannon, when they were 
 pacified by the interference of the citizens. The people in the 
 house surrendered themselves to the civil authorities and were 
 lodged in jail ; but the next night the jail was assaulted and broken 
 open. General Lingan, one of the persons confined, was killed, 
 and eleven other persons were shockingly beaten and abused. 
 All parties condemned and lamented these excesses; and such 
 measures were taken by the citizens of Baltimore as prevented 
 any repetition of them. 
 
 About this time an affair came to light, which the American 
 government took occasion to represent as a discreditable intrigue 
 on the part of the British authorities. While the unpopular 
 embargo law was in operation, the governor of Canada had de 
 spatched a secret emissary, named John Henry, into the eastern 
 states, to sound the disposition of the people, who were repre 
 sented as entertaining a disposition to dissolve the union and 
 revolt against the federal government. He was instructed to 
 obtain interviews with the leading men, and to do all in his power 
 to excite their disaffection. Henry does not appear to have dis 
 closed his mission to any person in the United States, but he 
 wrote despatches to the governor, amusing him with the gossip 
 which he had picked up on his journey. Not being rewarded by 
 the British government for his services, he disclosed the whole 
 affair to the American cabinet, who paid him fifty thousand 
 dollars for the correspondence which he offered as evidence of the 
 plot. These papers were published by the American government, 
 and gave rise to much discussion, not only in the United States, 
 but in Great Britain. Lord Liverpool, the British prime minister, 
 defended the proceeding in the house of lords, but it was gener 
 ally considered as no way honorable to the British government. . 
 

 CHAPTER LXVIII. 
 
 Indian war. Battle of Tippecanoe. Intrigues of Tecumseh. Capture of Mack" 
 inaw by the British. Invasion of Canada by General Hull. Surrender of 
 Detroit. Siege of Fort Wayne. General Harrison appointed to the command 
 of the northwestern army. Defence of the northern frontier. Dearborn's 
 armistice. Attack of Queenstown. Dastardly conduct of the militia. Failure 
 of Smyth's campaign. Affairs on the lakes. Success of the Americans at 
 sea. Cruise of Commodore Rogers. Capture of the Alert. Narrow escape of 
 the Constitution. Capture of the Guerriere Frolic Macedonian Java and 
 Peacock. Success of the American privateers. 
 
 Capture of the Guerriere. 
 
 THE hostilities with Great Britain were preceded by a military 
 expedition against the Indians of the Northwest. The Shawa- 
 nese, in the Indiana territory, had commenced incursions upon 
 the frontier settlements, under the instigation of a chief called the 
 Prophet. In the autumn of 1811, the outrages and murders' of 
 these savages had proceeded to such an alarming extent, that the 
 government found, it necessary to send a military force against 
 them. General Harrison, governor of Indiana, took the command 
 of a force of regulars and militia at Vincennes, and marched into 
 the territory of the savages. On the 6th of November, he arrived 
 59 K4 
 
692 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 in the neighborhood of the Prophet's town, on the Tippecanoe, ob 
 tained an interview with the chief, and, in the hope of negotiating 
 a peace the next day, agreed to a truce. Notwithstanding this, 
 Harrison, like a prudent commander, encamped for the night in 
 order of battle, and directed his men to rest on their arms. The 
 precaution was not superfluous. The treacherous savages were 
 preparing to surprise their enemies ; they waited in perfect silence 
 till just before break of day, when they judged all suspicion 
 would be lulled and the troops overpowered with sleep. In an 
 instant the American camp was aroused by a tremendous war- 
 whoop from a body of savages within a short distance of theii 
 line. So furious was their attack, that many of them forced theii 
 way through the line of regulars and mounted riflemen in the 
 rear of the American left, and penetrated into the centre of the 
 camp, where they were killed. The woods in front of the line 
 were full of Indians, and a charge was made upon them by the 
 cavalry; but so overwhelming was the savage force, that the 
 cavalry were repulsed, and their commander, Major Davies, was 
 mortally wounded. A company of infantry then charged with 
 fixed bayonets, and dislodged the savages from the wood. The 
 fire of the enemy now almost completely surrounded the Ameri 
 cans. Captains Spencer and Warwick were killed, and the 
 attack of the savages was pushed with the greatest impetuosity. 
 The troops, however, stood their ground with perfect coolness and 
 bravery until daylight approached and enabled them to recon 
 noitre the position of their assailants. A well-directed charge 
 was then made by the infantry, which broke their line ; and the 
 cavalry dashing in upon them at the decisive moment, put their 
 whole force to the rout. They instantly fled from the field, with 
 the loss of one hundred and fifty killed and wounded. The 
 Americans lost thirty-nine killed, and had one hundred and 
 twenty-six wounded. Harrison then burnt the Indian town, and 
 laid waste the country. These acts of severity so intimidated 
 the savages, that the Prophet was soon abandoned by all his fol 
 lowers; and the various tribes which had been seduced into 
 hostilities with the United States by his intrigues, sued for peace. 
 The victory of Tippecanoe checked the Indian hostilities in 
 this quarter, but various savage tribes, on other parts of the 
 frontier, still menaced the tranquillity of the settlements. The 
 most powerful among the Indian chiefs was Tecumseh, a Shawa- 
 nese, who was inspired with the most deadly enmity against the 
 Americans. He visited in person all the tribes west of the Mis 
 sissippi, and on Lakes Superior, Huron and Erie, exciting them to 
 war. After the commencement of hostilities between the United 
 
INVASION OF CANADA. 
 
 693 
 
 States and Great Britain, he, joined the British with all the force 
 he could muster. The hostile demonstrations of the savages in 
 the northwest, drew the attention of the government first to that 
 quarter ; and two months before the declaration of war, the presi 
 dent had called upon the state of Ohio for twelve hundred militia, 
 which were immediately furnished, and rendezvoused at DaytoiL 
 To this force were added several regiments of regulars, and the 
 whole, amounting to twenty-five hundred, were placed under the 
 command of General Hull, and directed against the enemy in the 
 neighborhood of Detroit. 
 
 After a march of two hundred miles through swamps and 
 woods, Hull arrived at Detroit in the beginning of July. The 
 British had received early intelligence of the declaration of war, 
 and were prepared to receive him. On the 12th of July, he 
 crossed the river into the Canadian territory, and issued a procla 
 mation, calling upon the inhabitants to submit. There was no 
 great British force in this quarter, but the negligence of the 
 American government had been so great, that no preparations for 
 the campaign had been made upon the frontier. The important 
 post of Mackinaw was neglected, and the garrison knew nothing 
 of the war till a body of a thousand British and Indians appeared 
 before the place, and summoned it to surrender. There were but 
 fifty-seven men to defend it, who, of course, were compelled to 
 submit. This was a double disaster to the Americans, as they 
 not only lost a most important military post, but all the Indian 
 tribes in the neighborhood rose at once against them, and the whole 
 "northern hive" came swarming on the flanks of Hull's army. 
 
 The movements of Hull were characterized by slowness and 
 indecision. While he commanded a force much superior to the 
 enemy, he remained inactive for above three weeks at Sandwich, 
 near Maiden. All this time, the General states, was consumed in 
 making gun-carriages and other preparations for the siege of 
 Maiden. In the meantime, the British had reinforced their posts, 
 recruited their ranks with militia and Indians, and put everything 
 in a state to repel their invaders. As the British gained confi 
 dence, the Americans iost it. Hull's incapacity, irresolution and 
 sluggish movements, had disheartened the whole army. Disas 
 ters soon began to fall upon them. On the 4th of August, a 
 detachment of two hundred men, sent to escort a supply of pro 
 visions for the army, was defeated at Brownstown, by a party of 
 Indians. A council of war was held, and decided that an imme 
 diate attack ought to be made upon Maiden. In consequence, 
 Hull issued a general order for the attack on the 7th of August. 
 But on the next day, to the astonishment of every one, the army 
 
694 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 was ordered to re-cross the river and encamp at Detroit. It was 
 now pretty evident that the general was deficient in courage as 
 well as capacity. The order was obeyed, though with a most 
 sullen reluctance. As if these proceedings were not sufficiently 
 absurd, Hull, on the following day, detached a body of six hun 
 dred men, under Colonel Miller, across the river again. This 
 party engaged a body of British and Indians, near Maguaga vil 
 lage, and drove them off the ground with considerable loss. The 
 Indians were commanded by Tecumseh. Miller proceeded to 
 Brownstown, but was immediately afterwards ordered back to 
 Detroit, and Canada was a second time evacuated. 
 
 The British now began to assume offensive operations. Gen 
 eral Brock, who commanded at Maiden, had a force of thirteen 
 hundred men. On the 14th of August, he erected batteries oppo 
 site Detroit, within point-blank shot of the fort, without any 
 molestation from the Americans. The next day, he summoned 
 Hull to surrender, and being refused, opened his fire upon the 
 town. After a cannonade of two days, the British crossed the 
 river, and took post about three miles from Detroit. It is probable 
 that Brock did not design an immediate attack, but hearing that 
 a detachment of three hundred men had been recently sent away 
 from Detroit, he determined to assault the place. The American 
 army was stationed in the fort and town, in the most favorable 
 situation for receiving the enemy. A sharp conflict was expected, 
 when, on a sudden, to the astonishment of every one, the whole 
 force was ordered to march into the fort, where their arms were 
 stacked, and the artillery were forbidden to fire. Here, crowded 
 into a narrow compass, every shot of the enemy took effect, and 
 Hull ordered the white flag to be hoisted in token of surrender. 
 
 The surrender of Detroit is the most disgraceful transaction 
 that ever tarnished the American flag. The imbecility or coward 
 ice displayed by General Hull was probably never surpassed 
 in the whole history of military transactions. Nothing could 
 exceed the mortification of the people of the United States, when 
 the capture of Hull's army became known. He was openly de 
 nounced as a traitor, who had sold his country for British gold. 
 A court martial convicted him of cowardice and un-officer-like 
 conduct, and sentenced him to death. But, in consideration of his 
 revolutionary services, the president remitted the penalty. His 
 name was stricken from the rolls of the army, and he was 
 allowed to pass the remainder of his life in retirement and dis 
 grace. 
 
 During Hull's campaign the evidence of his incapacity was so 
 manifest to his officers, that many of them wrote private letters 
 
, > DEFENCE OF THE NORTHERN FRONTIER. 695 
 
 to the governor of Ohio, predicting the impending disasters, and 
 urging the sending forward of reinforcements. In Ohio and 
 Kentucky three thousand of the militia were raised, and marched 
 *br Detroit, but on their arrival at Cincinnati on the 27th of Au 
 gust, they received the news of Hull's surrender. This caused 
 some delay. Further drafts of militia were made in Pennsylva 
 nia and Virginia, and the whole force was put under the com 
 mand of General Harrison. The army marched from Cincinnati, 
 and on the third of September arrived at Piqua, on the Great 
 Miami, where Harrison received intelligence that Fort Wayne was 
 besieged by the Indians. A body of five hundred men was de 
 spatched for its relief, and in a few days the whole army marched 
 for the same place. The Indians, hearing of Harrison's approach, 
 raised the siege and decamped. The army arrived at Fort 
 Wayne on the 12th of September. A detachment sent for the pur 
 pose destroyed all the Indian towns on the forks of the Wabash. 
 Shortly after this, General Winchester arrived and took command 
 of the army, which caused much discontent in the ranks, but 
 Harrison used all his efforts to assuage it, and the troops acqui 
 esced. Winchester marched towards Fort Defiance, where the 
 British and Indians were in considerable force. Hearing of his 
 approach, they retreated, and the Americans took possession of 
 Fort Defiance on the 20th of September. 
 
 On the 24th of September, General Harrison received from 
 Washington his appointment to the command of the northwestern 
 army, with orders to provide for the security of the western fron 
 tier ; to re-capture Detroit, and to invade Canada : a,n arduous 
 duty, when we consider that the utmost negligence and inca 
 pacity marked almost all the proceedings of the war department. 
 The season was now far advanced, and the American posts were 
 spread along a very wide extent of frontier. To penetrate into 
 Canada was impracticable ; and, after calculating his means, Har 
 rison was forced to abandon the scheme of attacking Detroit. 
 Several actions were fought with the Indians, but no decisive 
 advantage was gained, except the destruction of the Indian 
 towns, and the waste of their corn-fields. 
 
 Some preparations, in the meantime, had been made for the 
 defence of other portions of the northern frontier. Bodies of mili 
 tia and regulars were stationed at Plattsburg, Sackett's Harbor, 
 Black Rock and Buffalo. The chief command in this quarter 
 was assigned to General Dearborn. On the 4th of August, Sir 
 George Prevost, the governor general of Canada, proposed to 
 General Dear!>orn a suspension of arms, grounded on the repeal 
 of the orders in council, which it was supposed might lead to 
 59* 
 
696 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 pacific measures. Dearborn agreed to an armistice on his own 
 frontier, to continue till the pleasure of the president should be 
 known. The president refused td sanction it, but during the 
 short time of its continuance, it enabled the British to detach 
 a large portion of their troops to Detroit, and the result was 
 the capture of Hull's army. Hostilities were immediately re 
 sumed all along the frontier. On the 21st of September, a small 
 party of Americans, under Captain Forsyth, made an incursion 
 into Canada, defeated a body of the enemy, captured a village, 
 and brought off a considerable quantity of military stores. To 
 retaliate for this, a body of four hundred British assembled oppo 
 site Ogdensburg, on the St. Lawrence, and cannonaded the town, 
 but they were driven off by the militia. 
 
 Upwards of three thousand of the New York militia, under Gen 
 eral Van Rensselaer, had been collected on the Niagara frontier. 
 Their head quarters were at Lewistown, eight miles below the 
 falls. On the llth of October they made an attack upon Q,ueens- 
 town, on the opposite bank of the river. A detachment of regulars 
 was sent from Black Rock to assist in the attack. The British 
 had received intelligence of the design some time previous, and 
 sent reinforcements to Queenstown from Fort George. As soon 
 as the Americans embarked to cross the river, a heavy fire was 
 opened upon them, and the current being very strong, the boats 
 were thrown into disorder. The first that gained the shore was 
 a body of one hundred men, under Colonel Van Rensselaer, who 
 stormed the fort and silenced the enemy's batteries. Reinforce 
 ments were soon received by both parties, and the conflict was 
 renewed with great severity. The British were repulsed, and 
 General Brock, in attempting to rally his troops, fell, mortally 
 wounded ; but being again joined by a reinforcement of several 
 hundred Indians, the British returned to the attack, in which they 
 were once more repulsed. General Yan Rensselaer now re-crossed 
 the river, to expedite the passage of the troops, but, to his great 
 mortification, the militia, at the critical moment, refused to pro 
 ceed, alleging that the general had no authority to lead them be 
 yond the territory of the United States. This cowardly behavior 
 lost the victory to the Americans. They, however, bravely stood 
 their ground at Queenstown, till, overpowered by numbers, they 
 were obliged to re-cross the Niagara, with the loss of above three 
 hundred prisoners and six hundred killed and wounded. The 
 British also suffered severely, but their exact loss is not known. 
 General Brock, a brave and able officer, was much lamented. 
 
 General Van Rensselaer resigned his command, and was suc 
 ceeded by General Smyth, of the regular army. He assented a 
 
AFFAIRS ON THE LAKES. 
 
 697 
 
 body of about four thousand men at Buffalo, and despatched 
 some small parties into Canada, who destroyed a few fortifica 
 tions. But his plans for a general invasion came to nothing. 
 
 Buffalo. 
 
 Thus closed the Niagara campaign of 1812, to the utter disap 
 pointment and mortification of the militia, who had been drawn 
 from their homes, in the severity of winter, by the hope of accom 
 plishing some brilliant achievement. The exasperation of the 
 soldiers, at what they conceived to be the cowardice of General 
 Smyth, was wrought up to so high a pitch, that acts of violence 
 occurred, and his life was endangered. The opinion of the pub 
 lic was not more favorable to him. In the meantime, some ma 
 noeuvres took place upon the Champlain frontier, but nothing of 
 importance was done. The disasters of Detroit and Q,ueenstown 
 had depressed the spirits of the people ; and the army of the north 
 went into winter quarters at Plattsburg. On the great lakes there 
 had been a small naval force on both sides. In November, Com 
 modore Chauncey sailed from Sackett's Harbor with seven small 
 schooners, mounting forty guns. The British had about double 
 this armament on the lake. Chauncey fell in with the Royal 
 George, of twenty-six guns, and chased her into Kingston, where 
 he was repulsed by the batteries. The Americans kept the com 
 mand of the lake, but the season was too late for further opera 
 tions. On Lake Erie, the Americans had but a single armed 
 vessel at the beginning of the war, which was surrendered at De 
 troit. On the 9th of October, Lieutenant Elliot, of the navy, crossed 
 over from Black Rock and cut out two British vessels from under 
 the guns of Fort Erie. One of them, an armed vessel ? was burnt, 
 
69S THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 and the other, with a valuable cargo of furs, was secured under 
 the batteries of Black Rock. 
 
 The disasters of the campaign were, however, compensated by 
 the unexpected successes which now began to shed a lustre 
 upon the American navy. Within one hour after the official 
 intelligence of the declaration of war reached New York, on the 
 21st. of June, Commodore Rodgers sailed from that place with his 
 squadron, consisting of the frigates President, United States and 
 Congress, the Hornet sloop, and Argus brig of war, in pursuit of 
 the British homeward bound Jamaica fleet. On the 24th, they 
 gave chase to the. British frigate Belvidera. The President out 
 sailed the rest of the squadron and soon came up with the enemy ; 
 but on opening her fire, a gun burst on board the President, which 
 killed and wounded sixteen persons', and shattered the main and 
 forecastle decks in such a manner that their guns could not be 
 used. The commodore himself was among the wounded. This 
 accident enabled the Belvidera to escape. The cruise was con 
 tinued, but the Jamaica fleet could not be found. Rodgers, after 
 scouring the seas in the neighborhood of the British Channel, the 
 Azores and Madeira, returned to Boston on the 31st of August, 
 having made prize of several merchant vessels. 
 
 The Essex, of thirty-two guns, Captain Porter, sailed from New 
 York on the 3d of July, captured a transport with two hundred 
 soldiers, and on the 13th of August, fell in with the Alert, a 
 British sloop of war. Notwithstanding the inferiority of force, 
 such was the confidence of the British naval commander in their 
 own prowess at this period, that the Alert ran immediately along 
 side the Essex, and engaged her with three cheers. In eight 
 minutes the Alert struck her colors, with seven feet water in her 
 hold. She was taken possession of, and brought safe into port. 
 On the 30th, towards dark, the Essex discovered an enemy's 
 frigate, and lay by during the night, with lights hoisted, but in the 
 morning the enemy was not to be seen. The Essex arrived ill 
 the Delaware on the 7th of September. 
 
 The naval action, however, first in importance, though not in 
 date, was that of the frigate Constitution, now so memorable in 
 the annals of the American navy. She sailed from Annapolis, 
 under the command of Captain Isaac Hull, on the 12th of July, 
 on a cruise to the north, and on the 17th fell in with an enemy's 
 squadron, consisting of a ship of the line, four frigates, a brig 
 and a schooner, which immediately gave her chase. At sunrise 
 the next morning it was found that the enemy were gaining upon 
 her. and preparations were made for. a battle. The wind died 
 away, and all the ships put out their boats and commenced tow- 
 

 CAPTURE OF THE FRIGATE GUERRIERE. 699 
 
 ing. The Constitution then practised another expedient; the 
 water being shallow, anchors were carried out ahead, and the 
 ship warped up to them. This was speedily imitated by the 
 British, who were now within gun-shot. In this manner the 
 chase continued till the morning of the 20th, when, a fresh breeze 
 springing up, the Constitution left her pursuers behind, and 
 arrived safely at Boston, having owed her preservation to the 
 superior skill and good conduct of her captain and crew. 
 
 The Constitution, thus fortunately saved to the American navy, 
 was now destined to lead the way to a series of exploits which 
 shed a renown upon the national character, and laid the founda 
 tion of the naval greatness of the republic. On the 2d of August, 
 she left Boston on a second cruise, and on the 19th of the same 
 month, a day forever memorable in American history, she fell in 
 with the British frigate Guerriere, Captain Dacres. The Consti 
 tution immediately bore down upon her. The Guerriere lay to, 
 and waited the approach of her antagonist, confident of the usual 
 success which had ever favored the British arms upon the ocean. 
 On nearing each other, both ships manoeuvred to gain an advan 
 tageous position, but the Constitution, by superior seamanship, had 
 the ultimate advantage. Broadside after broadside was fired by 
 the Guerriere, but Captain Hull, with that coolness and sagacity 
 which are the characteristics of the American sailor, paid no 
 attention to the shot of the enemy till he had laid his ship in the 
 right position, when he immediately opened so well-directed a fire, 
 that in thirty minutes the Guerriere was completely dismasted, 
 with not a spar standing above her deck, and surrendered by 
 firing a gun to leeward, having no flag to haul down. She had 
 fifteen killed and sixty-three wounded; the Constitution had 
 seven killed and seven wounded. 
 
 Never had a British ship experienced such effect from an 
 enemy's gunnery. The Constitution was so little damaged, that 
 she was fit for action immediately after ; but the Guerriere was 
 so cut to pieces, that she could not be carried into port ; she was 
 accordingly blown up the next day. The arrival of the Consti* 
 tution at Boston, on the 28th of August, produced a burst ol 
 exultation among the people, which would seem utterly extrava 
 gant when considered as caused merely by the capture of an 
 enemy's frigate. But at this period the invincibility of the 
 British upon the ocean, was a belief of so long standing, so firmly 
 fixed in the minds of most men, and had been so fully confirmed 
 by the uniform and brilliant successes of their navy, that the 
 achievement of Captain Hull acted at once like the dispelling of 
 a charm. The Guerriere was a ship of high reputation, and her 
 
 L4 
 
700 THE UNITED STATES 
 
 commander a man of preeminent courage. He had repeatedly 
 announced his strong desire to meet an American frigate, and 
 wrote an inscription of defiance on the sails of his ship. The 
 ease with which she had been captured by the Constitution, the 
 skill and intrepidity of the American sailors, the superiority of 
 their gunnery, and the unshaken confidence with which they had 
 gone into action with an enemy so formidable in reputation, all 
 contributed to swell the importance of the victory far beyond its 
 apparent magnitude. Captain Hull was received with the high 
 est honors at Boston. The wharves were crowded with immense 
 throngs of people as he landed. All parties united in welcoming 
 him with the most enthusiastic cheers ; for although there were 
 many who disapproved of the war, none were found insensible to 
 the enthusiasm excited by a deed of 'so much gallantry. Honors 
 awaited the victors in all parts of the country ; many legislatures 
 voted them thanks, and congress granted the crew of the Consti 
 tution fifty thousand dollars for the loss of their prize. 
 
 On the 8th of October, Commodore Rodgers, with the President, 
 United States, Congress and Argus, left Boston on a cruise. They 
 were separated by a gale of wind, and on the 15th the President 
 and Congress captured a British packet, with nearly two hundred 
 thousand dollars in specie. They returned to Boston on the 30th 
 of December. The Argus captured some valuable merchant 
 ships. A brilliant victory awaited the. frigate United States, 
 under the command of Captain Decatur. On the 25th of October, 
 near the Azores, she encountered the British frigate Macedonian, 
 Captain Carden, a new vessel of superior equipment. The Mace 
 donian, having the weather-gage, kept at long-shot, and this 
 prevented the United States from using the greater part of her 
 guns, which were carronades. But as soon as the United States 
 was able tc close with her enemy, the action began in earnest, 
 and the Macedonian soon had her mizen-mast shot away and her 
 othei vpars and rigging damaged. She struck, after an action of 
 an hour and a half from the first shot, with the loss of thirty-six 
 killed and sixty-eight wounded. The United States had four 
 killed and seven wounded. The United States arrived at New 
 York with her prize on the 4th of December. 
 
 Captain Decatur was greeted with honors similar to those 
 which had been bestowed upon Captain Hull. But naval suc 
 cesses now came thickening upon the Americans. The sloop of 
 war Wasp, Captain Jones, sailed from the Delaware, on the 13th 
 of October. On the 18th, at dawn, she descried six merchantmen, 
 convoyed by the British sloop of war Frolic j four of the mer 
 chantmen were armed. The Wasp bore down upon them and 
 
CAPTURE OF THE FROLIC AND PEACOCK. 701 
 
 engaged the Frolic within a few yards distance. After an action 
 of forty-three minutes, the Frolic was captured by boarding. 
 Both her masts were shot away, and she lay an unmanageable 
 wreck on the water, having lost thirty men killed and fifty 
 wounded. The loss of the Wasp was only four killed and four 
 wounded. This battle was fought against odds more unfavorable 
 to the Americans than any one that had preceded it. The Con 
 stitution and United States were somewhat superior in strength 
 to their antagonists, but the Wasp was inferior by four guns. 
 Both the Frolic and Wasp were so disabled that they were cap 
 tured by the Poictiers seventy-four, which had been in sight 
 during the action. 
 
 The Constitution again put to sea, from Boston, in October, 
 under the command of Captain Bainbridge. She was accompa 
 nied by the Hornet sloop of war, and both were bound on a 
 cruise to the Pacific Ocean. At St. Salvador, the Hornet was left 
 to blockade a British packet, and the Constitution proceeded on 
 her voyage alone. On the 29th of December, on the coast of 
 Brazil, she fell in with the British frigate Java, and engaged her, 
 first at long shot, and then in close action. At the end of two 
 hours, the Java surrendered, having suffered the severe loss of 
 sixty killed and above one hundred wounded. Captain Lambert, 
 her commander, was mortally wounded. The Java was uncom 
 monly well manned, having one hundred supernumerary seamen 
 on board, together with a British general and other land and 
 naval officers, bound to the East Indies. Of the Constitution's 
 crew, nine were killed and twenty-five wounded. The Java was 
 set on fire, and her prisoners were landed at St. Salvador on pa 
 role. The Constitution, having received considerable damage, 
 returned to Boston. 
 
 The Hornet, under Captain Lawrence, in the meantime, had 
 remained off St. Salvador, blockading the Bonne Citoyenne 
 packet, a vessel of superior force. But though a challenge was 
 sent to the British commander, he did not think fit, having treas 
 ure in his charge, to risk the chance of a battle. After blockading 
 her for eighteen days, the Hornet was chased off by a seventy- 
 four, which had been sent for to relieve the Bonne Citoyenne, 
 On the 24th of February, 1813, the Hornet fell in with and 
 engaged the British brig of war Peacock, off the river Demerara.* 
 After an action of fifteen minutes, the Peacock was so completely 
 cut to pieces that she was found to be sinking, and hoisted a 
 signal of distress. Endeavors were made by the crew of the 
 Hornet to save her by throwing overboard her guns and plugging 
 the shot holes, which had riddled her in every part. But she 
 
702 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 sunk so quickly that nine of her crew were drowned, with three 
 of the Hornet's men. The Peacock had lost her captain and four 
 men killed, with thirty-three wounded. The loss of the Hornet 
 was one killed and two wounded. No action has displayed the 
 superiority of the American gunnery more than this. During the 
 whole of the conflict, another British brig of war lay at anchor 
 within sight; and the Hornet was cleared for another action, 
 The brig, however, got under way and escaped. The Hornei 
 returned to New York. 
 
 Capture of the Peacock. 
 
 In addition to the above naval successes, the commerce of the 
 British had suffered severely from the American privateers during 
 the year 1812. In less than five months from the declaration of 
 war, the prizes brought into the ports of the United States were 
 computed at two hundred and fifty, and the number of prisoners 
 at three thousand. Very few of the American merchantmen had 
 fallen into the hands of the enemy, and the only public vessels 
 lost, were the schooner Nautilus, captured after a long chase by a 
 squadron of frigates, and the brig Vixen, captured by the South 
 ampton frigate. 
 
Stephen Decatur. 
 
 Oliver Hazard Perry. 
 
De Witt Clinton. 
 
 Daniel Booiu. 
 
CHAPTER LXIX. 
 
 Unsuccessful negotiations for peace. Increase of the navy. Massacre at the river 
 Raisin. Siege of Fort Meigs. Capture of York and Fort George. Disasters 
 ofStoney Creek and Beaver Dam. Attack on Sackett's Harbor. Defence of Fort 
 Stephenson by Major Croghan. Harrison's campaign in the north-west. Cap 
 ture of Maiden and Sandwich. Battle of the Thames. Death of Tecumseh. 
 Perry 1 s victory on lake Erie. Campaign of the northern army. Wilkinson's 
 expedition against Montreal. Miscarriage of Wilkinson and Hampton. Failure 
 of the campaign. Evacuation of Fort George. Burning of Newark and Buf 
 falo. Blockade of the Chesapeake and Delaware. Bombardment of Lewistown. 
 Devastations committed in the Chesapeake. Attack on Craney Island. Cap 
 ture of Hampton and Portsmouth. Loss of the Chesapeake and Argus. Cap 
 ture of the Boxer and Dominica. Blockade of the United States and Macedonian. 
 Embargo. War with the Indians of the south. Irruptions of the Creeks. 
 Massacre of Fort Mimms. Defeat of the Indians at Tallashatchee, Talladega 
 and Tallapoosa. Final defeat of the savages at Tallapoosa. Opening of the 
 northern campaign. Defeat of Wilkinson at Odletown. Attack of Oswego. 
 Capture of a British force at Sandy Creek. Invasion of the Niagara frontier 
 by the Americans. Capture of Fort Erie. Battles ofChippewa and Bridgewater. 
 Siege of Fort Erie, by the British. Sortie of the garrison. Retreat of the 
 British. Izard assumes the command. Evacuation of Canada, and end of the 
 campaign. Affairs of the north-west. M 'Arthur's expedition to the Thames. 
 
 CONGRESS, as soon as they convened, in November, 1812, author 
 ized the American minister at London to attempt a negotiation 
 for peace, by giving assurances that a law should be passed for 
 bidding the employment of British subjects in American ships, in 
 case the British would reciprocate the regulation ; thus removing 
 the ground of complaint between the two countries on the subject 
 of impressment The British government refused to listen to this 
 proposal, and avowed a determination not to abandon the right 
 of impressment, on which, it was asserted, the naval power of the 
 empire depended. A second proposal for an armistice was made 
 by Admiral Warren, under the sanction of his government, which 
 the American cabinet were willing to agree to, in case the British 
 would concede the point of impressment. This was refused. 
 Notwithstanding this, a law was passed by congress forbidding* 
 the employment of British seamen in American vessels, after the 
 close of the existing war. 
 
 The brilliant success of the Americans on the ocean had made 
 the naval service exceedingly popular ; and provision was made 
 60 
 
704 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 by congiess for the construction of four ships of the line, six 
 frigates and six sloops of war for the Atlantic navy, and as many 
 vessels on the lakes as the public service might require. A further 
 loan of sixteen millions, and an issue of five millions of treasury 
 notes were authorised. But, as no extraordinary means of reve 
 nue were provided, the loan was negotiated on very unfavorable 
 terms. Mr. Madison was this year reflected president, and El- 
 bridge Gerry was elected vice-president. 
 
 In the plan for the northern campaign of 1813, General Harrison 
 strongly urged upon the government to establish an efficient naval 
 force upon Lake Erie, without which he affirmed it to be impos 
 sible to prosecute the war against Canada with any prospect of 
 success. All preparations, however, for building and equipping a 
 fleet had been so utterly neglected, that no hope existed of obtain 
 ing the command of the lake in season to begin the campaign at 
 an early day. Harrison had nearly ten thousand militia and 
 regulars at his disposal, but the march to Detroit led nearly two 
 hundred miles through a swampy wilderness. He arrived at 
 Upper Sandusky early in January, 1813, where he assembled 
 about one thousand five hundred men, and despatched Winchester 
 to the rapids of the Miami. Having received information shortly 
 after, that the Indians threatened to burn Frenchtown, on the 
 river Raisin, he detached, on the 17th, Colonel Lewis, Avith a 
 force of six hundred and fifty men, to defend the place. On their 
 march, this detachment defeated a body of the enemy at French- 
 town, and were afterwards joined by Winchester's troops. 
 
 Winchester, who took the command at Frenchtown, received 
 information that a strong body of British and Indians was about 
 to march from Maiden ; yet he was so negligent of his duty that 
 no preparations were made to receive them ; and when the enemy 
 approached Frenchtown, on the night of the 21st of January, 
 there was not even a picket guard posted on the road. Immedi 
 ately after daylight, the place was attacked, and a considerable 
 body of the Americans completely routed. A part of the forces, 
 however, which had been stationed behind pickets, defended 
 themselves with resolution. But General Winchester and Colonel 
 Lewis being made prisoners, the British represented to them that 
 nothing but an immediate surrender could save the troops who 
 still held out, from being massacred by the Indians. The gene 
 ral, influenced by these representations, sent a flag of truce, 
 ordering the remainder of the troops to surrender. The enemy 
 being vastly superior in numbers, and the ammunition of the 
 Americans nearly expended, they surrendered, on condition of 
 being protected by a guard, and having their sick and wounded 
 
MASSACRE AT THE RIVER RAISIN. 705 
 
 sent the next day to Amherstburg. Colonel Procter, the British 
 commander, agreed to these terms ; but the catastrophe which fol 
 lowed is horrible to relate. The miserable captives were massa 
 cred by the savages with the most shocking barbarity. Officers 
 and soldiers were tomahawked in cold blood, or burnt alive in the 
 houses where they attempted to shelter themselves. The man 
 gled carcasses of these victims of savage atrocity were strewed 
 over the country. To the eternal disgrace of the British officers, 
 no attempt was made to prevent these inhuman deeds, or to arrest 
 them while the bloody work was going on. The massacre of the 
 river Raisin was never defended, nor is it capable of defence. 
 
 This dreadful disaster impeded for some time the operations 
 of the Americans. Harrison fortified his position at the rapids, 
 and named it Fort Meigs. On the 28th of April, a strong force of 
 British and Indians laid siege to the place. A heavy cannonade 
 was directed against it for several days, which the garrison could 
 not return with equal spirit, being short of ammunition. A body 
 of one thousand two hundred Kentuckians advanced for its relief, 
 and a detachment of them captured the batteries of the besiegers 
 on the left bank of the river. The commander of this detach 
 ment, however, had so little military skill, that he made no use 
 of his victory, but allowed the enemy to rally and defeat him. 
 The garrison then made a sortie, drove the enemy from their 
 batteries, spiked the cannon, and took forty prisoners. Some 
 days of inaction followed, and the British commander, finding 
 his Indian auxiliaries leaving him, raised the siege, and decamped 
 on the 9th of May. The besieging force amounted to about two 
 thousand ; the Americans to one thousand two hundred, mostly 
 militia. 
 
 On the Ontario frontier a partisan warfare was begun by the 
 capture of Elizabethtown, on the St. Lawrence, by the Americans; 
 which the British soon retaliated by taking Ogdensbnrg. A 
 strong American force, under General Dearborn, was concentrated 
 at Sackett's Harbor in April; and as soon as the lake was clear of 
 ice, Dearborn, with a body of one thousand seven hundred men, 
 embarked in the squadron of Commodore Chauncey for an expe 
 dition against York, the capital of Upper Canada. On the 27th 
 of April, they arrived at York, and landed immediately in front 
 of the fortifications. The British had collected a body of one thou 
 sand eight hundred regulars, militia and Indians to oppose their 
 landing. A smart action ensued between them and Major For- 
 syth's rifle corps, who were the first that set foot on shore ; but the 
 British were held in check till the whole American army had 
 been drawn up in order upon the beach, under the direction of 
 
706 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 General Pike, who then led his troops onward in the face of a 
 heavy fire from the fortifications. He drove the enemy before 
 him, stormed and carried their advanced batteries, and was push 
 ing forward to the main works, when a tremendous explosion 
 took place from the enemy's magazine, which hurled upon the 
 troops immense masses of stone and timber. Great havoc was 
 made in the American ranks by this discharge, and General Pike 
 
 Death of General Pike. 
 
 was mortally wounded. Colonel Pearce now took the command, 
 and the enemy's regulars having retreated, the town was surren 
 dered by capitulation with the militia. All the land and naval 
 forces were made prisoners of war, and the public stores given up. 
 A large ship of war on the stocks was burnt. Private property 
 was spared. The prisoners amounted to about three hundred. 
 The killed and wounded of the enemy exceeded four hundred. 
 The American loss was three hundred and twenty killed and 
 wounded, the greater part by the explosion of the magazine. It 
 is not known whether this was caused by accident or design. 
 The loss of General Pike, a gallant and intelligent officer, was 
 deeply regretted. He survived but a few hours. The Ameri 
 cans set fire to the Parliament house, an act which was most 
 severely retorted upon them in the sequel. They had, however, 
 some provocation for a deed otherwise unjustifiable. Over the 
 chair of the speaker of the Canadian legislature, was found sus 
 pended a human scalp. This savage trophy and stimulant to 
 
707 
 
 barbarities will go far to excuse what was done by the friends of 
 those who suffered at the river Raisin. 
 
 From York, the expedition proceeded, on the 5th of May 
 against Fort George, at the outlet of the river Niagara. Having 
 received reinforcements, which increased their force to four thou 
 sand men, they landed on the 27th of May, and captured the fort, 
 before the enemy had time to set fire to the magazine. They 
 were pursued several miles into the country by the American 
 light troops, and sustained a loss, in defending the fort, of three 
 hundred killed and wounded. Of the Americans, eight were 
 killed, and one hundred and sixty wounded. The British retired 
 to Beaver Dam, where they were joined by reinforcements from 
 Forts Erie and Chippewa. General Chandler was despatched 
 from Fort George, on the 1st of June, to cut off their retreat. 
 On the 5th, he encamped on Stony Creek, near the enemy ; and 
 at two o'clock the next morning, he was suddenly attacked. 
 Generals Chandler and Winder were made prisoners. The 
 Americans lost four pieces of cannon, and withdrew from the 
 spot on the following day. A British squadron, under Sir James 
 Yeo, appeared on the lake opposite their encampment on the 8th, 
 and they were compelled to retreat to Fort George, with the loss 
 of a part of their baggage. A further disaster took place at 
 Beaver Dam, by the capture of a party of five hundred men, who 
 had been sent thither to disperse a body of Indians. Colonel 
 Boarstler, who commanded the detachment, shamefully surren 
 dered his troops to an inferior force of the enemy. Dearborn 
 shortly after withdrew from the command of the northern army, 
 and General Boyd took the command at Fort George. The 
 British collected in great force in the neighborhood, but made no 
 regular attack. On the llth of July, the post at Black Rock 
 was surprised and taken by the British, and the buildings set on 
 fire. The Americans made another expedition to York, on the 
 28th, and destroyed a quantity of public stores which had been 
 again collected at that place. 
 
 While the American forces were absent from Sackett's Harbor, 
 an attack was made by the enemy upon that place. On the 27th 
 of May, a hostile squadron appeared in sight, and the mililia 
 were called to arms. The whole force mustered was about one 
 thousand men. On the morning of the 29th, Sir George Prevost> 
 with one thousand picked men, landed at the mouth of the har 
 bor, in front of a battery defended by a body of militia, who, after 
 one fire, were seized with a panic, and fled. The enemy then 
 advanced toward the town. Other bodies of militia and regulars 
 made a vigorous defence, but were compelled to give ground, 
 60* M4 
 
708 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The British pressed on, but the retreating troops threw themselves 
 into th6 houses, and poured in so destructive a fire upon the ad 
 vancing columns, that the British soon began to falter. General 
 Brown, who commanded the militia, perceiving this, practised a 
 stratagem, by leading a file of men toward the enemy's rear, 
 
 Socket? s Harbor. . 
 
 through a wood, but in such a manner as to be seen. This took 
 immediate effect. The British, fearful of being surrounded, re 
 treated instantly to their boats, and reembarked with such precip 
 itation, as to leave their wounded and some prisoners behind. 
 A part of the American barracks and stores were set on fire, in 
 consequence of a false report that the British had obtained the 
 victory. 
 
 Commodore Chauncey 's squadron, consisting of the frigate Gen 
 eral Pike and some smaller vessels, encountered the British fleet, 
 under Sir James Yeo, on the 7th of August. Chauncey, by skil 
 ful manoeuvreing, obtained the weather-gage of the enemy, who, 
 therefore, bore away. The Americans pursued, but during the 
 night, two of their vessels foundered in a heavy blow. Chauncey 
 put into Niagara, and on a second cruise again met the snemy, 
 who captured two of his small vessels, but no general action took 
 place. 
 
 In the meantime, the British were still active on the northwest 
 ern frontier. Fort Meigs was again threatened by a large body of 
 British and Indians, in July ; but, toward the end of the month, 
 they raised the siege and proceeded to Fort Stephenson, on the 
 
ATTACK ON FORT STEPHENSON. 709 
 
 Sandusky, in hopes of surprising that place, which was slenderly 
 fortified, and garrisoned by only one hundred and sixty men. 
 General Harrison, suspecting the design of the enemy, despatched 
 an express to Major Croghan, who commanded at the fort, order 
 ing him to set fire to it and retreat to head-quarters ; hut before the 
 express could arrive, the Indians had surrounded the place. On 
 the 1st of August, a flotilla of gun-boats appeared in sight, having 
 on board five hundred British troops, under General Procter. 
 The Indians amounted to eight hundred. The British landed, 
 and summoned the fort to surrender. Major Croghan answered 
 by a most determined refusal. A smart cannonade was then 
 opened from the gun-boats, which continued during the day and 
 following night. All the artillery of the garrison was one six- 
 pounder, but this was served with so much adroitness and effect, 
 that, perhaps, no single piece of ordnance was ever more success 
 ful in war. It was fired and shifted from place to place, by which 
 the enemy were led to believe that there were several pieces 
 within the fort. The shot of the enemy being directed chiefly 
 against the northwestern angle of the fort, Major Croghan 
 rightly conjectured that they designed to storm the works at that 
 point. The gun was accordingly placed in a masked position, so 
 as to rake the whole of the ditch on that side. The British, hav 
 ing kept up a heavy fire all the next day, moved on to the assault 
 under cover of the smoke and darkness. Feints were made in 
 other quarters, to draw off the attention of the garrison from the 
 
 Major Croghan's defence at Lower Sandusky. 
 
 real point of attack ; but the Americans did not fall into the snare. . 
 A column of three hundred and fifty men, led on by Procter, 
 immediately advanced to the attack, and leaped into the ditch. 
 
710 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The cannon was instantly unmasked, and a single discharge pro 
 duced such a slaughter among the assailants, that they retreated 
 immediately in great disorder. A column of the enemy, which 
 made an attack in another quarter, were also received by so well- 
 directed a fire of musketry, that they broke their ranks and fled 
 into the woods. The whole body decamped precipitately at three 
 in the morning, leaving many valuable articles behind them. 
 Their loss in killed, wounded and prisoners, amounted to one 
 hundred and fifty. Major Croghan, who made this gallant de 
 fence, was one of the youngest officers in the army. He received 
 the thanks of congress, and the commission of lieutenant-colonel 
 for his bravery. 
 
 The regular army, under Harrison, did not exceed two thousand 
 men. Having received authority from the war department to call 
 out the militia, he made a requisition upon Governor Shelby, of 
 Kentucky, for a reinforcement. Shelby raised thirty-five hundred 
 men, put himself at their head, and marched to Upper Sandusky 
 early in September. Harrison, now having a respectable force at 
 his command, determined upon the invasion of the enemy's terri 
 tory. Most of the troops were embarked at Lower Sandusky, 
 from whence they crossed Lake Erie, and on the 27th of Septem 
 ber landed at Maiden. The town immediately fell into their 
 hands. Procter, who commanded at that post, retreated toward the 
 Thames. His force consisted of seventeen hundred regulars and 
 Indians, besides the militia. Harrison pushed forward, and took 
 Sandwich on the 29th. Here he was joined by a regiment of 
 mounted Kentuckians, under Colonel Johnson. The army con 
 tinued in pursuit of the enemy, and on the 4th of October, a 
 skirmish began with a body of Indians at the fork of the Thames. 
 The Indians were defeated and a large quantity of arms and 
 public stores captured. 
 
 On the 5th of October, Procter drew up his whole army in order 
 of battle, across a narrow isthmus, between the Thames and .a 
 swamp. The situation was well chosen, and covered with a 
 wood of beeches. The British regulars were posted with their 
 left on the river, supported by the artillery. The Indians, under 
 Tecumseh, took their station in the thickest part of the wood, 
 with the swamp on their right. Harrison placed his mounted 
 men opposite the Indians, and drew up his infantry in three lines 
 facing the British. The action commenced, but the strong posi 
 tion of the Indians rendered it impossible for the cavalry to turn 
 their flank, as they designed. Harrison, therefore, changed his 
 plan of attack, and ordered the cavalry to charge the British line 
 m front, with the hope of breaking their ranks. They accord- 
 
BATTLE OF MORAVIAN TOWN. 711 
 
 ingly drew up in four columns of double files, and charged the 
 front of the enemy. A heavy fire from the British infantry 
 checked their advance in the first onset, but they speedily re 
 covered themselves, and dashed upon the enemy's line with such 
 impetuosity that they were instantly broken. The cavalry then 
 wheeled into their rear, and poured in upon them so destructive a 
 fire that the battle was decided in a few minutes. Eight hun 
 dred British regulars laid down their arms and surrendered. 
 
 The Indians on the left, made a more obstinate resistance. 
 Johnson's cavalry were repulsed by a most destructive fire. He 
 then dismounted his men, and formed them on foot. The con 
 test was renewed with great resolution, and Governor Shelby, 
 with his infantry, joining in the attack, the Indians at length 
 gave way and dispersed. The victory was complete. Procter 
 made his escape with a squadron of dragoons ; all the remainder 
 of his forces were either captured or dispersed. The battle was 
 so quickly decided, that but few were killed on either side. The 
 Americans had twenty-nine killed and wounded, and the British 
 thirty-four. The loss of the Indians was more severe, though the 
 precise number is not known. Tecumseh, their bold and daring 
 
 Death of Tecumseh. 
 
 leader, fell, bravely fighting in the thickest of the battle. This 
 decisive stroke at once cut off the communication between the 
 hostile savage tribes and the British posts, and broke up their 
 confederacy against the United States, They did not recover 
 
712 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 from this defeat during the remainder of the war. Harrison, hav 
 ing thus annihilated the British army by this brilliant victory, 
 returned to Detroit on the 7th of October. 
 
 "While these events were in progress, the Americans were prose 
 cuting the war upon Lake Erie with equal success. Early in the 
 spring of 1813, measures were taken to construct a navy. Two 
 brigs and several schooners were soon upon the stocks at the port 
 of Erie, and they were launched on the 2d of August. Commo 
 dore Perry took command of this squadron, and sailed for Maiden, 
 in search of the British fleet ; but finding the enemy's force supe 
 rior to his own, .he returned to Put-in Bay. On the morning of 
 the 10th of September, the enemy's squadron was discovered 
 standing out of the harbor of Maiden. Perry immediately put 
 his squadron under way, and got clear of the islands at the head 
 of the lake before they approached. The American fleet consisted 
 of the Lawrence and Niagara, of twenty guns each, the Caledonia 
 of three, the Ariel of four, the Somers of two, and three gun-boats 
 of one each. The British force comprised the Detroit of twenty- 
 one, the Queen Charlotte of eighteen, the Lady Prevost of 
 
 Perry's Victory on Lake Erie. 
 
 thirteen, the Hunter of ten, the Little Belt of three, and one 
 gun-boat. A sudden change of wind gave the Americans the 
 weather- gage. Perry formed his line of battle, and the engage 
 ment began at noon. The commodore's brig, the Lawrence, being 
 in the hottest of the action, suffered severely, and the wind dying 
 
PERRY'S VICTORY. 713 
 
 away, she was exposed to almost the whole fire of the 
 without any support from the others. At the end of two hours, 
 all her guns were dismounted, and nearly the whole of her crew 
 killed or wounded. The commodore, still undismayed, put off in 
 his hoat, through a heavy fire of musketry from the enemy, to 
 bring up the Niagara, which, by the help of a sudden breeze, he 
 was enabled to do. Meantime, the Lawrence had struck her 
 colors, but the enemy were unable to take possession of her, and 
 the remainder of the American squadron being brought into 
 action, she hoisted her flag again ; the battle was renewed, and 
 the whole British fleet surrendered. Twenty-seven men were 
 killed and ninety-six wounded on the part of the Americans, and 
 forty-one killed and ninety-four wounded on that of the British. 
 No action hitherto fought, had showed greater bravery on both 
 sides than this. Captain Barclay, the British commander, was an 
 officer of great courage and experience, and had lost an arm in 
 the battle of Trafalgar. 
 
 Tin's was the first instance in which the Americans had obtained 
 a victory over an enemy's fleet ; and so brilliant a triumph is still 
 more remarkable for having been obtained by a young and inex 
 perienced officer, entirely without practical knowledge of naval 
 tactics, over one of Nelson's veteran commanders. It tended to 
 exalt still more highly that confidence and pride in their navy, 
 with which the Americans had been inspired by their Atlantic 
 victories. 
 
 On the Ontario frontier, General Wilkinson had been appointed 
 to the chief command. A scheme had been concerted to invade 
 Canada, in the direction of Montreal, by concentrating the army 
 at Sackett's Harbor, and conveying them in boats down the St. 
 Lawrence. Towards the end of October, seven thousand troops 
 were collected at that place, and four thousand more from Platts- 
 burg, under General Hampton, were expected to join them on their 
 route down the river. On the 5th of November, the flotilla, with 
 the troops on board, proceeded down the St. Lawrence. The 
 voyage was found more difficult than had been anticipated. 
 Bodies of the enemy were stationed at all the narrow passes, and 
 a force of fifteen hundred of the enemy, with an armed squadron, 
 hung perpetually on their rear. At a long and dangerous rapid 
 on the river, a severe action took place on the llth, both by land 
 and water. Neither party gained any decisive advantage, but 
 the Americans repulsed the enemy, passed the rapids safely the 
 following day, and arrived near St. Regis, where General Hamp 
 ton, according to the plan of the campaign, was to have joined 
 them with the Plattsburg army. But here the whole enterprise 
 61 N4 
 
714 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 was brought to a stand by the information that Hampton could 
 not proceed. A council of war decided that the invasion must 
 be given over, and the army went into winter quarters at French 
 Mills, near St. Regis. 
 
 Great was the mortification felt throughout the country at 
 such a termination of the campaign. The united force of Wil 
 kinson and Hampton was supposed to amount to ten thousand 
 men ; a force sufficient, under able direction, to have accomplished 
 the most important results. Wilkinson, however, showed no 
 capacity, and the whole undertaking was badly planned and out 
 of season. The hazards of the voyage, down a river full of 
 straits and intricate passages, and lined with hostile batteries, had 
 not been calculated ; and the oversight of leaving behind them an 
 enemy's fleet and an army of four- thousand strong at Kingston, 
 exhibited little military science in those who planned the expedi 
 tion. The junction of Hampton's forces could not be relied upon, 
 as they were short of supplies and had impassable roads to 
 traverse, a circumstance which appears to have been unknown or 
 not duly estimated by the commander-in-chief. 
 
 Hampton, in the meantime, had crossed the Canada line, on the 
 21st of October ; but his movements were slow. The enemy had 
 felled trees across the roads, and broken down the bridges. On 
 the banks of the Chatauque, he found a strong body of British 
 and Indians entrenched behind a breastwork, which he attacked, 
 but was unable to force. The general was ignorant of the coun 
 try and had no efficient command over his troops, who evinced 
 a great degree of insubordination. No information had been 
 received of the movements of the expedition on the St. Lawrence, 
 and the army fell back within the American lines, on the 27th of 
 October. It is difficult to say which of the two displayed the 
 most wretched generalship, Wilkinson or Hampton. The latter 
 officer shortly afterward resigned his command to General Izard. 
 
 Fort George was still held by a body of New York militia, 
 under General M'Clure. The militia returned home at the expi 
 ration of their time of service, and on the 10th of December, there 
 were only one hundred men left for its defence. The fort was 
 therefore abandoned and destroyed. M'Clure thought it necessary. 
 on this occasion, to burn the neighboring village of Newark, a 
 useless act of inhumanity, for which he was severely censured 
 not only by the people of the United States, but also by the gov 
 ernment. The frontier in this quarter being thus weakened, the 
 enemy, on the 19th, crossed the river and surprised Fort Niagara, 
 massacring the whole garrison of three hundred men. most of 
 whom were invalids. After burning Lewiston, Manchester and 
 
BLOCKADE OP THE AMERICAN COAST. 715 
 
 some other settlements, they returned to Canada. On the 30th 
 of December, another party attacked Buffalo. The militia turned 
 out, but fled without firing a shot, on the charge of the enemy. 
 The village was taken, and reduced to ashes. On Lake Ontario, 
 
 Burning of Buffalo. 
 
 both parties had augmented their naval force, but the season 
 passed in manoeuvring without battles. The only captures made 
 from the British were five transports with three hundred troops 
 on board. 
 
 The successes of the American navy on the Atlantic had 
 already won for it a brilliant reputation during the first year of 
 the war, yet they could be of little effect in defence of the exten 
 sive maritime frontier of the United States, against the over 
 whelming strength of the British navy. By formal orders of the 
 British government, the coast of the United States, from Rhode 
 Island to Virginia, was declared in a state of blockade. On the 
 4th of February, Admiral Cockburn arrived in the Chesapeake, 
 with two ships of the line, three frigates, a brig and a schooner. 
 A small squadron at the same time blockaded the Delaware. 
 Coasters were burnt, and a petty warfare was carried on against 
 the villages bordering on the sea. On the 16th of March, the 
 squadron demanded .a supply of provisions from the inhabitants of 
 Lowistown, a village near the mouth of the Delaware, which 
 being refused, the ships cannonaded the place, and attempted to 
 land and set it on fire, but the inhabitants beat them off with a 
 single eighteen pound cannon. In the Chesapeake, the British 
 destroyed Frenchtown. Havre de Grace, Fredericktown and 
 Georgetown; and being reinforced by the arrival of another 
 squadron, under Admiral Warren, with a number of troops on 
 
716 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 board, an attack was projected upon Norfolk. On the 20th of 
 June, thirteen large ships appeared in the mouth of James's river, 
 and on the 22d, an assault was made on Craney Island, at the 
 entrance of Norfolk harbor. The barges from the ships attacked 
 a breastwork towards the sea, defended by an eighteen pounder 
 and one hundred and fifty men; while a large body of troops 
 landed on the continent, and attempted to cross the narrow chan 
 nel which separates it from the island. The attack of the barges 
 was received with so skilful a fire from the eighteen pounder 
 that many of them were sunk, and the remainder took to flight. 
 The land troops, in attempting to cross the strait, were encountered 
 by a body of four hundred Americans, with four pieces of cannon, 
 who repulsed them with great slaughter. The British lost about 
 two hundred men, killed, wounded 'and missing. 
 
 On the 25th of June, they made an attack on the little town of 
 Hampton, eighteen miles from Norfolk. The place contained 
 nothing to attract the notice of the enemy; but the expedition 
 appears to have been projected by the British admiral in a fit of 
 irritation at his repulse from Norfolk. The town was bombarded 
 by the barges and tenders, but they were repelled by the American 
 batteries. A party of two thousand men were then landed, who 
 succeeded in capturing the town, after the loss of about fifty men. 
 The place was pillaged, and the defenceless inhabitants treated 
 with a degree of revolting barbarity, that stamps infamy on the 
 names of Cockburn and Beckwith, who commanded this gang of 
 brutal ravishers. Neither age nor sex were spared, and the deeds 
 of that day were felt by the enemy to be of so disgraceful a char 
 acter, that Beckwith, the British general, gave a formal assurance 
 to the Americans that his troops should not be landed again. 
 The remainder of the exploits of the blockading squadron, this 
 season, consisted in the pillage of the small town of Portsmouth, 
 in North Carolina, which was captured in July, by a force of 
 three thousand men, under Admiral Cockburn. 
 
 In the summer of 1813, the Americans experienced the first 
 disaster that fell upon their navy, hitherto so triumphant. The 
 frigate Chesapeake, that doomed ship, whose history had ever 
 been connected with misfortune, lay at Boston, ready for a cruise. 
 The Shannon, a British frigate, was in the bay, and challenged 
 the Chesapeake to a combat. On the 1st of June, the Chesapeake 
 put to sea and engaged the Shannon off Boston light. After a 
 short action, the ships fell foul of each other, in a manner very 
 advantageous to the Shannon, who swept the decks of the Ches 
 apeake almost clear of men, by a raking fire. Nearly all the 
 American officers were wounded, and the commander, Captain 
 
CAPTURE OF THE BOXER AND DOMINICA. 717 
 
 Lawrence, mortally. The Chesapeake was then captured by 
 boarding, but not till after a most bloody conflict. Seventy-eight 
 of her men were killed, and ninety-seven wounded. Of the crew 
 of the Shannon, twenty-four were killed and fifty-six wounded. 
 The Chesapeake was carried into Halifax. No capture of a 
 single ship ever caused so much exultation to the British as this. 
 Captain Broke, the commander of the Shannon, received the 
 honor of knighthood for his exploit, a thing without parallel in 
 British history. The performance was indeed a brave one. The 
 ships were of equal nominal force, yet the crew of the Chesa 
 peake were mostly raw recruits, without proper discipline or sub 
 ordination. The necessity of fighting immediately on putting to 
 sea, placed them at a great disadvantage. 
 
 Another calamity soon after befel the American navy, in the loss 
 of the brig of war Argus. On the 14th of August, while cruising 
 in the English channel, she fell in with the British brig Pelican, 
 which had been fitted out for the express purpose of engaging her. 
 After an action of an hour and a half, the Argus was captured. 
 Lieutenant Allen, her commander, was killed. The confidence 
 of the British in their navy began to revive, but during the re 
 mainder of the war they were not able to capture any American 
 ship without a vast superiority of force, and their naval triumphs 
 began and ended with these two victories. Success, as usual, soon 
 appeared on the other side. On the 4th of September, the United 
 States brig Enterprise, Captain Burrows, fell in with the British 
 brig Boxer, Captain Blythe, of the same force ; after an action of 
 forty minutes, during which the British colors had been nailed to 
 the mast, the Boxer surrendered by ceasing her fire. The loss of 
 the Enterprise was one killed and thirteen wounded. The Boxer 
 had fourteen wounded ; the number of her killed is not known. 
 Both captains fell in the action and were laid in the same grave 
 at Portland, in Maine, near which place the battle was fought. 
 
 An action between two schooners deserves particular notice, for 
 the desperation and gallantry with which the Americans achieved 
 a victory over a vastly superior force. On the 15th oi August, 
 the privateer Decatur, of seven guns, fell in with the British gov 
 ernment schooner Dominica, of fifteen guns, and engaged her for 
 two hours. The Decatur then ran into and boarded her enemy. 
 After a desperate conflict, hand to hand, the Dominica was taken. 
 The Decatur was the better manned of the two, but the great 
 inequality of force in other respects, renders this one of the most 
 brilliant naval achievements upon record. 
 
 During all this season the ships of war United States, Macedo 
 nian and Hornet, were blockaded by a strong squadron of British 
 61* 
 
/18 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 in the port of New London, to which they had escaped while 
 attempting to put to sea from New York. The blockade was 
 kept up during the war, and the two frigates were forced to 
 remain idle. The Hornet eluded the vigilance of the enemy some 
 time after, and was enabled to add another to the numerous tri 
 umphs of the American navy. 
 
 Congress held a summer session this year, commencing on ths 
 24th of May. To make up for the deficiency in the revenues, 
 laws imposing a direct tax and an excise were passed. These 
 measures, from their great unpopularity, were much less produc 
 tive of income than had been expected. A loan of seven millions 
 and a half, for the succeeding year, was authorized. At the regu 
 lar session the ensuing winter, an^ embargo was laid upon all 
 shipping, except armed vessels and foreigners in ballast; the 
 restriction was even extended to the coasting trade. This very 
 severe measure was adopted to defeat the practice of supplying 
 the enemy with provisions, which had been done in the boldest 
 manner by many persons with whom avarice was stronger than 
 patriotism. This restriction, however, did not continue long. 
 The continent of Europe was thrown open to British commerce 
 by the overthrow of Napoleon, affording them other sources of 
 supply, and in April, 1814, the embargo was repealed, as no longer 
 necessary. 
 
 In the meantime, war was carried on -with the savages of the 
 south. As early as September, 1812, hostilities against the 
 United States had been begun by the Creeks. In the summer of 
 the following year, General Jackson, with two thousand five hun 
 dred Tennessee militia, made an incursion into the territory of the 
 Choctaws and Chickasaws, which discouraged them for a time, 
 and the militia returned home. But, on the 30th of August, the 
 Indians suddenly fell upon fort Minims, on the Alabama, and 
 massacred nearly three hundred men, women and children ; aftei 
 which they laid waste all the settlements in the neighborhood. 
 The Tennessee militia were again raised, and Jackson marched 
 against the enemy. At Tallashatchee, General Coffee, with a de 
 tachment of nine hundred men, fought a desperate battle with the 
 Indians, of whom about two hundred were killed, being nearly 
 every warrior of their whole body. On the 9th of December, 
 Jackson, with his whole force of two thousand men, attacked and 
 routed the savages at Talladega. More than three hundred of 
 them were killed, but the greater part made their escape. The 
 Indians also sustained defeats in other quarters, but subsequently 
 rallied, and collected a large force on the Tallapoosa. Here they 
 were attacked by Jackson on the 23d of January, 1814, and de- 
 
719 
 
 feated with a heavy loss. Two days after this, while crossing 
 the river, he was attacked in his turn by the enemy, but without 
 success. He reached Fort Strother on the 27th of January, where 
 he was detained some time by the want of supplies. 
 
 On the 14th of March, Jackson set out on another expedition. 
 The Indians had fortified a very strong position on the Talla- 
 poosa, which had never yet been attacked. It was almost entirely 
 surrounded by the river, and accessible only by a narrow neck of 
 land, which was defended by a thick breastwork of timber with a 
 double row of portholes. Jackson's force amounted to nearly 
 three thousand men ; the number of the Indians is not known. 
 On the 27th of March, an attack was made by storming the 
 breast-work, while another party were drawn up on the opposite 
 side of the river, to cut oft' the retreat of the Indians. Major 
 Montgomery, of the regulars, was killed, while scaling the ram 
 parts ; and the savages fought with the utmost desperation. The 
 attack of the Americans, however, was so impetuous, that the 
 Indians were driven from the walls, and attempted to retreat 
 across the river. Here they were intercepted, and Jackson 
 despatched a flag of truce, with an interpreter, summoning them 
 to surrender. The flag was fired upon, and the battle re-com 
 menced. The Americans set fire to the thickets in which the 
 savages had sheltered themselves, and the slaughter continued till 
 dark, when the survivors made their escape. Five hundred and 
 fifty-seven of their warriors were found dead on the field of battle, 
 and great numbers were drowned in the river. The courage and 
 resolution with which the Indians had maintained this conflict 
 against a vastly superior force, never were surpassed. The 
 Americans lost fifty-five killed, and had one hundred and forty- 
 six wounded. This victory completely overthrew the strength 
 and the hopes of the Creeks. Peace was immediately made, and 
 the country became tranquil. 
 
 On the opening of the campaign of 1814 in the north, General 
 Wilkinson left his quarters at French Mills and retired to Platts- 
 burg. On the 20th of March he attacked a post of the enemy at 
 Odletown, near the Canada line, but his operations wero so un 
 skilful that he was repulsed with a loss of one hundred killed 
 and wounded. Wilkinson's incapacity became now so evident, 
 that he was removed from the command of the army, and his 
 place supplied by General Izard. On the 25th of May, the enemy 
 attacked Oswego, on Lake Ontario. The fort was in a ruinous 
 condition, with but five guns and a garrison of three hundred 
 men. The British, one thousand five hundred strong, under 
 Lieutenant General Drummond, attempted to land in their boats, 
 
720 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 under cover of the fire of the squadron, but were repulsed by the 
 Americans. The next day the assailants took a more favorable 
 position, and succeeded in landing. The garrison abandoned the 
 fortification, and conveyed all the naval stores in the village to a 
 place of safety. The British destroyed the ordnance of the fort 
 and some other trifling articles, which cost them about one hun 
 dred men killed and wounded. 
 
 On the 29th of May, a fleet of boats, laden with naval stores, on 
 their passage from Oswego to Sackett's Harbor, was chased into 
 Sandy Creek by the British gunboats, which ran up the creek and 
 landed a body of two hundred men. The American party, con 
 sisting of about two hundred and fifty riflemen and Indians, 
 placed themselves in ambush on the banks, and on the approach 
 of the British suddenly rose and poured in upon them so destruc 
 tive a fire that the whole body surrendered. Two post captains 
 and six lieutenants were among the number. Three gunboats 
 and several smaller craft were also captured ; the Americans lost 
 not a single man. 
 
 On the Niagara frontier nothing was done till near midsummer. 
 On the 2d of July, a body of between three and four thousand 
 
 Battle of Chippewa. 
 
 men, under Generals Brown, Scott, and Ripley, crossed from 
 Black Rock to Fort Erie and captured that place, which was 
 defended by only a small garrison. The British, about three 
 thousand in number, under General Riall, were posted in a strong 
 
BATTLES OF CHIPPEWA AND BRIDGEWATER. 721 
 
 position at Chippewa. General Brown, the American Com 
 mander-in-chief, advanced to meet the enemy, and on the 5th of 
 July, the armies came to a general engagement on the plains of 
 Chippewa. The conflict began with skirmishes, which continued 
 from morning to the middle of the afternoon, when the British 
 commander moved his whole force out of his lines, and a sharp 
 action ensued. A brigade of volunteers on the American left 
 gave way before the force of the British regulars, and exposed the 
 flank of Scott's brigade. Ripley's troops were then brought up, 
 and a battalion under Major Jessup made so resolute a stand, 
 that the British right was driven back. Scott's brigade pushed 
 on, and the enemy, finding themselves repulsed at every point, 
 retreated slowly till near Chippewa, when they took to flight, in 
 great hurry and disorder. The batteries of Chippewa checked 
 the further advance of the Americans, and the flying enemy ral 
 lied under their guns. Night put an end to the battle. The 
 loss of the Americans in killed, wounded, and missing, was three 
 hundred and twenty-eight ; that of the British was four hundred 
 and fifty-three, besides forty-six prisoners. The American troops 
 were mostly raw recruits ; the British, on the contrary, were ex 
 perienced veterans, which the pacification of Europe had enabled 
 their government to send to America from their conquering 
 armies in Spain and Portugal. 
 
 General Riall abandoned Chippewa, and retreated to Fort 
 George. Brown advanced upon him, and several manoeuvres on 
 the part of both armies ensued. The battle of Bridgewater was 
 fought on the 25th of July. The British were posted on a height 
 defended by a strong battery of nine pieces of artillery. Late in 
 the afternoon, General Scott, who had been detached to observe 
 the movements of the army, discovered them in this position, and 
 began an attack, which continued for above an hour, when a 
 party, under Major Jessup, gained the British rear, captured their 
 general with many other officers, and threw their line into confu 
 sion. The enemy's batteries, however, kept up their fire; their 
 numbers were still vastly superior to the Americans, and night 
 had come on. The ranks of General Scott were rapidly wasting 
 away under the enemy's fire, when Ripley's brigade arrived to 
 his relief. That officer immediately determined to stonn the 
 enemy's artillery on the height. For this purpose he detached 
 Colonel Miller, with the twenty-first regiment, to assault the bat 
 tery, while he made a simultaneous attack upon the British in 
 fantry on the left. Miller's troops rushed to. the assault at the 
 point of the bayonet, and the cannon were taken in a few minutes. 
 Ripley at the same moment drove the enemy from the top of the 
 
 o4 
 
722 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 hill. The British, having received reinforcements, rallied, and 
 came again to the charge, and were again driven down the hill by 
 the American bayonets. Again they rallied, charged, and were 
 put to flight again. With the most obstinate resolution they once 
 more brought up their whole force, and made a desperate onset 
 A fierce and sanguinary conflict was maintained for some time. 
 The battle continued till past midnight, but nothing could over 
 come the steadfast bravery and coolness of the Americans, who, 
 after great slaughter on both sides, once more drove their enemies 
 off the field, and the firing ceased at all points. 
 
 . ( Battle of Bridgervater. 
 
 The battle of Bridge water is one of the most remarkable 
 recorded in modern history. Fought in the night, by the dim 
 light of the moon, amid the solemn roar of the Cataract of 
 Niagara, it is hardly to be surpassed for the obstinate and deter 
 mined courage displayed by the combatants. The American 
 troops were chiefly from New England, on their first campaign. 
 The British had gone through the wars of the peninsula under 
 Wellington. Eight hundred and sixty Americans were killed, 
 wounded and missing. The British lost eight hundred ami 
 seventy-eight, including prisoners. They claimed the victory, 
 but on what grounds it is difficult to understand, as the Ameri 
 cans remained in possession of the field of battle, and captured 
 their general and artillery. Generals Brown and Scott were both 
 wounded during the action, and were carried off the field. The 
 
BATTLE OF BRIDGEWATER. 723 
 
 command devolved upon General Ripley. Most of the horses 
 having been killed, it was found impossible to remove the cannon 
 taken from the enemy, to the American camp ; they were there 
 fore destroyed. 
 
 The victory at Bridgewater, although it caused great exultation 
 throughout the country, and, in connexion with that of Chippewa, 
 redeemed the American arms from the disgrace of Wilkinson's 
 campaigns, yet did not disable the enemy from further offensive 
 operations. By proclaiming martial law, the ranks of the British 
 army were recruited, and General Drummond, who now took the 
 command, found himself at the head of so superior a force, that the 
 Americans withdrew to Fort Erie, and put that post in a state of 
 defence. Here, on the 5th of August, General Gaines took the 
 command. The British advanced, threw up works and besieged 
 the place, and at two o'clock on the morning of the 15th, made a 
 sudden and furious attempt to carry Fort Erie by storm. They 
 advanced in three columns ; the right and left were repulsed with 
 great slaughter, but the centre column, after a bloody conflict and 
 two repulses, at length scaled the ramparts, and gained possession 
 of the bastion. At this moment a quantity of powder in the bas 
 tion accidentally exploded, destroying great numbers on both 
 sides; this caused such a panic among the British, that the 
 Americans succeeded in driving them out of the works. The 
 battle continued till after daylight, but the assailants were com 
 pletely repulsed. This unsuccessful attack cost the British a loss 
 of nine hundred and fifteen men in killed, wounded and prisoners. 
 The American loss was but eighty-four. 
 
 A cannonading ensued for some days. The enemy were con 
 stantly receiving fresh troops and strengthening their works. The 
 Americans received no additions to their force, already far infe 
 rior to that of the besiegers. Gaines, having been wounded by 
 the bursting of a shell, resigned the command, and General 
 Brown resumed it on the 2d of September. The fire of the ene 
 my's batteries had now become so severe, that the American 
 commander determined upon the desperate enterprise of making 
 a sortie from the fort, and attacking an enemy superior in num- 
 bers. On the If th of September, the troops marched out in two 
 divisions, under Generals Porter, Davis, Ripley and Miller. They 
 advanced to the assault with such promptness and resolution, that 
 the batteries were taken after a short conflict. The cannon were 
 then spiked and the works demolished. The Americans returned 
 to the fort with three hundred and eighty prisoners, having effected 
 their entire object, and destroyed the fruit of forty-seven days' 
 labor on the part of the enemy. This brilliant achievement cost 
 
724 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the .Americans five hundred and twenty-seven men in killed, 
 wounded and missing. The loss of the British, as stated in their 
 own official account, was six hundred and nine. They claimed 
 a victory, as usual, hut in a few days they thought it best to 
 retreat. 
 
 Early in October, the army at Fort Erie was strengthened by 
 nearly five thousand men from the camp at Plattsburgh, and the 
 chief command was assumed by General Izard. The enemy, by 
 this time, had fallen back beyond the Chippewa. Izard moved 
 towards that place, and destroyed a quantity of stores at Lyon's 
 creek. The ene"my, however, were so strongly entrenched at 
 Chippewa, that their lines could not be forced, and they could not 
 be enticed to a battle in the open fisld. From the lateness of the 
 season, nothing more could be done. Fort Erie was, therefore, 
 destroyed, Canada evacuated, and the American army was can 
 toned for the winter at Black Rock', Buffalo and Batavia. These 
 were the last operations during the war on the Niagara frontier. 
 
 In the northwest, an attempt had been made, without success, 
 to surprise the British at Mackinaw. But towards the end of the 
 season, an incursion was made into Canada, by a body of eight 
 hundred volunteers from Kentucky and Ohio, under General 
 McArthur. They marched from Detroit to the Thames, dispersed 
 a corps of militia, captured and destroyed a quantity of public 
 stores, and returned with a number of -prisoners, and the loss of 
 only one man. 
 
CHAPTER LXX. 
 
 Capture of Eastport and Castine. Bombardment of Stomngion. British expedi 
 tion up the Chesapeake. Battle of Bladensburg. Capture of Washington and 
 Alexandria. Attack on Baltimore. Repulse of the British. Cruise of th* 
 Essex. Capture of the Epervier . Cruise of the Wasp. Capture of the Rein 
 deer and Avon. Cruise of the Constitution. Capture of the Cyane and Le 
 vant. Loss of the President. Capture of the Penguin. Invasion of Sir 
 George Prevost. Attack of Plattsburg. McDonough's victory on Lake Cham- 
 plain. Defeat of Prevost. Close of the northern campaign. British expe 
 dition to New Orleans. Arrival of a British force at Pensacola. Conduct of 
 the pirates of Barataria. Attack on Fort Bowyer. Capture of Pensacola 
 by General Jackson. Defence of New Orleans. Landing of Packenham's 
 army. Battle of the 8th of January, and defeat of the British. Negotiations 
 for peace. Mediation of the Emperor of Russia rejected by the British. Com 
 missioners sent to Gottenburg. Negotiations of Ghent. Exorbitant demands 
 of the British. Domestic affairs of the United States. Disagreements respect 
 ing the New England militia. Hartford Convention. Peace of Ghent. Gen 
 eral reflections on the war. 
 
 THE Atlantic blockade, in the spring of 1814, was extended by 
 the British government along the whole coast of the United 
 States ; and a disposition was now manifested to urge the war 
 against the eastern part of the union more actively than had been 
 done at the beginning of the contest. During the years 1812 
 and 1813, no hostilities had been waged by the British troops 
 against the eastern frontier, and the coasting trade in that quarter 
 suffered little interruption. The policy of the enemy was now 
 changed. On the llth of July, a strong British force, under 
 Admiral Hardy, captured Eastport, in Passamaquoddy Bay, and 
 established themselves in the place till the end of the war. From 
 hence, the squadron proceeded to the coast of Connecticut, and 
 on the 9th of August, attacked Stonington. The force consisted 
 of one seventy -four, a frigate, a gun-brig, and a bomb-ketch. 
 The town was defended by a battery of three guns. The admiral, 
 having given three hours' notice of his attack, that the peaceable 
 inhabitants might be removed, opened his fire upon the town 
 towards evening. The cannonade continued till midnight with 
 out doing any damage. Early in the morning, the attack was 
 renewed by throwing rockets and shells from the barges at the 
 east side of the town. The Americans removed an eighteen 
 pounder to this point, and by a few discharges obliged the brig 
 62 ' 
 
726 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 and the barges to haul off. The British repeated the bombard 
 ment on the 10th and 12th, with no other effect than to injure 
 thirty or forty buildings. On the 13th, finding it impossible to 
 capture the place, the squadron put to sea. Not a man was hurt 
 among the Americans. An immense quantity of shells and shot 
 were thrown on shore, and picked up by the inhabitants. 
 
 On the 1st of September, another armament from Halifax cap 
 tured the town of Castine, in Penobscot Bay. The frigate John 
 Adams, which had just put into the Penobscot for a harbor, lay 
 at Hampden, thirty-five miles up the river. The militia turned 
 out, as the British proceeded up the river, but made no resolute 
 stand. Captain Morris, of the John Adams, finding it impossible 
 to save his ship, blew her up. On the 9th of September, a de 
 tachment took possession of Machias. No effort was made by 
 the inhabitants of the state to expel the enemy from these ports 
 during the war. 
 
 Meantime, on the Chesapeake, transactions of the highest im 
 portance were in operation. The defenceless condition of the 
 bay, and the unprotected situation of Washington, induced the 
 British to plan an expedition against that city. Such an event 
 might have been foreseen, and it reflects great discredit on the 
 American cabinet not to have provided a more efficient defence 
 for the capital of the United States. Requisitions were made on 
 the neighboring states for bodies of militia, but the forces sup 
 plied were small in number, and not of a character to be relied 
 upon in the field. Early in August, the enemy's fleet received 
 strong reinforcements, and there could be no doubt that a very 
 important blow was about to be struck. The forces of the enemy 
 were divided into three bodies. A strong squadron ascended the 
 Potomac, another threatened Baltimore, while the main body 
 moved up the Patuxent, to the town of Benedict, where they landed 
 five thousand strong, on the 19th of August, and marched toward 
 Washington. To oppose this force, the Americans had about 
 fifteen hundred regular troops, and a few thousand volunteers and 
 militia, under General Winder. A battle was fought on the 24th 
 of August, at Bladensburg. The militia, as usual, were unable 
 to stand the assault of the British regulars, and many regiments 
 broke and fled in confusion. Commodore Barney, with a corps 
 of marines and artillery, made a brave defence, but was over 
 powered and taken prisoner. The Americans retreated to Wash 
 ington, and from thence to Georgetown. The advanced guard of 
 the British, under General Ross, entered Washington towards 
 evening. The British set fire to the capitol, the president's 
 house, the public library, and many private dwellings. The 
 
RETREAT OF THE BRITISH FROM BALTIMORE. 727 
 
 Americans had previously destroyed the buildings at the navy 
 yard, with a frigate on the stocks. The city was abandoned by 
 the British, on the evening of the 25th, with the honors of a 
 victory, which they sullied by acts of vandalism worthy only of 
 barbarians. The destruction of libraries and architectural struc 
 tures not connected with the purposes of war, stamps disgrace on 
 a people who boast of their humanity and civilization. No sub 
 stantial benefit was derived by the enemy from the capture of 
 Washington, but the mortification of. this disaster sunk deep into 
 the minds of the American people. 
 
 The British squadron in the Potomac proceeded up the river 
 without obstruction. The commander of Fort Warburton, who 
 might have impeded their passage, shamefully abandoned his 
 post. Alexandria fell into the hands of the enemy on the 29th, 
 and was pillaged of all the merchandise and shipping in the place. 
 The British descended the river without any serious molestation 
 from the inhabitants. These successes encouraged them to 
 make an attempt upon Baltimore, flattering themselves with 
 the expectation of acquiring an immense booty on easy terms. 
 On the llth of September, the squadron appeared at the mouth 
 of the Patapsco, within fourteen miles of Baltimore. General 
 Ross landed his army of five thousand men, the next morning, at 
 North Point, and marched towards the city. A body of three 
 thousand militia, under General Strieker, advanced to meet him. 
 A skirmish took place between the advanced parties, in which 
 General Ross was killed. Colonel Brook then took the command 
 of the British, and a general action followed. Some bodies of 
 the militia gave way and fled in disorder, and General Strieker, 
 finding himself in danger of being outflanked, fell back on the 
 main body of General Smith, the commander-in-chief. 
 
 The loss of their general discouraged the British. After ma 
 noeuvring all the following day in front of the American lines, 
 without making an attempt to force them, they retreated during 
 the night. During these proceedings, an attack was made by the 
 squadron on Fort M' Henry, which commands the approach to 
 Baltimore by the river. All day of the 13th an incessant bom 
 bardment was directed against the fort, and during the night some 
 of the rocket-vessels and barges succeeded in getting into the 
 river above the fort. The garrison, however, maintained their 
 post with such firmness, and kept up so heavy a fire, that the 
 enemy were repulsed. The squadron fell down to North Point, 
 where the troops were taken on board, and the next day the 
 whole force of the enemy descended the Chesapeake. 
 
 An attempt was made to surprise a body of two hundred militia 
 
 
728 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 at Bellair, on the eastern shore, near the head of the Chesapeake. 
 A detachment of two hundred and fifty seamen and marines, 
 under Sir Peter Parker, landed near the place, but were so warmly 
 received by the militia, that they were compelled to retreat with 
 the loss of their commander and above forty killed and wounded. 
 The Americans had three wounded. 
 
 The transactions in the Chesapeake were the last successes of 
 the British during the war. The remainder of the military and 
 naval occurrences resulted in victory to the Americans. The 
 very disasters they had suffered in this quarter were the means 
 of gaining subsequent triumphs for their arms. The destruction 
 of their capitol aroused the people of the United States to a 
 firmer spirit of resistance against the enemy, and animated them 
 with that resolution which, at Plattsburg and New Orleans, wiped 
 out the disgrace at Washington. But before we take up the sub 
 ject of these two campaigns, some further exploits of the navy 
 demand our notice. 
 
 The frigate Essex, Captain Porter, had been ordered, in 1812, to 
 accompany the Constitution and Hornet to the Pacific Ocean. 
 The Essex only, of the three, proceeded on her destination. She 
 doubled Cape Horn in February, 1813, and in a cruise of six 
 months, completely destroyed the British whale fishery in the 
 Pacific Ocean, capturing property to the value of two millions 
 five hundred thousand dollars. One of his prizes Captain Porter 
 converted into a ship of war, mounting twenty guns, and named 
 her the Essex Junior. He visited the Washington Islands, 
 where he refitted his ships and left a number of prizes. From 
 thence he sailed for Valparaiso, where, shortly after his arrival, he 
 was blockaded by two British ships of war, which had been sent 
 into the Pacific in pursuit of him. On the 28th of March, 1814, 
 the Essex made an attempt to get to sea, but unfortunately, in 
 rounding the point of the harbor, she was struck with a squall, 
 which carried away her maintopmast. Captain Porter, therefore, 
 ran into a small bay, within pistol shot of the shore, where, 
 according to the rules of warfare, being in a neutral harbor, he 
 could not be attacked. The British commodore, however, violated 
 the rights of neutrality by immediately engaging the Essex. His 
 force was vastly superior to the Americans. His two ships, the 
 Phrebe and the Cherub, mounted seventy-eight; the Essex mounted 
 but forty-six. The unmanageable condition of the Essex enabled 
 the British ships to take the most advantageous positions for 
 raking her, so that the entire broadsides of the enemy took effect, 
 while the Essex could bring but three guns to bear upon them. 
 Still she maintained the conflict for three hours, when, having 
 
Francis Marion. 
 
Arthur St. Clair. 
 
 William Bainbridge. 
 
 
CRUISE OF THE WASP. 729 
 
 fifty-eight of her crew killed and sixty-six wounded, she surren 
 dered. 
 
 The loss of the Essex reflected no discredit on the American 
 navy, and fortune soon returned to her favorite banner. On the 
 29th of April, 1814, the American sloop of war Peacock, Captain 
 Warrington, fell in with the British brig Epervier, of equal force, 
 and captured her after an action of forty minutes. The Peacock 
 had but one man killed and two wounded. The Epervier had 
 eight killed and fifteen wounded. This was a valuable prize, 
 having one hundred and twenty thousand dollars in specie on 
 board, all which, with the two ships, were brought safe to port. 
 The cruise of the sloop of war Wasp was marked by the most 
 brilliant achievements, though a sad fate befel her unfortunate 
 crew. She sailed on her first cruise early this year, under Cap 
 tain Blakely, and, after making seven prizes, she fell in with the 
 British brig of war Reindeer, near the British Channel. An action 
 of two hours ensued, during which the Reindeer made several 
 attempts to board, which were promptly defeated. The crew of 
 the Wasp then boarded the Reindeer, and captured her after a 
 short conflict. The Wasp had five killed and twenty-one wounded ; 
 the Reindeer twenty-five killed and forty-two wounded. After 
 setting fire to her prize, the Wasp put into L' Orient, to refit. 
 Sailing from this place, she fell in with a fleet of merchantmen, 
 under convoy of a seventy-four. One of them was taken and 
 sunk after removing her cargo. On the evening of the same day, 
 the 2d of September, two sail were discovered, on one of which 
 the Wasp bore down. This was the British brig of war Avon, 
 which the Wasp captured after an action of forty-five minutes. 
 While the boats were lowering to take possession of the prize, a 
 second ship was seen close a-board, and several others not far oif. 
 The Wasp was therefore compelled to abandon the Avon, and she 
 sunk immediately after her crew had been taken off by the British 
 ships which came to her relief. She had thirty-nine killed and 
 wounded, the Wasp only three. Some days after, the Wasp 
 captured the brig Atalanta, of eight guns, which arrived safe ih 
 the United States, but the Wasp was heard of no more. A 
 British frigate was reported as having sustained a severe action 
 with an American ship, about this time, in the same neighborhood, 
 from which the frigate escaped in a very crippled condition. 
 
 The Constitution, under Captain Stewart, again left Boston on 
 a cruise, on the 17th of December, 1814, and on the 20th of Feb 
 ruary, 1815, she encountered two British ships, the Cyane frigate, 
 and the Levant sloop of war, both of which she captured. The 
 British lost seventy-seven killed and wounded ; the Constitution 
 
730 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 but fifteen. This victory, gained over a superior force, must be 
 allowed equal to any previous exploit of this fortunate ship. 
 The Cyane was brought into port, but the Levant, having put into 
 Port Pray a, in the Cape Verd Islands, was retaken by the British, 
 in defiance of the laws of nations. 
 
 The frigate President, Captain Decatur, sailed from New York, 
 on the 14th of January, 1815. The harbor was then blockaded 
 by a British squadron consisting of a seventy-four and three 
 frigates. The President struck on the bar in going out, by which 
 accident she sustained some damage. The next morning, the 
 enemy's squadron gave her chase. The President outsailed them 
 all except the Endymion frigate, which came up with her, and an 
 action took place. It lasted two hours and a half, when the 
 Endymion was beaten off. The President then made sail, but was 
 too much crippled in the action to escape the other ships. As soon 
 as they came up, the President surrendered. The British exulted 
 much at this victory, and many of their writers pretended to 
 believe that the Endymion accomplished it alone, though she was 
 three hours' sail in the rear of the other ships when the President 
 struck to them. 
 
 The last naval victory of the war, like the first, fell to the 
 Americans. On the 23d of March, 1815, the Hornet, while on a 
 voyage to the Indian Ocean, fell in with the British brig of war 
 Penguin, off the island of Tristan Da Cunha. After an action 
 of twenty minutes the Penguin struck, with forty- two killed and 
 wounded, The Hornet had one killed and eleven wounded. 
 The Penguin was so much damaged that she was destroyed the 
 next day. 
 
 The British had this year projected a serious plan for the inva 
 sion of the United States from Canada, by the way of Lake 
 Champlain, unmindful of the calamitous issue of Burgoyne's 
 expedition by the same route. Their army in Lower Canada was 
 greatly augmented by arrivals of troops from Wellington's victo 
 rious legions in the south of France, and a scheme was organized 
 for making an irruption in this quarter with so strong a force as 
 to bear down at once all opposition. The northern frontier was 
 now very weakly defended ; the bulk of the army under General 
 Izard had been ordered to Niagara, and the force left at Plattsburg 
 did not exceed fifteen hundred regulars, many of whom were 
 invalids and recruits. Sir George Prevost, the British com- 
 mander-in-chief, having concentrated his troops in the latter part 
 of August, found himself at the head of an army of twelve thou 
 sand men. With this force he invaded the American territory, 
 and took possession of the town of Champlain on the 3d of Sep- 
 
BATTLE OP LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 731 
 
 tember. He issued a proclamation designed to seduce the people 
 from their allegiance, by stating that the British arms were 
 directed only against the American government and their sup 
 porters, and not against the peaceful and unoffending inhabitants. 
 In this design he was disappointed. The devastations of the 
 British on the coast of the Atlantic had united the people in 
 defence of their territory, and the militia of New York and Ter- 
 mont took up arms, without distinction of party, to repel the 
 invaders. 
 
 General Macomb was at the head of the American land forces, 
 and Commodore McDonough commanded the fleet on Lake 
 Champlain, which lay at anchor in the bay of Plattsburg. It 
 was evident that the first attacks of the enemy would be made 
 against this place. A force of about three thousand militia had 
 been raised and stationed principally on the roads approaching 
 Plattsburg. On the 6th of September, two columns of the enemy 
 attacked a body of militia, seven miles from Plattsburg ; these 
 raw troops broke and fled, and the enemy approached within a 
 mile of the town. The -Americans crossed the river Saranac, 
 which flows in front of the place, broke down the bridges, and left 
 Plattsburg to its fate, intrenching themselves on the opposite 
 bank. The British took possession of the town, and attempted 
 to pass the river several times, but without success. They then 
 erected batteries opposite the American works, and several days 
 were passed in cannonading and skirmishing at the bridges and 
 fords. 
 
 On the morning of the llth of September, the British squadron, 
 consisting of the frigate Confiance, the brig Linnet, the sloops 
 Chub and Finch, and thirteen galleys, mounting in all ninety-five 
 guns, with one thousand men, stood into the bay of Plattsburg. 
 The American squadron, comprising the sloop-of-war Saratoga, 
 the brigs Eagle and Ticonderoga, the schooner Preble and ten 
 galleys, mounting eighty-six guns, with eight hundred men, were 
 then at anchor in the bay. The British came to anchor in line 
 of battle, abreast of the American squadron, three hundred yards 
 distant. At nine o'clock, a general engagement, both by sea and 
 land, commenced. For two hours the ships maintained an equal 
 contest, when the American commodore, finding his starboard 
 guns nearly all dismounted, practised a skilful mano3uvre by 
 dropping his stern anchor, and cutting his bower cable ; his ship 
 immediately swung round and brought her larboard broadside to 
 bear upon the enemy, who, having suffered equally, attempted the 
 same manoeuvre, but without success. The British commodore, 
 unable to sustain the fire of the Saratoga, struck his colors in a 
 
732 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 few minutes, and the brig immediately followed the example. 
 The sloops had previously surrendered, and three of the galleys 
 were sunk ; the remainder made their escape. 
 
 4i 
 
 Battle, of Plattsburg. 
 
 In^he meantime, the enemy's batteries had opened a vigorous 
 fire upon the American lines, which was returned with equal 
 spirit. In the height of the cannonade, the British made three 
 attempts to cross the Saranac, two at the bridges near the town, 
 and another at a ford three miles above. In all these attempts 
 they were repulsed with great slaughter. The battle between 
 the two squadrons, which took place in sight of both armies, 
 arrested for a short time, their attention. The capture of the 
 British ships was received with the most enthusiastic cheers by 
 the Americans, while it speedily damped the courage of the ene 
 my. The cannonading, however, continued till sunset, when Sir 
 George Prevost, finding his troops defeated at all points, drew off 
 his artillery from the batteries, and raised the siege. At two in 
 the morning, the whole army precipitately retreated, and reached 
 Chazy, eight miles distant, before their flight was discovered. 
 More than eight hundred deserters left them on their march, and 
 came into the American camp. The whole loss of the British 
 was about twenty-five hundred men ; that of the Americans only 
 ninety-nine. The British left behind them their sick, wounded, 
 cannon, ammunition and provisions. 
 
 The victory at Plattsburg must be recorded as one of the most 
 brilliant in American history. A land army, composed mostly of 
 
PROGRESS OF THE WAR IN THE SOUTH. 733 
 
 raw militia, repulsed the most powerful force of British veterans 
 that had been collected in America during the war : while, at the 
 same moment, the American squadron captured a British squa 
 dron superior both in guns and men. The killed and wounded in 
 the enemy's ships, amounted to one hundred and ninety-four, 
 including Commodore Downie, the commander. The American 
 loss was one hundred and ten. The prisoners amounted to eight 
 hundred and fifty-six, a greater number than that of the Ameri 
 can crews when they commenced the action. Thus closed the 
 campaign in the north. 
 
 While the war in the north was thus drawing to a termination, 
 with such brilliant success on the part of the United States, the 
 last hostile expedition of the British was in progress at the south 
 ern extremity of the union, and the result was equally glorious 
 to the American arms. The capture of New Orleans and the 
 conquest of Louisiana had been determined on by the enemy at 
 an early day in the season ; but the design was necessarily defer 
 red till the latter part of the year, to avoid the heats and insa 
 lubrity of the summer months in that unwholesome climate. 
 Toward the end of August, three British armed vessels arrived 
 at Pensacola, with a body of troops, and a quantity of military 
 stores sufficient for a large army. They took possession of the 
 place, although it was neutral territory belonging to Spain. Intel 
 ligence was received that ten thousand troops and thirteen ships 
 of the line were expected there. The British commander at 
 Pensacola, Colonel Nichols, issued a proclamation, calling upon 
 the inhabitants of Louisiana and Tennessee to throw off their 
 allegiance to the government of the United States, and join the 
 British standard. This had the same effect as the proclamation 
 of Sir George Prevost. The militia took up arms to repel the 
 invaders ; and Nichols, finding that none of the inhabitants joined 
 him, turned to the pirates of Barataria, an island on the coast of 
 Louisiana, then occupied by a band of buccaneers. These men, 
 under a bold and dexterous leader, of the name of Lafitte, had 
 hitherto eluded all the attempts of the American government to 
 suppress them, and continued to carry on their trade of smuggling 
 and picarooning, in defiance of law. Nichols communicated the 
 whole plan of the British expedition to Lafitte, soliciting his alli 
 ance; but the piratical chieftain rejected the proposal at once; 
 and although a price had been set upon his head, immediately dis 
 closed the whole to Claiborne, the governor of Louisiana. This 
 singular conduct was followed by important consequences to the 
 Baratarians. The governor, struck with the romantic behavior 
 of Lafitte, promised him a full pardon for his whole band } on 
 
734 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 condition of their abandoning their lawless habits, and engaging 
 in defence of the country. This was agreed to, and these outlaws 
 rendered important services in the sequel. 
 
 On the 15th of September, the British made an attack, by sea 
 and land, upon Fort Bowyer, at the entrance of Mobile Bay ; but 
 the garrison of one hundred and twenty men, under Major Law 
 rence, defeated them after they had persisted in the assault for 
 three hours. The commodore's frigate, the Hermes, lost nearly 
 all her crew, drifted ashore, and was burnt. The garrison lost 
 but nine killed and wounded. The British retreated to Pensa- 
 cola, and General Jackson, the American commander-in-chief, 
 having now received a reinforcement of two thousand volun 
 teer militia from Tennessee, marched upon Pensacola, to demand 
 redress of the Spanish authorities for their violation of neu 
 trality, in allowing a hostile expedition to be fitted out from that 
 place against the United States. On the 6th of November, he 
 reached the neighborhood of Pensacola, and sent a flag to the 
 governor, which was fired upon and driven back. Nevertheless, 
 he contrived by other means to convey a communication to the 
 governor, demanding that the forts on the harbor should be put 
 under the protection of the United States, till the Spanish govern 
 ment were able to enforce their neutrality. This being refused, 
 Jackson made an attack on Pensacola the next day. Both the 
 Spaniards and British defended the place; but the Americans 
 speedily made their way into the town, and brought the Spanish 
 commander to a parley, which ended by a complete surrender of 
 Pensacola to the Americans. 
 
 The British destroyed the fortifications, and abandoned the 
 place with their squadron. Jackson proceeded to New Orleans 
 on the 1st of December, and took measures for the defence of that 
 city. Batteries were constructed on all the approaches toward 
 the place, and troops collected from the neighboring states. By 
 this time, upwards of sixty sail of the enemy's vessels, with 
 troops and military stores, had arrived at Ship Island, at the 
 entrance of Lake Borgne, by which the city was menaced with 
 an attack. A flotilla of small vessels had been collected by the 
 Americans, to defend the passage of Lake Pontchartrain ; these 
 were attacked on the 13th, by an overwhelming force of the 
 enemy, while becalmed in an unfavorable position, and all cap 
 tured. This disaster caused a necessity for the most prompt and 
 energetic measures for the defence of the city. Martial law was 
 proclaimed by Jackson, an embargo laid on all vessels, and the 
 negroes were impressed and set to work upon the fortifications. 
 
BATTLE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 735 
 
 On the 21st, four thousand Tennessee militia, under General Car 
 rol, arrived at New Orleans. 
 
 The enemy proceeded up Lake Borgne, and on the 22d, 
 surprised a small body of Americans posted to defend the Bayou 
 Bienvenu, an inlet leading directly towards the city. Jackson 
 advanced the next day with a force of about two thousand men. 
 and made an attempt to drive them from this position, but the 
 enemy being three thousand strong, the attempt proved abortive, 
 and the Americans took post higher up the river. Their line of 
 defence extended from the Mississippi on the right, to a thick and 
 impassable wood on the left. On the opposite bank of the river 
 was a battery of fifteen cannon; the ship Louisiana and the 
 schooner Caroline lay in the stream. 
 
 The British army, amounting to ten thousand men, under Sir 
 Edward Packenham, well equipped, with a heavy train of artil 
 lery, were now concentrated near the American lines. By the 
 arrival of the Kentucky militia, Jackson's force was augmented 
 to about eight thousand men,, but their equipment was bad. The 
 fate of New Orleans was now completely at stake, and the odds 
 were decidedly in favor of the British. No battle hitherto fought 
 between the contending parties, equalled in importance the one 
 now at hand, for on this depended the possession of the entrance of 
 the great river Mississippi, and perhaps the permanent command 
 of the stream. The British began their operations by erecting a 
 battery against the Caroline, whose fire gave them great annoy 
 ance ; and they succeeded in blowing her up on the 27th. The 
 next day, Packenham advanced with his whole force within half 
 a mile of the American works, and began a furious cannonade, 
 bombardment and discharge of rockets. The American batteries, 
 with the Louisiana, opened so heavy a fire upon the assailants, 
 that they drew off with considerable loss. The British then 
 threw up batteries in front of the American lines, and at daylight, 
 on the 1st of January, renewed their cannonade, but with no 
 better effect. An attack was then made upon the left flank of the 
 Americans, but this was repulsed, and the British decamped in the 
 evening, leaving behind their ammunition and the cannon spiked. 
 
 The British had suffered severely from the batteries on the 
 opposite bank of the Mississippi, which they were unable to cross 
 for want of boats. With immense labor, a canal was dug from 
 the Bayou Bienvenu, to the river, through which the boats of the 
 fleet were brought on the 7th. Everything being now prepared on 
 the part of the invading force, the grand attack was fixed for the 
 next day. Troops were transported across the Mississippi to attack 
 the battery on that side simultaneously with the main assault. 
 63 a4 
 
736 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 On the 8th of January, early in the morning, the British army 
 moved in two columns to the attack of Jackson's line. Generals 
 Gibbs and Keane led the assault ; and a body of reserve, under 
 General Lambert, kept in the rear of the attacking columns. 
 The troops advanced slowly and firmly, bearing fascines and 
 scaling ladders to facilitate their passage over the ditch and ram 
 part. The American batteries opened upon them as soon as they 
 came within cannon shot. The sharp-eyed marksmen of the 
 West stood behind the entrenchments, awaiting the close approach 
 of the enemy ; and no sooner had their columns arrived within 
 fair reach of their rifles, than a shower of bullets was discharged 
 
 Battle of New Orleans. 
 
 upon them with such unerring aim, that they were immediately 
 brought to a stand. Sir Edward Packenham, observing his troops 
 to falter, galloped to the head of the column, and while in the act 
 of cheering them on, was struck by a rifle ball, and fell dead from 
 his horse. The columns broke and retreated in confusion, but 
 their officers rallied them and urged them onward nearly to the 
 ditch. The deadly fire of the musketry again drove them back. 
 A third assault was made, and a third time were the assailants 
 put. to flight in the greatest confusion. Gibbs and Keane were 
 both severely wounded, and the plain was covered with the bodies 
 of the dead. General Lambert now took the command, and 
 collecting together the fragments of the army, drew them off into 
 the camp. In the meantime, the detachment under Colonel 
 
BATTLE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 737 
 
 Thornton had succeeded in capturing the American battery on 
 the opposite bank of the river, in consequence of the panic of the 
 militia, who imagined the enemy had turned their flank ; but this 
 had no influence upon the result of the day, which was a most 
 decided victory for the Americans. 
 
 Never had a British army experienced such dreadfru Slaughter 
 as on this occasion. More than two thousand of their men, 
 including almost all their chief officers, were killed or wounded. 
 The prisoners amounted to eight hundred. The disproportion too, 
 between the loss of the victorious and that of the defeated army, 
 renders this one of the most remarkable battles ever fought. The 
 Americans had but seven killed and six wounded. The whole 
 British scheme of invasion was at once brought to an end by this 
 overwhelming disaster. A part of the fleet had entered the Mis 
 sissippi and attacked Fort St. Philip, but after bombarding it for 
 a week, they retreated. Lambert, immediately after the battle of 
 the 8th of January, withdrew his troops from the Mississippi, and 
 embarked for Fort Bowyer, which place he succeeded in captur 
 ing, but this was all they gained by the expedition to New Orleans. 
 The defence of that city reflects the highest credit on the skill 
 and firmness of General Jackson, and the courage of the Ameri 
 can militia. With this brilliant success closed the hostilities 
 between Great Britain and the United States. 
 
 During the interval between the repulse of the British and the 
 arrival of the news of peace, their fleet still hung about the coast-, 
 and it was found necessary to detain the militia at New Orleans, 
 where martial law was still in force. The militia, imagining all 
 the danger passed, were eager to return to their homes, and many 
 complaints were the consequence. A paragraph in one of the 
 New Orleans newspapers, was thought by General Jackson cal 
 culated to excite mutiny in the army, and he arrested the writer. 
 A writ of habeas corpus was issued to liberate him. The gen 
 eral, instead of obeying the writ, caused the judge who granted 
 it to be arrested and conveyed out of the city. Before this 
 occurrence, an un-official account of the signing of the treaty of 
 Ghent had reached New Orleans, but it was thought prudent not 
 to abandon any of the measures that had been taken for the de 
 fence of the country. On the 13th of March, however, two days 
 after the arrest of the judge, a despatch from the secretary of 
 war arrived at head-quarters, announcing the peace, and ordering 
 a cessation of hostilities. Military operations on both sides ceased 
 on the 19th. The judge, after his liberation, cited General Jack 
 son before him, and fined him a thousand dollars for contempt of 
 
 o4 
 
738 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 court. The fine was paid by the general, although the citizens 
 of New Orleans offered to raise the sum by contribution. 
 
 Since the commencement of the war, the government of the 
 United States had shown every disposition to settle the grounds 
 of dispute with Great Britain upon reasonable terms. Early in 
 1813, the Emperor of Russia offered his mediation between the 
 two powers. This offer was communicated by President Madison 
 to congress, in May, 1813, with the information that the cabinet 
 had acceded to the proposal, and that three commissioners had 
 been despatched to St. Petersburg, with powers to conclude a 
 treaty of peace. Had the British government been moderate and 
 equitable in their demands, hostilities between the two countries 
 would soon have ceased. The highest , hopes were indulged, 
 throughout the country, that the Russian mediation would lead to 
 an immediate pacification. But the British cabinet refused to 
 admit the interference of the Russian emperor, on the alleged 
 ground that their dispute with the United States involved certain 
 principles of the internal government of Great Britain, which 
 could not consistently be submitted to the mediation of a foreign 
 power. This decision, pronounced by the Prince Regent, was 
 communicated to the American government by a flag of truce 
 despatched for the purpose, which, at the same time, signified to 
 the president that the British government were willing to open a 
 negotiation with the American commissioners, either in London 
 or Gottenburg. This proposal was agreed to by the Americans, 
 and Gottenburg was fixed upon as the place of meeting. Five 
 commissioners were accordingly appointed ; John Quincy Adams, 
 Albert Gallatin, and James A. Bayard, who had already sailed 
 for Russia, under the proposed mediation of the emperor, and 
 Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell. These gentlemen proceeded 
 immediately to the place of their destination; but the British 
 cabinet exhibited so little readiness to expedite the negotiations, 
 that the commissioners met with nothing but delays for a long 
 time. 
 
 After many preliminary movements, the place of conference 
 was shifted from Gottenburg to Ghent in the Netherlands, at 
 which city the British commissioners, Lord Gambier, Henry 
 Goulburn, and William Adam, arrived on the 4th of August, 1814. 
 The conditions proposed by the Americans were very moderate ; 
 they agreed to waive the abstract question of the right of British 
 ships to impress American seamen, as the practice had ceased 
 with the general pacification of Europe; this question they 
 reserved for future discussion and settlement between the two 
 powers. The only obstacle in the way of peace appeared to be 
 
NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE. 739 
 
 removed by this concession on the part of the Americans. The 
 orders in council had been revoked ; the blockade of the conti 
 nental ports had ceased ; Napoleon was overthrown ; the ancient 
 governments of Europe were restored, and none of the causes of 
 dissension between Great Britain and the United States were 
 likely soon to be revived. But, to the surprise of the American 
 commissioners, they were met by demands highly unreasonable, 
 and totally incompatible with the honor and security of the 
 United States. The British insisted upon a new boundary for 
 the Canada frontier, surrendering a large tract of American terri 
 tory to Great Britain. The United States were to erect no fortified 
 post on the shores of the great lakes, nor maintain any armed 
 vessel on their waters, while the British were to be allowed both. 
 All the country west of a line drawn from Lake Superior to the 
 Mississippi, was to be ceded to Great Britain, as well as the 
 northern part of the District of Maine. The boundaries between 
 the United States and the Indian territory were to be strictly 
 denned, and no purchases of land made from the natives. To 
 these insulting terms, the American commissioners replied by a 
 prompt and unqualified negative. 
 
 When this intelligence reached the United States, great indig 
 nation was excited throughout the country. The honor and 
 dignity of the nation stood pledged to resist so humiliating a 
 proposal as a surrender of the national territory and the right of 
 defence. A stronger resolution than ever to oppose the encroach 
 ments of the enemy manifested itself among the people. But the 
 exorbitant nature of these demands seemed to indicate a fixed 
 determination in the British government to push the war to 
 extremities, and the desperate character of the struggle was fully 
 appreciated. This was evinced more strikingly in the New Eng 
 land states, where the war had encountered a strong disapproval 
 from a very numerous class of the population. The government 
 of Massachusetts, during the first year of the war, had so little 
 confidence in the wisdom of the federal executive, that when the 
 militia of that state was called out, agreeably to the constitution, 
 they declined giving the command to the officer appointed hy the 
 president, on the plea that such command could be exercised only 
 by the president in person. They also declined, when first called 
 upon, to raise any portion of the militia, alleging that the consti 
 tutional exigency, of which they alone were to be the judges, did 
 not exist. The same was done by the states of Rhode Island and 
 Connecticut. 
 
 With the increasing rancor of party spirit, the financial embar 
 rassments of the federal government, and the menacing and over- 
 63* 
 
740 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 bearing attitude of the enemy, in the year 1814, the affairs of the 
 country seemed to be drawing to a crisis. The legislature of 
 Massachusetts met in October, and proposed a convention of dele 
 gates from the New England states, to devise some measures for 
 the general welfare, suitable to the alarming state of the times. 
 This scheme was agreed upon ; delegates were chosen from the 
 states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, and from 
 a portion of New Hampshire and Vermont. The convention met 
 at Hartford, in Connecticut, on the 15th of December, 1814, and 
 sat till the 4th of January, 1815, when they adjourned, after pub 
 lishing the result, of their deliberations in a report. This docu 
 ment specified some defects in the constitution of the United 
 States, and proposed amendments to the following effect : That 
 representation and direct taxes should be apportioned according 
 to the white population of the country, irrespective of the slaves ; 
 that no new state should be admitted into the union, without the 
 concurrence of two-thirds of both houses of congress ; that no 
 declaration of war or non-intercourse should take place without 
 the same majority; that no embargo should be imposed for a 
 longer term than sixty days ; that the president of the United 
 States should be eligible for no more than one term; and that 
 two presidents should not be elected from the same state in suc 
 cession. 
 
 Much obloquy has been cast upon the Hartford Convention, 
 and there are many, at the present day, who believe that it was 
 assembled with a treasonable design of dissolving the union. 
 Nothing of this nature can be discerned in the proposals above 
 enumerated, which constitute the substance of what they submit 
 ted to the public. So far from being treasonable or dangerous, 
 some of them, if adopted, would conduce to the preservation and 
 stability of the union; and one, at least, has become a favorite 
 maxim, at the present day, with a large portion of the American 
 people. 
 
 All fears, however, for the internal tranquillity of the country 
 were in an instant dissipated by the arrival, in February, 1815, of 
 the intelligence that a treaty of peace had been signed at Ghent, 
 on the 24th of December. The British government, after receiv 
 ing the news of the defeat of the army of Sir George Prevost, and 
 the capture of their squadron on Lake Champlain, appear to have 
 abandoned all hope of further success to their arms, and with 
 drew the arrogant claims which had been insisted upon at the 
 opening of the negotiations. By the terms of the treaty, the 
 boundaries of the two countries were to remain the same as before 
 the commencement of hostilities, and all questions of disputed 
 
TERMINATION OF THE WAR. 741 
 
 territory were to be settled by commissioners from both parties at 
 a future day. Both nations were to put an immediate end to the 
 Indian hostilities, and use their best endeavors to suppress the 
 slave trade. The treaty was ratified by the prince regent, on 
 the 28th of December, 1814, and by the American president and 
 senate, on the 18th of February, 1815. 
 
 Thus closed a war, in which the United States encountered 
 great perils and suffered deep disasters, but from which the nation 
 extricated itself with honor and renown. If the republic sus 
 tained heavy losses, she exhibited resolution, talent and national 
 spirit, in the exertions she put forth in her defence, and vindicated 
 her reputation, in the eyes of the world, from the opprobrium 
 which had fallen upon it in consequence of the insults of her 
 enemy. The American armies were sometimes defeated; but 
 instead of wondering at this, our wonder is excited that such 
 reverses were not more numerous. The soldiers of Britain were 
 veterans, familiar with conquest, and fresh from the battle-fields 
 of Europe. The United States went into the contest without an 
 army, and their new levies and raw militia could not be expected 
 to possess skill, discipline or practical familiarity with the duties 
 of the camp and the manoeuvres of the field. That the govern 
 ment of the United States committed errors, and occasionally 
 showed weakness and indecision at critical moments, no one will 
 deny. But to compare their conduct with that of the European 
 cabinets, and to judge of them by the comparison, would be doing 
 them gross injustice. They had no councils of able and expe 
 rienced generals, learned in the history, theory and practice of war, 
 to assist them in drawing up the plans of their campaigns, and 
 correcting their calculations of the sources, extent and efficiency 
 of supplies. The most fatal mistake they committed, was the 
 appointment of superannuated generals to the command of the 
 armies ; but as these individuals had served in the revolution, and 
 of course were the only American officers who had seen any regu 
 lar fighting, the mistake was natural. Hull, Dearborn, Wilkin 
 son, Hampton and some others, had been soldiers of the revolution; 
 but the knowledge which they retained of that period, served but 
 little purpose, we imagine, in enabling them to direct the move 
 ments of armies on a large scale ; while their advanced age had 
 diminished that energy and activity, both of mind and body, so 
 preeminently necessary in the business of the field. Accordingly, 
 we find that none of the successes, but almost all the disasters of 
 the American campaigns, happened under the direction of the class 
 of officers abovementioned. On the other hand, the most deci 
 ded and brilliant victories were accomplished by leaders of another 
 
742 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 character. Jackson, Harrison, Scott, Brown, Ripley, Croghan, were 
 men younger in years, new to the business of regular warfare, 
 but prompt in action, fertile in expedients, energetic and decisive. 
 The most heroic action was performed by the youngest officer of 
 all. Major Croghan, who defended his post with one hundred 
 and sixty men and one cannon, against a force almost equal to 
 that which captured Hull's army, was a youth of twenty-two. 
 
 In the vicissitudes of the war, the reverses of the Americans 
 were much overbalanced by their successes. To the disasters of 
 Detroit and Washington, may be opposed the victories of New 
 Orleans, Plattsburg, the Thames, Bridgewater, Lake Erie and 
 Lake Champlain, and the brilliant exploits of our navy on the 
 Atlantic. The effect of these naval victories has been prodigious 
 in augmenting the naval strength'of the country, in heightening 
 the national pride and spirit of the people, and in preparing the 
 way for the maritime greatness of the republic. The United 
 States, a short time since totally overlooked or disregarded in the 
 scheme of European politics, and utterly incapable of self-defence 
 upon the ocean, have suddenly become a first-rate naval power. 
 Such an insult as was perpetrated upon the Chesapeake in 1807, 
 would, at the present day, produce war or satisfaction by the time 
 a steam-packet could make two trips across the Atlantic. 
 
 Another effect of the war, less obvious at first, but which has 
 since gradually developed itself till its magnitude and importance 
 have made it a great national concern, has been the increase of 
 manufacturing enterprise in the United States. Previous to the 
 hostilities with Great Britain, the Americans were almost exclu 
 sively a commercial and agricultural people ; they are now rap 
 idly becoming a great manufacturing nation. Nearly all their 
 supplies of manufactured articles were furnished from Europe, 
 and principally from Great Britain. The war put a stop to all 
 importation ; and the consequent high prices gave strong encour 
 agement to domestic manufactures. New establishments rapidly 
 arose, invention and labor were stimulated, and the finest fabrics 
 of Manchester and Birmingham were soon rivalled by the inge 
 nuity of the New England artists. The manufacturing enter 
 prise, begun upon the spur of necessity, has been maintained by 
 native skill, industry and perseverance, and the country is daily 
 opening new sources of wealth for the enterprise of her capitalists 
 and the genius of her artisans. 
 
CHAPTER LXXI. 
 
 War with Algiers. Expedition of Commodore Decatur. Capture of two Algtri-nt 
 ships of war. Peace with Algiers. Affairs of Tunis and Tripoli. Domestic 
 concerns of the country. United States bank established. Disputes with Spain 
 concerning West Florida. Seminole war. General Jackson's invasion of 
 Florida. Execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister. Florida ceded to the United 
 States. Mr. Monroe chosen president. Tranquillity and prosperity of the 
 country. New states admitted into the union. Expedition of Lewis and 
 Clarke. Treaty with Great Britain concerning the Oregon territory. Affairs 
 of the Spanish American republics. Missouri admitted into the union. Affairs 
 of Florida. Piracies in the West Indies. John Q. Adams elected president. 
 Revival of party spirit. Affairs of Georgia and the Creek Indians. Congress 
 of Panama. Visit of La Fayette to the United States. The northeastern 
 boundary dispute. General Jackson president. Removals from office. Debates 
 in the Senate, on the subject of the public lands. Treaty with France for indem 
 nities. Proposal of the king of the Netherlands, respecting the northeastern 
 boundary. Removal of the southern Indians. Jackson's veto on the United 
 States bank. Indian hostilities. Black Hawk's war. Battle at Bad-ax river. 
 Treaties with the Indians. 
 
 DURING the contest with Great Britain, the commerce of the 
 United States had also been exposed to the hostilities of the 
 Algerines. A treaty had existed for many years with that power, 
 but on the breaking out of the war in 1812, the Dey, under the 
 instigation perhaps of British agents, contrived to pick a quarrel, 
 and despatched his corsairs against the American commerce in 
 the Mediterranean. They made several captures during the early 
 part of the war, but as the Barbary cruisers seldom ventured 
 outside the straits of Gibraltar, few prizes were made after the 
 American merchantmen had forsaken the Mediterranean. On the 
 return of peace with England, a resolution was formed to chastise 
 the Algerines, and in March, 1815, an act of congress authorized 
 the president to equip and employ any force necessary for this 
 purpose. The navy of the United States was now fully compe 
 tent to this undertaking. Several frigates and ships of the line 
 had been constructed during the last year of the war, and were 
 now ready for service. Commodore Decatur was despatched 
 with three frigates, two sloops of war, and four schooners. 
 Another squadron, consisting of a ship of the line and other 
 vessels, was to follow, under Commodore Bainbridge. Decatur 
 sailed from New York, and arrived at Gibraltar about the middle 
 4 
 
744 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of June, 1815. Proceeding up the straits, on the 17th, off Cape 
 De Gatt, he fell in with the Algerine frigate Mazouda, commanded 
 by Rais Hammida, a famous corsair, who had long been the 
 terror of the Mediterranean. Decatur's flag-ship, the Guerriere, 
 ran alongside the corsair, who endeavored to escape ; but after a 
 running fight of twenty-five minutes, the Algerine struck, her 
 commander having been cut in two by a cannon shot. / Two 
 days after, the squadron captured an Algerine brig of twenty- two 
 guns. Decatur then steered for Algiers, and arrived off that 
 place on the 28th of June. He despatched on shore a letter from 
 the president, and proposed entering at once upon negotiations for 
 peace. The terms demanded by the American government were, 
 that no tribute whatever should be paid by the United States; 
 that all American prisoners should be given up without ransom ; 
 that compensation should be made for American vessels captured 
 and property seized by the Algerines; that American property 
 should not be molested if found on board an enemy's vessel, 
 with various other stipulations, fully securing the rights of the 
 American nation both on the sea and land. The Algerines were 
 disposed to reject these proposals, being ignorant of the capture 
 of their ships of war, which they refused to believe till the sight 
 of the prisoners convinced them. Intimidated by this unexpected 
 blow, and influenced by the Swedish consul, who exerted himself 
 to promote the negotiation, they agreed to a suspension of hostili 
 ties, and a treaty was immediately drawn up and signed. The 
 treaty also provided for the release of the Spanish consul and a 
 merchant of that nation, then prisoners in Algiers. 
 
 From Algiers, the squadron proceeded to Tunis, the government 
 of which had violated its treaty with the United States, by allow 
 ing two prizes belonging to an American privateer, to be taken out 
 of the harbor by a British cruiser ; and by allowing a company 
 of Tunisian merchants to extort the property of an American 
 citizen in their territory. Decatur sent a letter to the Tunisian 
 vizier, demanding immediate payment for these spoliations. The 
 Bashaw admitted the fact, and the justice of the demand, but 
 requested a year for the payment. This was refused, and finding 
 the Americans resolute, he agreed to their demand. The money 
 was paid to the commodore by the vizier's brother, in presence of 
 all the European consuls. The Tunisian flung the bags on the 
 ground in great indignation, exclaiming to the British consul, 
 "See what Tunis is obliged to pay for your insolence ! Do you 
 not feel ashamed to violate the neutrality of your friends, and 
 then leave them to pay for your aggressions?" The barbarian 
 was no bad expounder of international law. 
 
John Marshall, LL. D. 
 
 Timothy Pickering. 
 
John Jay. 
 
 William Wirt. 
 
ALGERINB WAK. 745 
 
 The Bashaw of Tripoli had been served with equal injustice 
 by his British friends, who had cut out two American vessels 
 from under the guns of his castle, and compelled 'him to refuse 
 protection to an American cruiser. When this outrage was com 
 mitted, the American consul struck his flag. Decatur, on arriving 
 at Tripoli, had no difficulty in obtaining full reparation immedi 
 ately such was the terror already inspired by the exploits of the 
 Americans. The consul then hoisted his flag, and was saluted 
 by the castle with thirty-one guns. Besides obtaining indemnity 
 for the American property, Decatur also compelled the Bashaw to 
 release ten Neapolitan and Danish captives. It is remarkable 
 that the United States were the first nation in Christendom that 
 refused the payment of tribute to the Barbary powers. 
 
 Commodore Bainbridge, with his squadron, arrived shortly 
 after in the Mediterranean, and took the command. As a complete 
 pacification had been already effected, little remained to do. 
 The squadron visited Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, where the 
 people were struck with surprise to behold an American ship of 
 the line, having been induced to believe, by the British, that the 
 Americans were prohibited by treaty, from building vessels of 
 that size. The squadron returned to Boston in November. 
 
 The domestic concerns of the United States assumed an entirely 
 new face on the restoration of peace. That event was received 
 with a hearty welcome by all classes of people, although the 
 party which had opposed the war were disposed to criticise 
 somewhat severely, the circumstance that the treaty gave up 
 certain points, which had been originally insisted on as essential to 
 the security of American commerce. Yet, in the actual circum 
 stances of the two countries, it could not be denied that the pacifi 
 cation of Ghent was settled on a firm foundation, and bid fair to 
 promote a permanent harmony between the two countries. The 
 rejoicing therefore was universal. The administration found 
 themselves relieved of the burden of a war which daily brought 
 fresh embarrassments upon them. The people, finding the honor 
 and reputation of the country vindicated by the national arms, 
 welcomed the revival of commercial enterprise and the diminution 
 of their taxes. The expense of the war had been great. The 
 national debt,*. in 1812, amounted to forty-five millions of dollars. 
 In 1816, it had augmented to one hundred and twenty-three 
 millions. The loans, during the last year of the war, were taken 
 up at an enormous abatement from the par value. With the 
 return of peace, the revenue increased, the national credit revived, 
 and confidence in the successful action of the government and the 
 general prosperity of the country rapidly augmented. 
 64 
 
746 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 One of the most important acts of the congress which assembled 
 during the winter after the peace, was the establishment of a na 
 tional bank. This project had nearly succeeded in 1814. The 
 bill at that time passed both houses of congress, but was rejected 
 by president Madison. In April, 1816, the United States Bank 
 was incorporated by congress, with a capital of thirty-five 
 millions, and a charter for twenty years. This was sanctioned 
 by Mr. Madison, who had either changed his opinion as to the 
 constitutionality of the bank, or became more strongly con 
 vinced of its utility. The financial concerns of the country, as 
 well as monetary transactions and trade in general, received appa 
 rently great assistance from this institution. A commercial treaty 
 with Great Britain, relating to reciprocal duties, had been agreed 
 upon in 1815. 
 
 When the purchase of Louisiana was made by the United 
 States, the territory of West Florida was considered as being 
 included within its limits ; but possession was not taken of it till 
 1811. Both Spain and France made remonstrances, and the 
 American troops were withdrawn, but without abandoning the 
 claim. Subsequently a portion of the country was reoccupied by 
 the Americans. A negotiation with Spain took place in 1816. 
 The American cabinet admitted the Spanish title to most of the 
 territory, but reminded the Spanish minister of the spoliations 
 committed by his countrymen upon Arnerican property, the pay 
 ment for which had been delayed, and proposed that Florida 
 should be exchanged with the United States for a tract of country 
 bordering on Mexico, and therefore more valuable to Spain. The 
 Spanish minister, however, although vested with full powers to 
 conclude a treaty, threw obstacles in the way, for the evident pur 
 pose of gaining time and evading the demands of the American 
 government. The negotiations on the subject were protracted 
 through two years, when they received a new interest in conse 
 quence of the invasion of that territory by General Jackson. 
 That officer had been sent, in 1818, with a considerable force, on 
 a campaign against the Seminole Indians, who fled before his 
 army into Florida. Jackson, in the belief that the savages were 
 instigated and protected by the Spaniards, thought it necessary, 
 for the security of the frontier, to pursue the enemy into the 
 Spanish territory. He accordingly took possession of St. Marks 
 and Pensacola, in 1818, although he had received no express 
 authority from the president to commit such an act. In the 
 course of his hostilities against the Seminoles, Jackson made 
 prisoners of two Englishmen, named Arbuthnot and Ambrister, 
 whom he hanged as outlaws, on the charge of instigating the 
 
PROSPERITY OF THE COLONY. 747 
 
 savages to murder, and furnishing them with aims and ammuni 
 tion. A violent outcry was raised against this act in England, 
 and the excitement in that country went so far as to threaten a 
 renewal of hostilities. There were many persons in the United 
 States who thought Jackson's conduct altogether unjustifiable. 
 A correspondence ensued hetween the British and American gov 
 ernments, and the latter disavowed the conduct of their general, 
 but held him excused by the extraordinary circumstances of the 
 case. Jackson's great popularity saved him from a reprimand by 
 the American government ; and the British, finding them not dis 
 posed to make any reparation beyond a disavowal of the act, 
 desisted from urging the matter any further. 
 
 In 1818, the disputes with Spain were settled by a treaty 
 ceding the whole territory of Florida to the United States as an 
 indemnity for the claims of American merchants against that 
 power. Five millions of dollars were paid by the American gov 
 ernment to the claimants ; which sum may be considered the pur 
 chase money of Florida. 
 
 James Monroe became president of the United States in 1817, 
 and in the summer of that year made a public tour through the 
 country. Party distinctions were now rapidly subsiding, and a 
 remarkable quiet pervaded the union during the administration of 
 Mr. Monroe, who proved the most popular president since Wash 
 ington. During his tour, the attention of the president was 
 drawn to the surviving soldiers of the revolution, who assembled 
 at every place upon his route to greet him. In a message to con 
 gress afterward, he recommended granting pensions to these per 
 sons, and an act was accordingly passed, extending this relief to 
 all the surviving officers and soldiers who had served nine months 
 in the revolutionary army. Upwards of thirteen thousand sol 
 diers became pensioners of the United States by this act. 
 
 The country was now rapidly advancing in wealth, commerce, 
 manufactures, revenue and population. New states were admitted 
 into the union. The thirteen original states had, in 1820, in 
 creased to twenty-four. Vermont was separated from New York 
 in 1791 ; Tennessee from North Carolina in 1796 ; Kentucky from 
 Virginia in 1799. Ohio was erected into a state in 1802 ; Louis 
 iana, in 1812 Illinois, in 1818 ; Alabama, in 1819 ; Missouri, in 
 1820, and Maine was separated from Massachusetts in the same 
 year. The immense tract of territory in the west had been ex 
 plored as early as 1803, when Captains Lewis and Clarke were . 
 despatched by the government, with an armed party, on an expe 
 dition of discovery. They ascended the Missouri to its head 
 waters, crossed the Rocky Mountains, and following the coast of 
 
748 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the river Oregon, descended to the Pacific Ocean. They returned 
 across the continent, after an absence of three years, having visited 
 all the various tribes of Indians on the route. The expedition was 
 highly successful. The country was in general discovered to be 
 fertile and well watered, and susceptible of a high degree of cul 
 tivation. Amicable relations were established with the natives ; 
 and many discoveries made in natural history. This long and 
 hazardous expedition was accomplished without any disaster, and 
 may be considered one of the most interesting ever performed. 
 The character and value of the great western territory remained 
 unknown till 1814, when the narrative of the expedition was first 
 published. 
 
 A treaty was concluded with Great Britain, in October, 1818, 
 respecting the fisheries of Newfoundland and Labrador, the north 
 western boundary, and the Oregon territory. By this convention 
 it was stipulated that the territory west of the Rocky Mountains 
 should be open to the subjects of both powers for ten years, with 
 out prejudicing claims of either to the sovereignty of the territory. 
 The treaty also prolonged for ten years the convention of 1815, 
 and made provision for the restoration of slaves captured during 
 the war. 
 
 In the meantime the Spanish colonies of South America had 
 revolted, and there was every reason to believe that the domin 
 ion of the mother country in that quarter- would never be restored. 
 Commissioners had been sent to the several South American 
 states, by the American government, as early as 1816, to examine 
 the condition of the country with a view to the inquiry as to the 
 stability of the new government. The commissioners published 
 their report in 1818 ; and President Monroe, in 1819, laid the sub 
 ject before congress. A neutral position was recommended, but 
 the president stated formally that the United States could not be 
 indiffereni to any attempts to subjugate the new republics by the 
 monarchical powers of Europe, with a view to support the prin 
 ciples of legitimacy prevailing on the old continent. 
 
 The subject of internal improvement was now taken up by con 
 gress, and in 1820, an act was passed for extending the great 
 Cumberland road from Wheeling on the Ohio, westward beyond 
 the Mississippi. The admission of Missouri into the union, this 
 year, was attended with violent debates in congress and much 
 excitement throughout the country, on account of the question of 
 slavery, which many wished to exclude from the- new state. Mis 
 souri, however, was admitted without any restriction on slavery; 
 but the act was amended by a clause prohibiting the existence of 
 slavery in future in any territory north of the latitude of thirty- 
 
COMMERCIAL TREATIES. 749 
 
 six degrees and a half, not included within the state of Missouri. 
 Mr. Monroe was this year reflected president ; so satisfactory had 
 his administration been to the people, that he received all the elec 
 toral votes except one. 
 
 Arrangements were made, in 1821, for occupying and govern 
 ing Florida. The president appointed General Jackson governor, 
 with a liberal discretionary authority. Much difficulty attended 
 the occupation of the country, in consequence of the Spanish 
 officer refusing to give up the archives and documents relating 
 to the country. This caused great confusion and embarrass 
 ment respecting the titles of lands, and the usages and cus 
 toms of the inhabitants, which the treaty of cession obliged the 
 United States to maintain. Jackson having arrested a Spanish 
 officer, one of the judges appointed by the American government 
 granted him a writ of habeas corpus, which drew on an acrimoni 
 ous controversy between the governor and the judge. Jackson 
 soon after resigned his office as governor of Florida. 
 
 The census of 1820 showed the population of the United States 
 to amount to 9,638,166, being an increase of 2,398,263 in ten 
 years. The representation in congress was fixed at one member 
 for 40,000 inhabitants. In conformity to a recommendation of 
 the president, the independence of the Spanish American repub 
 lics was acknowledged by congress in January, 1822, and envoys 
 to most of these were shortly after appointed. In his message to 
 congress, in December, the president alluded to the struggle for 
 independence which had lately commenced in Greece ; a hope 
 was expressed that the Greeks would succeed in their endeavors, 
 but no interference on the part of the United States was recom 
 mended. During this year the commerce of the country suffered 
 much from the depredations of pirates in the West India seas, 
 who committed their outrages in so systematic and audacious a 
 manner, that a squadron of twelve vessels was despatched by the 
 United States government against them. By their exertions the 
 pirates were soon all captured or dispersed. A convention of 
 navigation and commerce with France was concluded in 1822, 
 placing the system of trade and duties on a basis of reciprocity. 
 In 1824 the tariff was remodified, and the duties on several arti 
 cles raised, to encourage domestic manufactures. Commercial 
 treaties were concluded this year with Russia, Prussia, Sweden, 
 the Netherlands and the Hanse Towns. A separate treaty with 
 Russia also settled the boundaries of the Russian and American 
 territory in the northwest. The boundary line was fixed at fifty- 
 four degrees forty minutes north latitude ; all unoccupied places 
 64* s4 
 
750 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 to be free for ten years to the subjects of either power for the 
 purposes of fishing, or trading with the natives. 
 
 At the election for president in the autumn of 1824, General 
 Jackson, Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay, and Mr. Crawford were candi 
 dates ; neither of whom received a majority of the electoral votes. 
 John Qarincy Adams was chosen president by the house of repre 
 sentatives. At the conclusion of Mr. Monroe's administration, 
 the quiet of the country began again to be disturbed by the dis 
 sensions of party. The United States were now in an unexam 
 pled state of prosperity, which bid fair to be permanent. The 
 rival interests, which had infused such bitterness into the quarrels 
 of preceding factions, had subsided, and the old animosities were 
 entirely healed. The country was, well governed, the public offi 
 cers were honest, able and patriotic. The Americans universally 
 believed their form of government the wisest, and their popula 
 tion the freest and happiest in the world. Materials for faction or 
 discontent appeared nowhere to exist; yet it is precisely at this 
 moment that we are called upon to record the revival of those un 
 happy party dissensions and rivalries which have continued with 
 unabated rancor to the present day. 
 
 Troubles soon arose with the state of Georgia, respecting the 
 Indian lands in that quarter. A treaty had been made with the 
 Creeks, at Indian Springs, in February, 1825, which was imme 
 diately ratified by the federal government, in the belief that it had 
 been negotiated in good faith ; but it subsequently appeared that 
 a portion of the tribe had not been consulted, and that a majority 
 of the Indians did not consent to the treaty. A delegation of the 
 tribe proceeded to Washington, requesting that the treaty might 
 be annulled, and complaining of the fraud and oppression prac 
 tised toward them by the Georgians. By a contract with the fed 
 eral government in 1802, Georgia ceded a portion of the Indian 
 land to the United States, the government, on the other hand, 
 guaranteeing the remainder to Georgia, and stipulating to extin 
 guish the claim of the natives, and remove them from the state, 
 " as soon as it could be done peaceably and on reasonable terms." 
 Georgia was now impatient for the fulfilment of this part of the 
 contract; and the federal government, wishing to observe good 
 faith toward that state, and at the same time to behave with 
 lenity and kindness toward the Indians, found itself beset with 
 embarrassments. The governor of Georgia insisted on the imme 
 diate removal of the Indians, and even threatened to take posses 
 sion of their lands by force. Some apprehensions were felt that 
 this would lead to a collision between the federal and state gov 
 ernments. A new treaty, however, was concluded at Washing- 
 
VISIT OF GEN. LA FAYETTE. 751 
 
 ton with the Creeks, in March, 1826, by which the United States 
 granted them an indemnity of a large sum of money, and guar 
 anteed them the possession of the lands not expressly ceded by 
 them. This adjusted the difficulties for some time, but they were 
 renewed the following year. 
 
 The Spanish American republics had proposed a general con- 
 giess of the American powers, to be held this year at Panama, to 
 consult on some combined measures for the general welfare. 
 They had requested that the United States might be represented 
 at this congress. President Adams announced that he contem 
 plated sending ministers to Panama, agreeably to this request. 
 Much debate arose in the congress of the United States upon this 
 declaration. The power of the president to make such appoint 
 ments on his own responsibility, was called in question, and the 
 proceeding, in any shape, was thought by some, to hazard the 
 peace of the country. A committee of the senate reported against 
 the measure, yet it was finally approved in congress, and two 
 envoys were appointed. But the whole design miscarried. 
 
 The year 1824 was distinguished by the visit of La Fayette 
 to the United States. He had spent the brightest days of his 
 youth in combating, by the side of Washington, for American 
 
 Landing of General La Fayette at New York. 
 
 independence, devoting his military talent and his fortune to the 
 cause of liberty. After the establishment of independence, he 
 returned to his native country, where he bore a leading part in 
 the transactions of the French revolution while the acts of the 
 
792 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 liberal party were guided by moderation and justice. Their ex 
 cesses soon drove him from the stage, and he had been many 
 years withdrawn from public notice. In his declining age he was 
 inspired with a wish to re- visit the scenes of his youthful exploits, 
 and contemplate the progress of a nation whom he had assisted 
 to make free, prosperous and powerful. He crossed the Atlantic 
 and arrived at New York in August, 1824. He made the tour 
 of the United States, and was everywhere received as the " guest 
 of the nation," with expressions of gratitude, respect, and honor, 
 that made his progress a triumphal march. On the 17th of June, 
 1825, he laid the foundation of the monument on Bunker Hill, in 
 the presence of two hundred thousand spectators. He returned 
 to France in September of the same^year. . 
 
 The state of Georgia, in 1827, again threatened a collision 
 with the federal government on the subject of the Creek Indians, 
 who had not yet removed from their lands. The government of 
 that state ordered the lands to be surveyed, and committed acts 
 of encroachment against the Indians, who, unable to defend them 
 selves, applied to the United States government for protection. 
 The president despatched troops for this purpose. The governor 
 of Georgia called out the militia to oppose them, and wrote an 
 insolent letter to the cabinet of Washington, threatening them 
 with a war. President Adams replied with great firmness to 
 the governor, that he should protect the- Indians, in conformity 
 to the laws of the country and the treaty last concluded with 
 them, and that he should employ force, if necessary, to put down 
 any attempt made by the government of Georgia in obstruction 
 of this design. This subject was laid before congress in a mes 
 sage, and caused much alarm. But a large majority of that body 
 approved the proceedings of the executive ; and the firmness and 
 prudence of the president again succeeded in quieting the troubles 
 without military interference. 
 
 The commercial convention with Great Britain was this year 
 prolonged by an agreement between the two governments. But 
 in July the British government excluded American vessels from 
 their colonies. The subject of the northern boundary of the 
 United States began now to attract a high degree of attention. 
 This boundary, according to the terms of the treaty of peace in 
 1783, and that of Ghent, in 1814, had never been precisely set 
 tled ; and many examinations, discussions and control ersies had 
 taken place from time to time. A tract of debatable territory 
 between Maine and New Brunswick had been withheld from the 
 jurisdiction of either party while the negotiations were going on, 
 
Daniel Morgan. 
 
 John C. Calhoun. 
 
Lewie Cass. 
 
 Daniel Webster. 
 
THE PUBLIC LANDS. 753 
 
 But at this period, a collision between the inhabitants of these 
 two districts began to be apprehended. 
 
 Andrew Jackson was, by a large majority, elected president of 
 the United States, in the autumn of 1828. The administration 
 of Mr. Adams had been eminently prosperous for the country, 
 Never was the government of the United States more ably admin 
 istered ; never was the nation more respectable abroad, or more 
 thriving at home. Yet, from various causes, president Adams 
 was not popular. As a New England man, he was regarded with 
 illiberal jealousy by the people of the south ; from his broad and 
 comprehensive views as a politician, he incurred the hostility of 
 the advocates of the anomalous doctrine of "state rights," which 
 now began to be asserted to a mischievous extent. His attach 
 ment to the system of protecting duties, gained him the opposi 
 tion of the "anti-tariff" party. He had, moreover, a most pow 
 erful rival to contend against; for no man surpassed General 
 Jackson in popularity with the people of the United States. 
 
 The beginning of the new administration was marked by a 
 most sweeping change in the public affairs. Numerous incum 
 bents of places in the appointment of the executive were imme 
 diately dismissed, and their posts supplied by avowed supporters 
 of the new government; but this only added to the popu 
 larity of the president, and his party went on increasing in 
 strength. In his first message to congress, he showed himself 
 less favorable to the American manufacturing system than his 
 predecessor, but his language on this topic was too cautious to 
 give serious offence to either party. The United States bank, the 
 great object of his subsequent hostilities, was mentioned in terms 
 of commendation. On the subject of state rights, and the juris 
 diction over the Indians, he differed from president Adams, and 
 leaned strongly toward the southern policy. 
 
 A treaty with the Emperor of Brazil, negotiated under the pre 
 ceding administration, was ratified in March, 1829. The session 
 of congress in 1830 is less distinguished for the active business 
 transacted, than for the interest and eloquence of the debates. 
 The subject of the public lands came before the senate, on a reso 
 lution offered by a member to abolish the office of land-commLs* 
 sioner, and suspend the sales for some years, till the land should 
 acquire a greater value. The public lands were, and are still, of 
 immense extent, and constitute a source of incalculable wealth to 
 the country. The subject was therefore of the highest interest; 
 but the orators of the senate digressed to topics altogether de 
 tached from the main point. Mr. Hayne, of South Carolina, took 
 occasion to charge the New England people with enviously op 
 
754 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 posing the settlement and prosperity of the western states. From 
 this matter he launched into the subject of state rights, which 
 doctrine he defended to what was deemed a disorganizing extent. 
 The real question before the senate was quite overlooked, and the 
 speaker pointed his rhetoric with severe sarcasms and invectives 
 against the inhabitants of the eastern states. 
 
 This attack called forth immediately a most indignant and elo 
 quent reply from Mr. Webster, the senator of Massachusetts. 
 With a force of language, and a power of argumentation, only the 
 more admirable for being unpremeditated, he defended the New 
 England people and the constitution of the United States in a 
 manner that carried overpowering conviction to all his hearers. 
 Never has this great orator, either before or since, exhibited the 
 brilliancy of his eloquence, and the elearness and force of his ar 
 gumentation, more than in this incidental debate. The character 
 of New England stood vindicated from the illiberal aspersions of 
 her accusers, and the sophistries of the doctrine of " state rights" 
 seemed to be dissipated to the winds by the champion of the fed 
 eral constitution. 
 
 This great, oratorical display, however, led to no legislative en 
 actment, and the subject of the public lands continued long before 
 congress. A bill for retrenchment in the public expenditures 
 came up frequently for discussion ; but although a great outcry 
 had been raised against the extravagance of Mr. Adams's admin 
 istration, it was found, on examination, that all possible economy 
 had been practised. No retrenchments, therefore, were made. 
 In 1830 a commercial convention was renewed with Great Brit 
 ain, but the colonial ports were not opened. A treaty was made 
 with Denmark, by which six hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
 were paid by that power as an indemnity for spoliations upon 
 American commerce. In 1831 the government of France having 
 become more favorable toward the United States, in consequence 
 of the revolution which had seated Louis Philippe on the throne, a 
 treaty was concluded with that power for the payment of twenty- 
 five millions of francs, for similar depredations committed under the 
 government of the Directory and Napoleon. The same year also 
 witnessed a treaty between the United States and Mexico. The 
 census of 1830 showed a population of 12,858,670. The ratio of 
 representatives in congress was fixed at 47,700. 
 
 The dispute with Great Britain concerning the northeastern 
 boundary was referred to the king of the Netherlands ; the two 
 parties agreeing to abide by his decision, as to the meaning of the 
 treaty of 1783. That monarch, however, professed himself un 
 able to explain the treaty, and suggested a compromise by divid- 
 
HOSTILITIES WITH THE INDIANS. 755 
 
 ing the contested territory. The government of the United States 
 did not accept the compromise, as the king had not been appoint 
 ed umpire, but expounder of the treaty. It was, moreover, not in 
 their power to cede the land to Great Britain by their own au 
 thority, unless upon a decision, that, by the terms of the treaty, 
 it did not form a part of the State of Maine. The dispute, there 
 fore, remained as far from adjustment as ever. 
 
 In 1832, the Indians of the states of Georgia, Alabama and 
 Mississippi, were removed to lands provided for them west of the 
 Mississippi, beyond the settlements of the whites, and measures 
 were taken to promote their security, tranquillity and gradual 
 civilization. The hostility of President Jackson against the bank 
 of the United States, which had been gradually developing itself, 
 now took a more emphatic tone. The charter of that institution 
 would expire in 1836, and the renewal of it was anxiously expect 
 ed by its friends; but the president, in his message to congress, in 
 
 1831, took a decided stand against it. Notwithstanding this, the 
 bank was considered, generally, by the mercantile class, as well as 
 by the ablest statesmen and financiers of the country, to be essen 
 tially necessary for the stability of the commercial and monetary 
 system of the country. Congress, although the majority consisted 
 of the political partisans of the president, passed an act renewing the 
 charter, in the summer of 1832. The act, however, was defeated 
 by the president, who interposed his veto. From this moment it 
 became evident that the bank had little chance of being continued 
 as a national institution, and preparations were made by the direc 
 tors to close its concerns. 
 
 For some years the northwestern frontier had been disturbed by 
 the hostilities of the Indians. A great influx of settlers, traders 
 and adventurers, into the territory of the Upper Mississippi, had 
 been caused by the discovery of the lead mines of Galena. Sev 
 eral murders were committed by the Indians, and an expedition 
 of United States troops was sent against the Winnebagoes, in 
 1828. Many of the hostile Indians were captured. One of these, 
 a celebrated chieftain, named Red Bird, died in prison. Black 
 Hawk, a friend of Red Bird, undertook to avenge him. Hostili 
 ties were renewed, and for several years the savages of the whole 
 frontier harassed the settlers with their incursions. In May, 
 
 1832, a detachment of about three hundred troops was attacked 
 at Sycamore Creek, by an army of nearly two thousand savages, 
 and defeated. In July, Black Hawk, with a body of above one 
 thousand warriors, took post at a point between Rock river and, 
 Wisconsin ; but receiving intelligence that General Atkinson, with 
 a strong force, was advancing upon him, he retreated into the 
 
 65 T4 
 
756 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 wilderness. Atkinson pursued the Indians, and, on the 2d of 
 August, came up with them near Bad-ax river, on the Mississippi. 
 A battle took place, which lasted three hours ; the savages fought 
 with desperation, and gave way only when they were charged at 
 the point of the bayonet. Many were driven into the Mississippi, 
 and more than one hundred and fifty were killed. Black Hawk 
 made his escape, but was soon after given up to the Americans 
 by two of his own countrymen. ' The savages were completely 
 humbled by this defeat, and a general pacification was the conse 
 quence. Black Hawk was well treated, and travelled over a 
 great part of the United States, after which he was permitted to 
 return to his own tribe. 
 
 In September, 1832, a treaty was made with the Winnebagoes, 
 by which they ceded to the United* States all their lands east of 
 the Mississippi and south of the Wisconsin, amounting to four 
 million six hundred thousand acres of valuable territory. By 
 another treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, an acquisition was made 
 of six millions of acres of land abounding in metallic ores, princi 
 pally lead. For these territories, the United States agreed to pay 
 the Indians twenty thousand dollars per annum for thirty years : 
 to discharge all the debts of the tribes ; to furnish them with 
 provisions, and to support blacksmiths and gunsmiths for their 
 accommodation. 
 
 Victory over Slack Hawk. 
 
CHAPTER LXXI1. 
 
 Dissensions respecting the tariff. Hostility of the southern states towards the 
 manufacturing system. State of feeling in South Carolina. Doctrines of nul* 
 hfication. Convention of Columbia, S. C. The revenue laws nullified. 
 Proclamation of the president against the nullifiers. Public sentiment. Cim- 
 gress declares against the South Carolinians. The Compromise Act of 1833. 
 Jackson's tour. Removal of the public deposits. Conduct of the senate. Finan 
 cial embarrassments of the country. Petitions to the president. The hard 
 money system. Disputes with the French government. Jackson's hostile mes 
 sage to congress. Mediation of the king of Great Britain. Effects of the 
 discontinuance of the United States Bank. Multiplication of small banks. 
 Increase of paper money. Mania of speculation. Increase of the revenue. The 
 national debt discharged. Flattering prospects of the country. End of Jack 
 son's administration. False system of trade and finance. Mr. Van Buren 
 chosen president. His policy. The pet bank system. Division of the surplus 
 revenue among the states. Mercantile disasters of 1837. Stoppage of the 
 banks. Distress of the country. Mr. Van Buren's doctrine of non-interfe 
 rence. Deficit in the treasury. The distribution suspended. Issue of treasury 
 notes. Increase of paper money. The sub-treasury system. Increase of public 
 expenditures. The Florida war. General Harrison elected president. His 
 death. Administration of John Tyler. Extra session of Congress. Retirement of 
 Mr. Clay. Return of exploring expedition. Settlement of north-eastern bounda 
 ry. Modification of the tariff. Doings of 3d session of 27th Congress. Celebra 
 tion of Bunker Hill monument. Remission of fine to Gen. Jackson. Treaty with 
 Texas rejected. Treaty with China ratified. Texas annexed by joint resolution.* 
 Election of Mr. Polk. 
 
 Two rival interests had been for some years maintaining a 
 struggle in the United States, that of the cotton planters in the 
 south, and that of the manufacturers in the middle and eastern 
 states. The duties on imports, established by the tariff of 1828, 
 operated as an encouragement to domestic manufactures; for 
 which reason it was disrelished at the south, where the people 
 imagined their interests had been sacrificed. The manufactures 
 of New England had indeed given a great stimulus to the indus 
 try and enterprise of that part of the union, and the rapidly 
 increasing wealth and power of the eastern states could not be 
 viewed with perfect complacency by their neighbors. There can 
 be no dispute that the prosperity of the New England people is 
 owing more to their native industry and ingenuity, than to the 
 artificial helps of a tariff; yet the belief had taken deep root at 
 the south, and particularly in the state of South Carolina, that 
 nothing but the system of protecting duties enabled the north to 
 prosper more rapidly than the south. Complaints on this subject 
 were uttered at an early period, and soon became a standing topic 
 with the public speakers and writers in the southern states. The 
 
758 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 system of duties was denounced as unequal in its application ; and 
 as the t opponents of the tariff heated themselves in their declama 
 tions, they assumed a bolder and more sweeping tone of denun 
 ciation. The import duties were pronounced unconstitutional, 
 and it was declared that any state possessed the power to annul 
 the laws ol the United States, by which such duties were imposed. 
 Hence arose the doctrine of " nullification." 
 
 The revenue law, passed in 1832, made a partial reduction of 
 the duties, but the politicians of the south, who had by this time 
 persuaded themselves into a belief that nearly the whole system 
 of duties was to be swept off, in accordance with the principles of 
 their new doctrine, were not in the least quieted by this change. 
 Their opposition waxed stronger on perceiving that the people of 
 the United States were not prepared to' admit so radical and 
 sweeping a change in their affairs. The excitement and ani 
 mosity in South Carolina rose to a great height ; the doctrine was 
 publicly avowed, and at length formally announced by the legis 
 lature of that state, in July, 1832, that the execution of the rev 
 enue laws within the state was to be prevented by force, if 
 necessary. 
 
 Nothing equal in bold audacity to this act was ever before 
 exhibited in the United States. All impartial and considerate 
 men felt alarm for the tranquillity of the country, as it was evi 
 dent that if such doctrines were to go into practice, the union of 
 the states was at once destroyed, and the federal authority would 
 be set at naught by any state, according to its temporary interest 
 or caprice. The principles of nullification received countenance 
 from some other states at the south, although not in so emphatic 
 and undisguised a manner as in South Carolina. A convention of 
 the people of that state assembled at Columbia on the 19th ol 
 November, 1832, and on the 24th, passed resolutions, declaring 
 unconstitutional, and formally nullifying, the revenue laws of 
 1828 and 1832. They also published an address to the people of 
 the state, inviting them to assist in obstructing the execution of 
 those laws. Such a proceeding as this was not to be passed 
 without notice from the federal government. Accordingly, on 
 the 10th of December, President Jackson issued a proclamation, 
 warning all people to abstain from any attempts to resist the laws 
 or authority of the United States, and announcing his deter 
 mination to put down by force, if necessary, all attempts of that 
 nature. The proclamation stated distinctly the causes for which 
 it was issued, and gave a brief but lucid exposition of the consti 
 tutional principles on which the president was bound to sustain 
 the authority of the federal government. Edward Livingston, 
 
759 
 
 known as one of the soundest jurists of the age, was at that time 
 secretary of state, and this able document was understood to pro 
 ceed from his pen. The effect of the proclamation was instanta 
 neous and powerful ; the public voice in almost all portions of the 
 country approved the stand which the president had taken ; his 
 strongest political opponents were among the first to come forward 
 and applaud his decision and firmness in support of the consti 
 tution. The legislatures of most of the states published resolu 
 tions condemning the conduct of South Carolina, and sustaining 
 the views of the president. 
 
 Shortly after the meeting of congress, this subject was brought 
 before them, and an act was passed giving the president full power 
 to enforce the revenue laws in every part of the United States. 
 This proceeding was also viewed with high satisfaction by the 
 people generally, and called forth their prompt applause. The 
 nullifiers, although their scheme of forcibly resisting revenue 
 laws was at once defeated by this firm action of the general 
 government, yet were not quieted, and after much discussion in 
 congress, it was thought advisable to modify the tariff still further, 
 so as to make it less odious to the south. Accordingly, in March, 
 1833, the act commonly termed the "compromise act," was intro 
 duced, which provided for the gradual reduction of the duties on 
 imports, to take effect in parts, in January, 1834, 1836, 1838 and 
 1840, diminishing the duties at each of those periods. This act 
 encountered some opposition, principally from the members of 
 the eastern and middle states, being considered by them as an 
 unwarrantable abandonment of the settled policy of the country, 
 and much more injurious to the manufacturers of the north than 
 a high tariff could be to the cotton planters of the south. The 
 compromise act, however, was passed. Its opponents were not 
 inclined to go the length of the South Carolinians, by nullifying 
 it, and the revenue laws went peaceably into effect. 
 
 President Jackson, in the summer of 1833, made a public tour 
 throughout the country, in the course of which he was received and 
 entertained with every demonstration of respect. His popularity 
 was now at its height. He had been reflected to his office, and 
 whatever opposition he had encountered seemed only to strengthen 
 his party. 
 
 His opposition tc the United States' Bank, from this period, 
 became more decided and effective. He had expressed doubts to 
 congress, as to the safety of the institution, and recommended 
 the removal of the public funds to some other place of deposit. 
 A committee of congress examined the institution, and reported 
 it to be sound, and its affairs well managed. The president. 
 65* 
 
760 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 however, by his own authority, caused the deposits to be removed 
 to banks of his selection, in September, 1833. Great excitement 
 followed, and a general shock was felt throughout the commercial 
 affairs of the country. For a time, large portions of the people, 
 and even many of the president's political friends, questioned the 
 wisdom and propriety of his conduct, in these measures, but he 
 was sustained by his party, and, the elections seemed to show, by 
 a large majority of the people. The measures against the bank 
 were continued, and the denunciations against banks in general 
 became so common, that the idea of an exclusively metallic cur 
 rency became a favorite one, and was advocated by certain lead 
 ing friends of the administration. 
 
 For many years a dispute had existed between the United 
 States and Great Britain, on the subject of the north-eastern 
 boundary. The line of separation between Maine and the British 
 provinces had been described by the treaty of 1783, in terms not 
 exactly conformable to the geographical features of the territory. 
 This circumstance, which was owing to the imperfect state of 
 the maps of that period, led the way to a long and perplexing 
 controversy between the two governments. The treaty of Ghent, 
 in 1815, left this point unsettled, and the dispute was now 
 renewed with more zeal and earnestness, on both sides, than ever. 
 The disputed territory was gradually filling up with settlers, both 
 British and American, and the contested jurisdiction of the 
 debatable land threatened to involve the inhabitants in serious 
 trouble. There appears to be no reasonable doubt of the full 
 justice of the American claim to the whole territory. Yet, as the 
 obscure language of the treaty afforded the British some plausible 
 ground for their pretensions, the American government consented 
 to submit the dispute to the decision of the king of the Nether 
 lands. That monarch, after diligent investigation, confessed 
 himself unable to explain the words of the treaty, and advised a 
 compromise by dividing the disputed territory. This was not 
 acceded to by the American government, on the principle that the 
 royal arbitrator was not authorized to pronounce a compromise, 
 but to award the whole territory to one or the other of the con 
 tending parties. 
 
 Subsequent disclosures show that the British government acted 
 with no great degree of candor and fairness in advancing their 
 claim, they having all the while, in their private possession, sev 
 eral maps of the country, executed in London at the period of 
 the treaty of 1783, in which their own authorities had laid down 
 the boundary precisely according to the American claim. The 
 territory, however, at the northern extremity of Maine possessed 
 

 George Washington. 
 
 James Madison. 
 
James Monroe. 
 
 John Quincy Adanu. 
 
DISPUTE WITH THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT. 761 
 
 an important value to the British, as it interposed between Nova 
 Scotia and Canada in such a manner as to cut off all direct com 
 munication between the former province and Quebec ; and they 
 had long been sensible of the value of a short military road 
 between the capitals of the two provinces. They continued, 
 therefore, to urge their claim with unabated zeal. 
 
 In the meantime the United States had become somewhat 
 involved in difficulty with the French government, who had 
 stipulated by treaty to pay twenty-five millions of francs, in 
 annual instalments, the first payment to be made in January, 
 1833. The French government, by some oversight, neglected to 
 make provision for this payment in season, and the bills drawn 
 upon their exchequer by the United States, were dishonored. 
 The president stated this fact to congress, and used language not 
 very complimentary to the French. Another year passed without 
 payment, and, early in 1834, he addressed congress in a special 
 message on this subject, condemning, in strong terms, the unjusti 
 fiable behavior of the French, and affirming it to be a sufficient 
 cause for war. He did not, indeed, recommend in express words 
 a resort to arms but, from his well-known resolute and inflexible 
 temper, and the sensitiveness of the French nation, serious antic 
 ipations were indulged, both in America and Europe, that hos 
 tilities would be the consequence. Great anger, indeed, was 
 manifested by the French, when the decided language of the 
 American president became known. His suggestion of reprisals 
 upon French commerce was resented as an insult. A strong hos 
 tile feeling against the United States began to exhibit itself ; and 
 a determination was apparent in the government to delay the pay 
 ment till the president had apologized. In this threatening state 
 of affairs, the king of Great Britain interposed his mediation, and 
 the difficulty was adjusted. The president disavowed any inten 
 tion of treating the French with disrespect, and the French gov 
 ernment made immediate arrangements for complying with the 
 terms of the treaty. About the same time, a treaty was made 
 with the king of Naples, for the payment of similar indemnities 
 to the United States. A treaty of commerce was also concluded 
 with the Sublime Porte. 
 
 The president continued his opposition to the Bank of the 
 United States, and, as it closed its concerns, the effects of the 
 change developed themselves more and more. The project of 
 totally abolishing banks, and introducing a hard money system, 
 proved abortive. An immense number of smaller institutions 
 started suddenly into existence, and the country was flooded with 
 paper money, founded upon an insufficient and insecure capital, 
 
 u4 
 
THE UNITED STATES 
 
 The easy acquisition of loans from these banks tempted the rash 
 ness and cupidity of every mercantile adventurer, and a reckless 
 system of trade and speculation soon prevailed, which led to the 
 most overwhelming disasters. Imports to an enormous amount 
 were made from foreign countries, and the first effect of this 
 over-excitement in business was a prodigious increase of the 
 revenue of the United States ; in consequence of which the wholo 
 national debt was paid off before the end of 1835. The revenue 
 now became more than sufficient for the yearly expenditures, 
 and schemes were devised for disposing of the surplus. The 
 condition of the United States was now considered to be one of 
 unrivalled prosperity. Within thirty years they had discharged 
 a national debt of more than one hundred and twenty millions, 
 besides making vast appropriations for public works ; the increas 
 ing revenue promised them a large unexpended balance every 
 year; population and trade had multiplied in every quarter of 
 the Union, and everything wore the most flattering appearance. 
 General Jackson retired from office in March, 1837, with the 
 memorable words, " I leave this great nation prosperous and 
 happy." 
 
 Prosperous and happy the people of the United States indeed 
 might have been, beyond all other men, had their prudence been 
 equal to their enterprise. Unfortunately, the brilliant phantom 
 of prosperity which now dazzled their vision, was the fruit of 
 hasty innovation. The enormous increase of banking institu 
 tions seemed to open at once an inexhaustible flood of riches. 
 Without solid capital, without responsibility or prudent manage 
 ment, they became engines of incalculable mischief in the hands 
 of schemers and adventurers. Real estate rose excessively in 
 value ; the mania of land speculation infected the whole country ; 
 tracts of wilderness, not worth the cost of surveying, sold for 
 millions of dollars to purchasers who looked for millions more of 
 profit. Agriculture and all slow and safe modes of acquiring 
 wealth, were disregarded; the madness of the gaming-table 
 seemed to inspire the market, the shop, and the exchange ; and a 
 second " South Sea bubble" was inflated to the full extent. 
 
 In this critical and overwrought state of public feeling, Martin 
 Van Buren became president of the United States, in 1837. He 
 was understood to profess the same political principles with his 
 predecessor, and owed his election to the circumstance of being 
 the most prominent individual of the party which had supported 
 President Jackson. His administration may be considered but as 
 carrying out the views of that which preceded it. Yet it was 
 already evident that the steps taken, instead of diminishing paper 
 
FINANCIAL EMBARRASSMENTS. 763 
 
 currency, had thus far increased it. The public deposits, removed 
 from the national bank, were lodged in different institutions 
 throughout the large commercial cities, which, on that account, 
 received the popular name of "pet banks." The free use of 
 enormous funds led immediately to swelling profits in these 
 banks, and as speedily to rash proceedings in the persons who 
 controlled them. 
 
 At the end of the year 1836, a sum of forty-seven million, seven 
 hundred thousand dollars, surplus revenue, remained in the treas 
 ury of the United States. So flattering and deceitful had been 
 the prospects of the country, that no one imagined the revenue 
 was about to suffer any considerable diminution. An act of con 
 gress was therefore passed, distributing forty-one millions among 
 the several states, according to their population. It is probable 
 that the distribution of this large sum hastened the mercantile 
 catastrophe of 1837. In sober truth, the millions of the surplus 
 revenue never existed : paper to that amount existed in the pet 
 banks, but when attempts were made to realize it in solid cash, it 
 vanished from the grasp. The inflated and overstrained system 
 of trade experienced a violent collapse. Early in 1837, a sudden 
 embarrassment was felt in mercantile transactions connected with 
 the banks ; great numbers of these institutions were found to be 
 in the most insecure and hazardous situations; an instant convic 
 tion followed, that the whole exaggerated system of trade preva 
 lent for the last three years, had rested on a false and deceitful 
 foundation. A panic now seized all the trading classes; the 
 banks throughout the country suspended the payment of specie ; 
 commerce, trade, and manufactures received a violent shock, and 
 all the bubbles of speculation and mercantile adventure burst in 
 an instant. Thousands of men, who supposed themselves to be 
 in the possession of enormous wealth, were in a moment reduced 
 to bankruptcy. 
 
 Such an overwhelming disaster seemed to call for the inter 
 ference and aid of the government. Accordingly, numerous 
 petitions, from all parts of the Union, requested the president to 
 convene congress at an earlier day than usual. That officer, at 
 length, yielding to importunities, issued a proclamation, calling 
 upon congress to meet in September. Meantime the treasury of 
 the United States began to feel the embarrassments of the times. 
 Vast sums of money had been lost in the pet banks, and it was 
 found necessary to suspend the distribution of the surplus reve 
 nue in October, 1837, after three fourths of the money had been 
 transferred to the states. So great had been the revulsion that 
 
764 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 even this measure did not save the treasury from a deficit, and it 
 was found necessary to raise ten millions by loan or otherwise, to 
 supply an exchequer, which, a year previous,. seemed filled with 
 inexhaustible funds. Congress, therefore, authorized the issuing 
 of ten millions of dollars, in treasury notes, with additional power 
 to the secretary to raise loans if necessary. The treasury notes 
 were made negotiable, and thus answered the purposes of paper 
 money. Ten millions more were issued in 1838, and the same 
 sum in 1839. 
 
 One of the favorite projects of Mr. Van Buren was the Sub- 
 Treasury system, by which the national funds were placed under 
 the control of agents, in different cities, appointed by the govern 
 ment. This plan was approved by congress, but the system con 
 tinued in operation only about a year; the repeal of the sub- 
 treasury being one of the earliest acts of the first congress which 
 convened under Mr. Van Buren' s successor. The necessities of 
 the treasury had continued to increase, on account of the falling 
 on* in the revenue, the augmentation in the number of public 
 agents, and the breaking out of a new Indian war in Florida. 
 These hostilities had their origin in 1835, from the fugitive 
 Creeks and Cherokees who were compelled to remove from their 
 lands in Georgia and Alabama. They withdrew to Florida, with 
 feelings of hostility to the whites, and commenced a series of 
 murders and outrages, against the settlers and military establish 
 ments in that country, which continued for several years. The 
 militia of the neighboring states were found insufficient to sup 
 press them, and the federal government sent large bodies of 
 troops into the country. The numerous disasters and petty ren 
 counters that have occurred during six successive years, would 
 only fatigue the reader in a detailed narration. One of the most 
 painful events of the struggle took place in December, 1835, when 
 two companies of United States troops, consisting of one hundred 
 and ten persons, were attacked near Tampa Bay, by an over 
 whelming force of Seminoles, and all slain but three, who, though 
 wounded, escaped. Fifty-three days after, the bodies of the slain 
 were found, untouched, upon the field. The officers, of which 
 there were eight, were distinguished, and all were duly interred. 
 Many millions of dollars have been expended, and many valu 
 able lives lost, in these several campaigns, till, at the present 
 time, 1843, the Florida war appears to be ended. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren retired from office at the end of a single term, 
 and William Henry Harrison became president in March, 1841. 
 General Harrison had lived in retirement ever since the close of 
 
SETTLEMENT OF THE NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY. 765 
 
 the war in 1815, excepting that, for a brief period, he had been 
 ambassador to one of the South American states, and had held 
 some local office in Ohio. On being inducted into the presidency, 
 he found himself transported immediately from the peaceful repose 
 of his farm to the cares, embarrassments, and anxieties of public 
 business. So sudden a transition produced a fatal effect upon a 
 frame advanced in years and declining in health. Labor, excite 
 ment and exposure brought on an inflammatory disorder, and 
 he died at Washington, after an administration of a month, on 
 the 4th of April, 1841. 
 
 Indian massacres in Florida. 
 
 On the demise of General Harrison, John Tyler, at that time vice- 
 president, assumed the government, agreeably to the Constitution, 
 and soon after issued an official address to the people of the United 
 States, explanatory of his political principles. These were, in gen 
 eral, in accordance with those of his predecessor, and of the party 
 which had elevated him to the second office in the nation. 
 
 On the 31st of May, an extra session of Congress, which had been 
 convened by General Harrison, commenced its session. Several 
 measures of importance were adopted ; among which was a bill to. 
 establish a uniform system of bankruptcy, throughout the United 
 States ; also a bill for the distribution, among the states, of the net 
 proceeds of the public lands. The sub-treasury law, adopted towards 
 the close of Mr. Van Buren's administration, was repealed. The 
 great measure, however, of this extra session, was the establishment 
 of a United States Bank. This the whig party had. long desired, 
 
 and a favorable opportunity, it was apprehended, had arrived, for the 
 66 
 
766 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 establishment of such an institution. To the surprise and regret of 
 the friends of this great measure, President Tyler vetoed the bill, 
 nor could he be induced to sanction another bill, creating a "Fiscal 
 Corporation for the United States," which was introduced, and which 
 was supposed to have his entire approbation. The immediate conse 
 quence of these repeated vetoes was the dissolution of his cabinet 
 the seveial secretaries retiring, with the exception of Mr. Webster, 
 the then secretary of state. From this time all harmony between 
 the president and his former political friends was suspended. 
 
 No measures of national importance were adopted during the 
 second session of the 27th Congress, excepting an act apportioning 
 the Representatives among the several States, according to the sixth 
 census. The ratio adopted was 70.6BO. 
 
 Before the close of the session, Mr. Clay, after a continuous service 
 of nearly thirty-six years in the public councils, retired from the 
 Senate, carrying with him the profound respect of all parties, and 
 especially of those of similar political principles. 
 
 During the summer of 1842, the exploring expedition, which the 
 government of the United States had equipped and sent out at the 
 national expense, returned, having been absent nearly four years, 
 during which it had sailed nearly ninety thousand miles. The ex 
 pedition was successful, and the discoveries, surveys, scientific 
 observations, sketches of natural scenery, portraits, specimens in 
 ornithology, &c., made and collected, were highly honorable to the 
 enterprise. 
 
 During the same summer, the long agitated and embarrassed ques 
 tion respecting the north-eastern boundary, was finally settled by a 
 treaty arranged at Washington, between Lord Ashburton and Mr. 
 Webster. For half a century, this question had been pending be 
 tween the two countries England and America ; and serious ap 
 prehensions were, on several occasions, entertained of hostilities 
 between the two countries on account of it. Fortunately for the 
 peace of the two nations, Mr. Webster had continued in the cabinet ; 
 and fortunate was it that a gentleman of great urbanity and equal 
 judgment was selected by England to conduct the negotiations in 
 her behalf. On the 10th of November, the President issued his 
 proclamation announcing the ratification of the treaty. 
 
 Before the adjournment of the second session of the twenty-sev 
 enth Congress, (August 31st,) a bill, modifying in some important 
 particulars the existing tariff, passed both houses of Congress, and 
 received the signature of the President. The first bill introduced 
 was vetoed by the Executive ; and, for a time, the friends of the 
 
BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.. 767 
 
 measure had little prospect of effecting their object. But the impe 
 rious necessity of the measure, the wants of the national treasury, 
 and the embarrassed condition of various branches of industry, 
 induced Congress to yield to the prejudices of the president. Ac 
 cordingly, such alterations were made in the bill vetoed, as com 
 ported with Mr. Tyler's views, and it received his sanction. 
 
 At the next session of Congress, the third of the twenty-seventh, 
 the principal acts passed related to the repeal of the bankrupt law, 
 which had become odious to a large portion of the business men of 
 the country to suitable provisions for promoting friendly inter 
 course between the United States and China, and also for carrying 
 into effect the late treaty with Great Britain. By the act relating 
 to intercourse with China, forty thousand dollars were placed at the 
 disposal of the Executive ; who nominated Caleb Gushing, of Mas 
 sachusetts, as commissioner, under the act, to the Celestial Empire. 
 On the 3d of March, 1843, Congress closed its session : and on the 
 8th of May following, Mr. Webster retired from the Cabinet, and 
 was succeeded in the responsible office of Secretary of State by 
 Hugh S. Legare, of South Carolina. 
 
 In June was celebrated, with great pomp and appropriate cere 
 monies, the completion of the Bunker Hill monument. This great 
 public work had met with numerous delays : but having, at length, 
 received its topmost stone, the 17th of June, the anniversary of the 
 battle, was assigned to celebrate the event. The president and sev 
 eral members of his cabinet honored the celebration. A multitude 
 of all classes, and from various parts of the country, were present. 
 An oration was pronounced by Mr. Webster on the occasion. The 
 pageant was grand and imposing, and calculated to exalt, in the 
 hearts of the assembled thousands, the virtues and the patriotism of 
 the men, who had in by-gone years moistened the soil on which the 
 monument stands with their richest blood. A sad event, however, 
 followed fast upon the festivities of the day this was the sudden 
 decease of Mr. Legare, the recently appointed Secretary of State. 
 He had followed the president to witness the celebration, but sud 
 den sickness fell upon him, and he died at his lodgings in Boston on 
 the morning after the celebration. 
 
 During the following winter, Jan 8th, 1844, an act passed Con 
 gress, refunding a fine, which had been imposed upon Gen. Jack 
 son at the time of the attack upon New Orleans, in the late war 
 with England. The repayment of this fine had been recommended 
 by the president as early as 1842 ; but the measure had been till now 
 strongly and successfully resisted. It had been imposed on the 
 
768 . THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 General by Judge Hall, for his refusal while commanding the army 
 at New Orleans, to obey a summons to appear before the court, and 
 answer for his disobedience of a writ of habeas corpus. The fine was 
 one thousand dollars. The amount now refunded fine and interest, 
 was two thousand seven hundred dollars : but the act disclaimed any 
 reflection upon Judge Hall. 
 
 In April, Congress was informed by a special message from the 
 president, that a treaty had been negotiated with Texas, by which 
 she was annexed as a territory to the United States. This annuncia 
 tion excited no small surprise throughout the country, and awakened 
 great solicitude in the minds of those who were opposed to the 
 measure ; as, in their view, it involved an extension of slavery and 
 a probable rupture with Mexico, which power laid claim to the 
 republic, as a part of her rightful domain. The treaty, however, 
 was rejected by the Senate ; and the object of the President for 
 the present failed. 
 
 During the second session of the 28th Congress, an important 
 treaty between the United States and the Chinese Empire was 
 ratified by an unanimous vote of the Senate. This treaty was con 
 cluded by Caleb Gushing and Tsiyeng, on the 3d of July, 1844 ; 
 and by it our relations with China were placed on a new footing, 
 eminently favorable to the commerce and other interests of the 
 United States. 
 
 The rejection of the treaty with Texas by the Senate, instead of 
 cooling, increased the ardor of President Tyler to accomplish his 
 plan of annexation. According to his wishes, and probably at his 
 suggestion, at the following session of Congress, a joint resolution 
 for her annexation was introduced into Congress, and passed the 
 House of Representatives, January 23d, by a vote of 1 18 to 101. In 
 the Senate, the resolution underwent several inportant amendments, 
 which, having been concurred in by the House, received the sanction 
 of the Executive ; and thus the way was prepared, in violation of the 
 Constitution, as many believed, for the annexation of Texas. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1845, the presidential career of Mr. Tyler 
 closed. For a time, he had been before the country as a candidate 
 for re-election, but finding himself sustained by no party, he with 
 drew from the canvass. The two candidates left in the field were 
 Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and James K. Polk, of Tennessee. These 
 had been nominated by the two great political parties in the coun 
 try by conventions, which had assembled at the city of Baltimore 
 one on the 1st, and the other on the 27th of May, 1844. During 
 the contest prior to the election, the friends of the respective can- 
 
ELECTION OF MR. POLK. 
 
 769 
 
 dictates used every effort to secure their election. On the votes 
 being counted, in the presence of both houses of Congress, Feb 
 ruary 12th, it was officially declared, that Mr. Polk was elected. 
 The whole number of votes given was two hundred and seventy-five 
 of which he had one hundred and seventy. Mr. Clay received one 
 hundred and five. George M. Dallas was elected Vice President 
 over Mr. Frelinghuysen by a similar majority. 
 
 Bunket Hill Monument. P. 767. 
 66 v4 
 
James K. Polk. 
 
 George M. Dallas. 
 
CHAPTER LXXI1I. 
 
 MR. POLE'S INAUGURATION. Formation of the Cabinet. Death of General Jackson 
 First message of Mr. Polk. Relations with Mexico. Question about Oregon Ad 
 mission of Texas. State of the controversy with Mexico. Battles of Palo Alto and 
 Resaca de la Palma. Army increased. Proclamation of war by the President. 
 Discussion in relation to Oregon. Notice to British government in relation to Ore 
 gon. Capture of California by Commodore Sloat. Blockade of the Mexican coast 
 Adjournment of Congress. Bills passed, Bills vetoed. Naval operations. 
 Capture of California. Attack on Alvarado. Capture of Tabasco. Capture of 
 Tampico. Military operations. Capture of Santa Fe. Siege and Capture of 
 Monterey. Bombardment and occupation of Vera Cruz. -Battle of Cerro Gordo. 
 Capture of Contreras, Churubusco, Jalapa, Perote, Puebla, and Molinosdel Rey. 
 Entrance into the Capital. Battle of Huamantl a. Deat h of Captain Walker, fyc. 
 
 AGREEABLY to the Constitution, James K. Polk entered upon the 
 duties of President of the United States, and George M. Dallas, 
 Vice President, on the fourth day of March, 1845. Mr. Folk's eleva 
 tion to this office was unexpected to both political parties. At the 
 Democratic convention held in Baltimore in May of the previous 
 year, Mr. Van Buren was expected to be the prominent candidate ; 
 but from various causes, particularly his opposition to the annexa 
 tion of Texas, his popularity, especially at the south, had diminished. 
 Hence, a plan was projected to supersede him by selecting another 
 candidate ; which was accomplished, by requiring a major vote 
 of two-thirds of the delegates present, in favor of the candidates, 
 who should be selected. This rule, now for the first time adopted, 
 was strenuously opposed by the friends of Mr. Van Buren ; but the 
 advocates of the change succeeded ; and as a consequence a can 
 didate was ultimately selected, whose name, previously to the con 
 vention, had scarcely been heard of in connection with the presi 
 dency. Once before the democratic party as a candidate, every 
 effort was of course made to elect Mr. Polk ; and, yet, it is doubt 
 ful, whether his friends seriously anticipated success ; be this, how 
 ever, as it may, so signal a triumph over a rival candidate so distin 
 guished and popular as was Mr. Clay, was unanticipated. 
 
 The ceremonies at the induction of Mr. Polk into office were, as 
 usual, grand and imposing, and were witnessed by a great concourse 
 of citizens gathered from all parts of the country. In his Inaugural 
 Address, delivered at the time, he gave, as usual, a summary of his 
 political principles entering somewhat minutely into the course 
 which he designed to pursue in the administration of the govern 
 ment. " It will be my first care," said he, " to administer the gov 
 ernment in the true spirit of the Constitution, and to assume no power 
 
772 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 not expressly granted, or clearly implied in its terms." It would, 
 also, be his aim to see that the general government did not trench 
 on the rights of the states : nor the states overstep the .imits of 
 power reserved to them. He expressed himself in opposition to a 
 national bank, and all other extraneous institutions, planted around 
 the government to control or strengthen it, in opposition to the will 
 of its authors. In regard to the adjustment of the revenue laws and 
 the levy of taxes, necessary to support the government, he consid 
 ered it a fundamental principle to collect no more than would be 
 required by an economical administration. In regard to a tariff, he 
 was in favor of one which, while it furnished an ample revenue, would 
 afford incidental protection to home industry ; but was opposed to a 
 tariff for protection only. He was -in favor of the annexation of 
 Texas, and expressed his satisfaction that measures were in progress 
 to effect that object. Our title to Oregon he considered to be " clear 
 and unquestionable." In the management of our foreign relations, 
 his aim would be to regard the rights of other nations, while those 
 of our own country would be the subject of constant vigilance. 
 Public officers, especially those entrusted with the collection and 
 disbursement of the revenues, would be held to a strict perform 
 ance of their duties. 
 
 Such is an outline of the Inaugural Address of President Polk. 
 It was in several respects, especially in its.pledges, worthy of a high- 
 minded and honest man, while, on the other hand, it contained 
 views in respect to a tariff, the annexation of Texas, and other 
 questions of political economy, which could meet with no favor from 
 his political opponents. 
 
 The formalities of the Inauguration were followed by the forma 
 tion of a new cabinet, which consisted of James Buchanan, of 
 Pennsylvania, Secretary of State : Robert J. Walker, of Mississippi, 
 Secretary of the Treasury: William L. Marcy, of New York, Sec 
 retary of War : George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, Secretary of the 
 Navy : Cave Johnson, of Tenntest^e Post-Master-General and 
 John Y. Mason, of Virginia, Attorney General. 
 
 But a few months had the new administration been in power, 
 when an event occurred which was calculated to make a deep im 
 pression upon the nation, and especially upon the officers of govern 
 ment. This was the decease of General Jackson, who breathed his 
 last, at his residence in Tennessee, on the evening of the 8th of June. 
 
 General Jackson had attained to the 79th year of his age. He 
 had long occupied a conspicuous place in the civil and military his 
 tory of the country. In many respects, he was a remarkable man 
 
DEATH OF GENERAL JACKSON. 773 
 
 He had enjoyed but few advantages for acquiring an education in 
 his early days, and the want of it was not unfrequently betrayed 
 in after life. But he had a suprising power over men. As a soldier, 
 he excelled in courage and vigor ; and in perseverance was indom 
 itable. At the head of an army, he evinced great skill and sagacity ; 
 he was ever prompt to take advantage of circumstances, and few, if 
 any, were ever more resolute in the execution of a plan or purpose 
 which they had once formed. That he was stern, no one could 
 doubt ; and in military discipline he was thought to be sometimes 
 severe. That in general he had the good of his country in view 
 is admitted by his political opponents, but the wisdom and expedi 
 ency of the means and measures, which he at times adopted, to 
 secure that good, may be questioned. During his administration, he 
 met with powerful opposition ; but few men ever succeeded in carry 
 ing forward their own plans more successfully, or triumphed more 
 uniformly over political ojffosition. 
 
 It is said that he died a Christian. On the merits of Jesus Christ, 
 he claimed to found his hopes of acceptance with God ; and thus 
 passed away from the turmoils of life, leaving to the nation and to 
 the world, as the result of his convictions, that the gospel possesses 
 a paramount value, as a sure foundation upon which to rest in refer 
 ence to a judgment to come. The news of his death was received 
 with due sensibility, and appropriate honors were paid to his memory 
 in all parts of the land. 
 
 The foreign relations of the country, on the accession of Mr. Polk, 
 were far from being settled and satisfactory. The annexation of 
 Texas had excited the jealousy and hostility of Mexico, and the 
 prospect of an open rupture with her was steadily increasing* 
 The question as to the title of Oregon was still in dispute between 
 America and England, and was assuming a serious and even alarm 
 ing aspect. Questions of internal policy, which, it was hoped, had 
 been settled, were likely to be again agitated with a change of 
 administration. On every side there was promise and prediction of 
 an unsettled state of affairs, both foreign and domestic. 
 
 The message of the president, on the assembling of Congrew in 
 December, 1845, was by no means calculated to diminish the anx 
 iety, which some entertained of approaching trouble. By the joint 
 resolution of Congress, passed at the preceding session, Texas was 
 to be admitted as a state into the Union, upon certain conditions. 
 There the president informed Congress she had complied with, 
 and nothing further remained but the passage of an act (whick he 
 65* 
 
774 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 strongly recommended, should be immediately done) to admit her 
 on an equal footing with the other states. 
 
 The relations with Mexico were represented as still more dis 
 turbed than when Congress adjourned. The minister of Mexico 
 resident at the seat of government, had made a formal protest 
 against the annexation of Texas, and had demanded his passports. 
 Diplomatic intercourse with that government had consequently 
 ceased. Besides, the belligerent conduct of Mexico had been such 
 as to require countervailing measures, and he had consequently 
 deemed it prudent to send a strong squadron to the coast of Mexico, 
 and to concentrate 'a sufficient military force on the western frontier 
 of Texas, between the Neuces and Del Norte. Such, according to 
 the message, was the position of our-relations with Mexico, on the 
 opening of the session of Congress. 
 
 In regard to the Territory of Oregon, the president represented 
 to Congress that several attempts had been made to settle all ques 
 tions pending between the two countries laying claim to it, but 
 without success. Negotiations had been carried on during the 
 administration of Mr. Monroe and Mr. Adams, but they had only 
 resulted in a convention for the joint occupancy of the territory 
 for ten years. Another convention was entered into, August 6th, 
 1827, which continued in force for an indefinite period the article of 
 the prior convention, touching the joint occupancy of the territory, 
 while it provided that at any time after the 20th of October, 1828, 
 either party might annul the convention, by giving the other party 
 a twelve-month's notice. 
 
 Here, for several years, the suoject had rested. The citizens of 
 each nation had, according to their pleasure, settled upon the terri 
 tory, or had carried on their hunting operations, in peace and amity. 
 But the statesmen of both countries could not but perceive the im 
 portance of settling in due time a controversy, which might one day 
 disturb the relations of the two governments. In 1843, the minister 
 of the United States resident in London brought the subject to the 
 notice of the British government, and made an offer of partition of 
 the territory, similar to that which had been made in 1818 and 1826. 
 
 In this state of the question, the negotiation was transferred to 
 Washington, and was renewed by an offer from the British minister 
 (August, 1844,) to divide the territory by the 49th parallel of north 
 latitude, leaving the navigation of the Columbia river to be equally 
 and freely enjoyed by the citizens of both countries. This proposi 
 tion was immediately rejected by the American Secretary ; upon 
 receiving notice of which rejection, the British minister requested 
 
OREGON. 775 
 
 that a proposition should emanate from the American government, 
 for an equitable settlement of the controversy. 
 
 At this stage of the negotiation, Mr. Polk succeeded to the pi esi- 
 deiicy. Anxious to settle the long pending question, he directed the 
 Secretary of State again to offer the 49th parallel of north latitude, 
 without the free navigation of the Columbia. This, the British min 
 ister rejected, and here the negotiation for a time was suspended. 
 
 Such was the state of things, touching this delicate question, on 
 the meeting of Congress. It was apparent to men of observation, 
 that the subject could not long remain in quietness. The territory 
 was fast settling. Jealousies were beginning to exist. Questions as 
 to rights would soon become matters of magnitude, and the longer 
 the controversy was permitted to continue, the less probability ex 
 isted of its amicable settlement. In this state of things, the presi 
 dent advised that the year's notice, required by the convention of 
 the 6th of August, 1827, should be given to Great Britain. " By so 
 doing," said the president, " at the expiration of a year, we shall 
 have reached a period when our national rights in Oregon must 
 either be abandoned, or firmly maintained." 
 
 In his message at the opening of the session, as already noticed, 
 the president recommended the adoption of joint resolutions to admit 
 Texas as a State into the Union. In accordance with this recom 
 mendation, joint resolutions were early introduced into the House of 
 Representatives. They were as follows : 
 
 "Whereas the Congress of the United States, by a joint resolu 
 tion, approved March the 1st, 1846, did consent, that the territory 
 properly included within, and rightfully belonging to the republic of 
 Texas, might be erected into a new State, to be called the State 
 of Texas, with a republican form of government, to be adopted by 
 the people of said republic by deputies in convention assembled, with 
 the consent of the existing government, in order that the same might 
 be admitted as one of the states of the Union ; which consent of 
 Congress was given upon certain conditions specified in the 1st and 
 2d sections of said joint resolutions : and whereas, the people of the 
 said republic of Texas, by deputies in convention assembled, with 
 the consent of the existing government, did adopt a constitution, and 
 erect a new state, with a republican form of government, and in 
 the name of the people of Texas, and by their authority, did ordain 
 and declare, that they assented to and accepted the proposals, con 
 ditions, and guaranties contained in said 1st and 2d sections of said 
 resolutions : and whereas, the said constitution, with the proper evi 
 dence of its adoption by the people of the republic of Texas, has 
 
776 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 been transmitted to the President of the United States, and laid before 
 Congress^ in conformity to the provisions of said joint resolutions ; 
 Therefore 
 
 " Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America in Congress assembled, That the state 
 of Texas shall be one, and is hereby declared to be one, of the United 
 States of America, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing 
 with the original states in all respects whatever. 
 
 " Be it further enacted, That until the Representatives in Con 
 gress shall be apportioned, according to an actual enumeration of 
 the inhabitants of 'the United States, the state of Texas shall be 
 entitled to choose two Representatives." 
 
 It was scarcely within the reasonable hopes of the opposers of the 
 annexation of Texas, that after the adoption of the measures, with 
 that object in view, by the preceding Congress, the present Con 
 gress would do any thing, by which to prevent her admission into 
 the Union. A few, perhaps, indulged the belief, that further pro 
 ceedings might be stayed ; and with that object in view, petitions 
 and remonstrances were sent in from various parts of the Union. 
 The President had, indeed, in his message congratulated Congress 
 and the nation that " this accession (of Texas) to our territory had 
 been a bloodless achievement. No arm of force had been raised to 
 produce the result. The sword has had no part in the victory. We 
 have not sought to extend our territorial possessions by conquest, or 
 our republican institutions over a reluctant people." This was ad 
 mitted by the opposite party, but they predicted war as a conse 
 quence, and this danger of a collision with Mexico they would have 
 avoided, by preventing the admission of Texas. Besides, the exten 
 sion of slavery was more distressing to many in all quarters of the 
 Union; and, moreover, it was urged that it was of dangerous ten 
 dency and doubtful consequences, to enlarge the boundaries of this 
 government or territory, over which our laws are now established. 
 " There must be some limit," said a wise and aged statesman, " to 
 the extent of our territory, if we would make our institutions perma 
 nent." 
 
 The opposers of annexation in various parts of the country, were 
 anticipating a warm and exciting debate on the subject in Congress, 
 and members of that body, who represented this party, were them 
 selves, it is believed, prepared to present strong, and to themselves, 
 satisfactory reasons, why the project should be abandoned. But to 
 the surprise of all, when the subject came up for consideration, dis 
 cussion was prevented by an early movement of the previous ques- 
 
MEXICO. 
 
 777 
 
 tion. To such a summary process strong remonstrances were made ; 
 but to the friends of the measure in Congress, who believed the most 
 raluable benefits would result to the Union by its consummation, 
 debate seemed needless ; and, consequently, the resolutions were 
 urged to a speedy adoption. On the 16th of December the ques 
 tion was taken, and the resolutions were adopted by a majority of 
 141 to 56. A few days after they received the sanction of the Sen 
 ate. In this latter body, however, an opportunity was given for the 
 opposers of annexation to urge their objections. This was done 
 with great dignity ; but a majority in the Senate, as in the House, 
 if not in the country, were found in favor of the measure. 
 
 Thus by a novel, and to many an unconstitutional process, was 
 Texas admitted into the Union, and " without any intermediate time 
 of probation, such as other territories had undergone before their 
 admission, she was vested with a right to send two Representatives 
 to Congress, while her population was insufficient to entitle her to 
 one, except, under the specific provision of the Constitution, that 
 each state shall have at least one Representative." 
 
 We again resume the history of affairs with Mexico. Late in 
 the Autumn of 1845, the American government commissioned the 
 Hon. John Slidell, of Louisiana, to proceed to Mexico as envoy to 
 bring to an amicable close all questions in dispute between the two 
 governments. But on reaching his place of destination, the exist 
 ing government of Mexico refused to receive him in his diplomatic 
 character. After a residence of some months, in the neighborhood 
 of the capital, and repeatedly bringing the subject of his reception 
 to the notice of the Mexican government, he was obliged to return 
 to the United States, without having effected a single object of his 
 mission. This rejection of its envoy was the more offensive to the 
 American government, from the fact, that, previous to his appoint 
 ment, assurances had been received from the Mexican government, 
 that an envoy entrusted with adequate powers would be received. 
 
 Prior, however, to the final rejection of Mr. Slidell, but under an 
 apprehension that such an indignity would be offered both to the 
 envoy and his government, the president directed General Taylor 
 in command of the American forces at Corpus Christi, in Texas, to 
 break up his encampment at that place, and concentrate his forces 
 on the left bank of the Del Norte. In obedience to these orders, a 
 movement of the troops from Corpus Christi commenced on the 
 llth of March, 1846, and on the 28th an encampment was formed 
 opposite Matamoras. About the same time a depot was established 
 
 w4 
 
778 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 at Point Isabel, near the Brazos Santiago, some thirty miles in the 
 rear of the American camp. 
 
 For years, the Mexicans had claimed the Neuces to be the proper 
 dividing line between themselves and Texas. The passage of this 
 boundary, therefore, by the American army, gave great offence to 
 the Mexicans, who considered this an act of invasion. Nor was 
 a large portion of the American people convinced either of the jus 
 tice, or expediency of the measure. Instead of leading to peace, it 
 was apparent that it would serve to increase the misunderstanding 
 already existing, and end in open and possibly long protracted war 
 fare. It was indeed claimed by Texas, that her territory extended 
 to the Rio Grande ; but this being a disputed point, the invasion of 
 the territory was deemed impolitic and belligerent. 
 
 The Mexican General, Ampudia, at this time commanding at Mata- 
 iioras, naturally indignant at seeing a hostile force in his immediate 
 vicinity, warned General Taylor to retire, and that within the space 
 of twenty- four hours. Just at this juncture, Ampudia was succeeded 
 in command by Arista, an officer of still more enterprise and deter 
 mination. The latter, on taking command, communicated to General 
 Taylor, that unless he retired, he should consider that hostilities had 
 oegun. That same day, blood the first blood was shed. A party 
 of American dragoons, consisting of sixty-three, who had been on 
 a reconnoitering expedition up the Del Narte, was attacked by a 
 body of Mexicans, and sixteen were killed and wounded, and the 
 remainder captured. 
 
 The force under command of the American General before Mata- 
 moras was far from being adequate to any hostile movement, and 
 scarcely sufficient for defence. In view of this fact, and, indeed, in 
 anticipation of such inadequacy, the president had authorized a call 
 upon the governor of Texas for four regiments, and a similar num 
 ber from the governor of Louisiana. These regiments were expected 
 to add about 5,000 men to the force of General Taylor. But be 
 fore they had reached the American camp, the situation of the army 
 had become critical and alarming. The Mexican force was grad 
 ually augmenting, and their means of attack or defence increasing. 
 Among the Americans the stock of provisions was getting low, and 
 communication with Point Isabel was liable to be interrupted. Find 
 ing his situation critical on this account, General Taylor set out on 
 the 1st of May, leaving a garrison of 700 or 800 men to defend the 
 camp, and succeeded in reaching Point Isabel, without molestation. 
 
 His departure was, however, the signal for an attack upon the 
 American camp, which occurred on the 3d. The assault was two- 
 
BATTLE OF PALO ALTO. 779 
 
 fold one from the batteries, on the opposite side of the river and 
 the other by means of a detachment of troops, which had crossed 
 the river for the purpose of approaching in the rear. Both attacks 
 were without success. The Mexican batteries were soon silenced, 
 and the troops in the rear repulsed with considerable loss. The 
 Americans lost but a single man. 
 
 Major General Taylor. 
 
 The next object, and one of great importance to the Mexicans, 
 was to intercept General Taylor, on his return from Point Isabel 
 and, if possible, to destroy the force with him. This it was thought 
 would lead to an easy victory over the garrison opposite Matamoras. 
 With this in view, the Mexican force took post at Palo Alto ; and 
 here, on the 8th, occurred the memorable battle of that name, and 
 which will long be remembered for the desperate spirit which was 
 manifested by both armies, and for the signal triumph of the Ameri 
 can arms over an enemy more than twice as numerous. The Mexican 
 troops consisted of five thousand infantry seven pieces of artilleiy. 
 and eight hundred cavalry. The force of the Americans was two 
 thousand and three hundred infantry two eighteen-pounders, and 
 two light batteries. The loss of the Americans was comparati vely 
 small; yet they had to regret the loss of a brave officer in Major 
 Ringgold. Captain Page was severely wounded, and died a short 
 time afterwards. General Arista, in his official report, admitted the 
 Mexican loss to be in killed, ninety-eight ; wounded and missing, 
 
780 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 one hundred and forty-two. The American army, the following 
 hight, encamped on the ground. 
 
 Battle of Palo Alto. Fall of Major Rlnggold. 
 
 But the contest was destined to be renewed the following day 
 with even more severity, and with greater sanguinary results. The 
 American army was put in motion in the morning, with a fair pros 
 pect of reaching their camp : but when within a few miles of it 
 they were suddenly attacked at a place called Resaca de la Palma 
 
 Battle of Resaca de la Palma. 
 
MOVEMENTS OF GENERAL TAYLOR. 
 
 781 
 
 and a battle ensued, of shorter continuance than that of Palo Alto, 
 but attended with greater loss to both contending forces. The Amer 
 icans were again triumphant, capturing eight pieces of artillery, 
 
 Charge of Capt. May, at the Battle ofResaca de la Palma. 
 
 Surrender of Gen. La Vega, 
 
 three standards, large quantities of ammunition, and several hun- 
 dreds of prisoners, among whom was General La Vega. The loss 
 of the Americans, in both actions, as returned by General Taylor, 
 
 
782 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 was three officers and forty men killed thirteen officers and one 
 hundred men wounded. The Mexican loss, officially reported, was 
 one hundred and fifty-four officers and men killed; two hundred and 
 five wounded ; missing, one hundred and fifty-six. Having no means 
 of throwing his army across the river, General Taylor was unable 
 to follow up the advantage gained over the enemy by pursuing them, 
 as he would gladly, and, in that case, might have successfully done : 
 but, yielding to necessity, he now directed his march towards his 
 encampment opposite Matamoras, where he arrived without further 
 molestation. 
 
 Time elapsed ere the news of these victories reached the govern 
 ment .at Washington : but already had the critical state of the Ameri 
 can army become known, both to the government and to the people 
 of the United States. The war was not popular. It was deemed 
 both impolitic and unnecessary : but when intelligence was received 
 that the American General and his troops were destitute of supplies 
 were surrounded by a greatly superior force, and were hence in 
 imminent danger, a deep and wide-spread sympathy sprung up, and 
 an unanimous and simultaneous desire was expressed, that not only 
 adequate supplies should be promptly forwarded, but that a force 
 hi every respect competent should be raised, to relieve the army, 
 and to prosecute the war to a speedy and successful issue. Con 
 gress itself, then in session, were actuated by similar sentiments, and 
 by a similar impulse. An act accordingly was soon passed, author 
 izing the President to employ the forces of the United States, naval 
 and military, and also to call for and accept of the services of any 
 number of volunteers not exceeding fifty thousand, either cavalry, 
 artillery, infantry, or riflemen. Besides the above, the regular army 
 was increased several thousands. 
 
 Simultaneous with the passage of the above act, the President 
 issued his proclamation, announcing the existence of war, " by the 
 act of the republic of Mexico," and calling upon the citizens of the 
 United States to unite in preserving order, and in maintaining the 
 honor of the nation. 
 
 We turn again to the subject of the Oregon territory, and the 
 issue of the long pending question respecting the claims of America 
 and England to its soil. The President had, as has been noticed, 
 advised to terminate the convention of August 6, 1827, by giving 
 England the notice required by an article therein. At length, the 
 subject came up for consideration, and seldom has a question elicited 
 warmer or more protracted discussion. Every member felt that the 
 subject was one of great delicacy, and pregnant with events of 
 
 
OREGON. 783 
 
 solemn import to the nations concerned, and perhaps to the world. 
 It was an experiment, which might lead to the happiest results a 
 final and amicable settlement of a long-standing controversy, or it 
 might terminate in dire and lasting war. 
 
 The debate, as was natural, took a wide range, and involved 
 many collateral subjects for consideration. Several modes were 
 suggested, according to which the notice was proposed to be given. 
 At length, on the 16th of April, the question was taken in the senate 
 on a resolution, which had originated in the house and been amended 
 in the senate, to give said notice, and decided in the affirmative by a 
 majority of forty to fourteen. On being returned to the house, the 
 latter agreed to the senate's amendments, but added still further 
 amendments. These latter, however, were negatived by the senate, 
 and the house insisting, a conference was solicited by the latter. 
 This being accepted by the senate, a committee of conference was 
 appointed, who reported the following preamble and resolution, 
 which passed the senate by a vote of forty-two to ten, and the house 
 by a vote of one hundred forty-two to forty-six. 
 
 " A Joint Resolution concerning the Oregon territory. Whereas, 
 by the convention concluded the twentieth day of October, eighteen 
 hundred and eighteen, between the United States of America and 
 the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, for 
 the period of ten years, and afterwards indefinitely extended and 
 continued in force by another convention of the same parties, con 
 cluded the sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord one thou 
 sand eight hundred and twenty-seven, it was agreed that any country 
 that may be claimed by either party on the northwest coast of 
 America westward of the Stony or Rocky mountains, now com 
 monly called the Oregon territory, should, together with its harbors, 
 bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers within the same, 
 be " free and open" to the vessels, citizens, and subjects of the two 
 powers, but without prejudice to any claim, which either of the par 
 ties might have to any part of said country ; and with this further 
 provision, in the second article of the said convention of the sixth 
 of August, eighteen hundred and twenty-seven, that either party 
 might abrogate and annul said convention, by giving due notice of 
 tweive months to the other contracting party 
 
 " And whereas it has now become desirable that the respective 
 claims of the United States and Great Britain should be definitely 
 settled, and that said territory may no longer than need be remain 
 subject to the evil consequences of the divided allegiance of its 
 American and British population, and of the confusion and conflict 
 
784 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of national jurisdictions, dangerous to the cherished peace and good 
 understanding of the two countries 
 
 "With a view, therefore, that steps be taken for the abrogation of 
 the said convention of the sixth of August, eighteen hundred and 
 twenty-seven, in the mode prescribed in its second article, and that 
 the attention of the governments of both countries may be the more 
 earnestly and immediately directed to the adoption of all proper 
 measures for a speedy and amicable adjustment of the difficulties 
 and disputes in respect to said territory 
 
 " Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Uni 
 ted States, in Congress assembled, That the President of the United 
 States be, and he is hereby authorized, at his discretion to give the 
 British government the notice required by its said second article for 
 the abrogation of the said convention of the sixth of August, eighteen 
 hundred and twenty-seven." 
 
 Thus was decided a question, which had greatly agitated the en 
 tire country, and which, in the progress of discussion, had occasioned 
 observations and reflections strongly calculated to disturb the har 
 mony of the two governments, and which, in the opinions of some, 
 were designed to produce such an effect. But the folly and guilt of 
 engendering war between two nations so allied, and in which Chris 
 tian principle was bound to hold sway, was, on several occasions, 
 and by some of the principal men of the nation, pointed out. Sol 
 emn warning was given to those, who would madly have rushed to 
 arms by setting up claims of doubtful validity, and which, it is well 
 known, would never be acceded to by the British government. 
 But, at length, the troubled waters grew calmer ; and, while to a 
 small portion of Congress and of the nation, the resolutions adopted 
 were still obnoxious, a vast majority of the people were gratified at 
 their mild and conciliatory tenor. 
 
 It still remained to be known, in what spirit this resolution would 
 be received by her Majesty's government : but it was devoutly de 
 sired that it might lead to a final and harmonious settlement of all 
 questions pertaining to the territory of Oregon. And so it resulted, 
 fortunately for the peace of the two powers immediately concerned, 
 and to the peace of the continental powers of Europe. 
 
 On the 28th of April, the President gave official notice to her Ma- 
 ; esty, Queen Victoria, that "the convention of August 6th, 1827, 
 would terminate at the end of twelve months from and after the 
 delivery of these presents." 
 
 Before the delivery of this notice, however, the subject of an 
 
OREGON. 785 
 
 amicable settlement of all questions relating to Oregon, had occu 
 pied her Majesty's government, and en the 18th of May, Mr. 
 M'Lane, our Minister, informed Mr. Buchanan that the British 
 Minister at Washington would soon receive instructions to submit a 
 new and further proposition, on the part of the British government, 
 for a partition of the territory in dispute. 
 
 On the 10th of June, the President made a special and confiden 
 tial communication to the Senate, informing that body that such a 
 proposal had been made, and requesting their advice as to the ac 
 tion, which, in their judgment, it was proper to take in reference to 
 it. At the same time he reiterated the views, which he had ex 
 pressed in his annual message, "that no compromise, which the 
 United States ought to accept, could be effected ;" " that our title to 
 the whole of Oregon" was maintained "by irrefragable facts and 
 arguments," and that the claim " could not be abandoned, without 
 a sacrifice of both national honor and interests." Such was the 
 tenor of the President's communication. But he solicited advice. 
 
 On the 12th, the Senate adopted, 38 to 12, the following resolu 
 tion : " Resolved, (two-thirds of the Senate concurring,) That the 
 President of the United States be, and he is hereby advised to ac 
 cept the proposal of the British government accompanying his mes 
 sage to the Senate, dated June 10th, 1846, for a convention to settle 
 boundaries, &c., between the United States and Great Britain, west 
 of the Rocky or Stony mountains." 
 
 On the 16th of June, the President communicated to the Se&ate 
 a copy of a convention, or treaty, which had been concluded and 
 signed on the 15th inst., settling boundaries, &c., in relation to Ore 
 gon whereupon the Senate by a vote of 41 to 14 advised and Con 
 sented to the ratification of the same. 
 
 The two principal articles of this treaty are as follows : 
 
 " Art. 1. From the point on the 49th parallel of north latitude, 
 where the boundary, laid down in existing treaties and conventions 
 between Great Britain and the United States, terminates, the line of 
 boundary between the territories of her Britannic Majesty and tkose 
 of the United States shall be continued westward along the 49th 
 parallel of north latitude to the middle of the channel which sepa 
 rates the continent from Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly 
 through the middle of the said channel, and of Fuca's straits, to the 
 Pacific Ocean ; provided, however, that the navigation of the said 
 channel and straits, south of the 49th parallel of north latitude, 
 remain free and open to both parties. 
 
 " Art. 2. From the point at which the 49th parallel of north 
 
786 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 tude shall be found to intersect the great northern branch of the 
 Columbia. river, the navigation of the said branch shall be free, and 
 open to the Hudson's Bay Company, and to all British subjects 
 trading with the same, to the point where the said branch meets 
 the main stream of the Columbia, and thence down the said main 
 stream to the ocean, with free access into and through the said river 
 or rivers it being understood, that all the usual portages along the 
 line thus described, shall in like manner be free and open. In navi 
 gating the said river or rivers, British subjects, with their goods and 
 produce, shall be treated on the same footing as citizens of the United 
 States It being, however, always understood, that nothing in this 
 article shall be construed as preventing or intended to prevent the 
 government of the United States from making any regulations, re 
 specting the navigation of the said river or rivers, not inconsistent 
 with the present treaty." 
 
 Thus was finally settled, (ratifications being afterwards duly ex 
 changed,) a question, which had involved the two governments in dis 
 cussions long and wearisome for a series of years ; and which in its 
 progress, was threatening the peace and amity of the two nations. 
 The treaty thus confirmed was not in all its provisions quite accept 
 able, nor was it considered the most advantageous that could have 
 been negotiated ; but the Senate received, as it was entitled to, the 
 thanks of the country for terminating a controversy fraught with 
 dangers every month that it continued. 
 
 Congress terminated its long and important session on the 10th 
 of August. In addition to its proceedings, already developed in these 
 pages, several bills were passed, among which was one for the pro 
 tection of citizens resident in the territory of Oregon a bill for the 
 establishment and regulation of the sub-treasury a bill, for the im 
 provement of certain rivers and harbors in the United States and 
 a bill to indemnify citizens of the United States for " French spoli 
 ations." 
 
 The " harbor bill," as it was denominated, had special reference 
 to the improvement of harbors on the western waters. The great 
 est benefits had been anticipated from liberal appropriations to this 
 object, as many of the harbors on. the lakes were in an exposed and 
 insecure condition. Great was the disappointment, therefore, when 
 it was announced that the president had vetoed the bill, not only be 
 cause of constitutional objections, but because the money would be 
 needed in carrying on the existing war. Loud complaints were 
 uttered, and strong opposition to the president in all that region was 
 predicted. 
 
NAVAL OPERATIONS. 787 
 
 Another class of citizens were disappointed, whose claims to relief 
 were beyond all dispute. These were sufferers on account of 
 " French spoliations." For years had they attempted, but in vain, 
 to secure the favorable attention of Congress to a subject which 
 should long since have been acted upon, and indemnity granted, ac 
 cording to the pledges of the American government. And now, 
 that both houses of Congress had done some small justice, it was 
 deemed both cruel and oppressive in the President to add his veto 
 to this bill also, especially as it had received the decided sanction 
 of both Senate and House of Representatives. 
 
 It may be added, that near the close of the session a measure of 
 great importance was adopted, viz., an essential modification of the 
 tariff established in 1842. Few subjects were discussed with more 
 eminent ability during the session. The impolicy and suicidal influ 
 ence of the proposed alteration, were strongly urged by the friends 
 of manufacturers, and the most serious consequences predicted to 
 various branches of industry, left by the bill without adequate pro 
 tection. But the democratic party stood pledged to alter the tariff 
 of 1842, and accordingly the whole strength of that party was sum 
 moned to carry the measure through Congress. The bill passed the 
 House by the considerable majority of nineteen votes : in the Sen 
 ate, however, such was the doubt existing as to the expediency of 
 the measure, notwithstanding the encomiums passed upon it by its 
 advocates, that it was carried only by the casting vote of the Vice 
 President. 
 
 Having detailed, with some particularity, the proceedings of Con 
 gress to the close of its session, we revert to the operations of the 
 government in relation to the war with Mexico, from and after the 
 battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. 
 
 Naval Operations. On the 7th of June, 1846, Commodore Sloat, 
 commander of the naval force of the United States in the Pacific 
 ocean, received information at Mazatlan of the existing war between 
 the United States and Mexico. On the following day, he sailed in 
 the frigate Savannah for the coast of California, and on the 2d ot 
 July, entered the harbor of Monterey. On the 7th, he demanded 
 a surrender of the place. This being evaded, an adequate force was 
 landed from the squadron, and took possession of the town, and 
 raised the flag of the United States without opposition, or blood 
 shed. On the 9th, Commander Montgomery, of the sloop Port smouth, 
 under the Commodore's orders, with like success took possession of 
 Francisco, and that part of the country, in the name of the United 
 States. On the 17th, he dispatched a detachment as far as the 
 
788 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Mission of St. John's, to hoist the flag of the United States there. On 
 his arrival, however, he found that the place had been captured an 
 hour or two previously by Lieutenant Colonel Fremont, of the United 
 States Army, with whom he returned to Monterey on the 19th. 
 
 On the 15th of July, the frigate Congress, Commodore Stockton, 
 arrived at Monterey. The health of Commodore Sloat being infirm, 
 he delivered up the command of the squadron to the former, with 
 an intention of returning to the United States. 
 
 On the 25th of July, the Cyane, Captain Mervine, sailed from 
 Monterey, with Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, and a small volunteer 
 force on board, for San Diego, to intercept the retreat of the Mexi 
 can General Castro. A few days after, Commodore Stockton sailed 
 in the Congress for San Pedro, and with a detachment from his 
 squadron of three hundred and sixty men, marched to the enemy's 
 camp. It was found that the camp was broken up, and the Mexicans, 
 under Governor Pico and General Castro, had retreated so precip 
 itately that Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont was disappointed in inter 
 cepting them. On the 13th, Commodore Stockton was joined by 
 this gallant officer, and marched a distance of thirty miles from the 
 sea, and entered, without opposition, the Ciudad de los Angelos, or 
 City of the Angels, the capital of California. And on the 22d of 
 August, the flag of the United States was flying at every command 
 ing position, and California was in the undisputed military posses 
 sion of the United States. 
 
 Soon after taking possession of California, Commodore Stockton 
 issued his proclamation, constituting a new government, appoint 
 ing its officers, and declaring himself Governor of the territory, 
 by authority of the President of the United States. 
 
 While these events were transpiring in the Pacific, the "Home 
 Squadron" under Commodore Conner, was attempting a reduction of 
 Alvarado, on the south part of the Gulf of Mexico, and the capture 
 of the enemy's vessels of war in that river. Owing, however, to the. 
 rapidity of the current, he was obliged to abandon his design, and 
 withdraw his force. 
 
 On the 15th of October, however, he made another attempt 
 to enter the Alvarado river for the same purpose. In endeavoring 
 to cross the bar, one of the steamers, having in tow the principal 
 division of the attacking force, grounded and became entangled with 
 the vessels in tow. The current could not be overcome in the state 
 of the wind without the aid of steam, and the commodore had the 
 mortification of being compelled to retire. 
 
 On the 16th of October, Commodore M. C. Perry, with the steamei 
 
CAPTURE OF TAMPICO. 
 
 789 
 
 Mississippi and the small vessels, left the squadron at Lizardo, and 
 sailed for Tabasco. On the 23d he arrived off the bar, and with 
 great judgment and gallantry captured the town of Fronteira, with 
 the enemy's steamers and vessels in port, and proceeded up the 
 river a distance of seventy-four miles, into the interior of a settled 
 country, and appeared before the city of Tabasco. He captured 
 the vessels in the port ; and, at the earnest request of the foreign mer 
 chants/humanely determined not to involve them in ruin, by destroy 
 ing the town. In dropping down the river, one of his prizes grounded, 
 and a large body of Mexicans opened a furious fire on her, which 
 was promptly returned with great effect the stranded vessel was 
 got afloat, and the Mexicans beaten off. But in this treacherous 
 attack, one American seaman was killed, and Lieutenant Charles 
 W. Morris and two seamen were wounded. Lieutenant Morris sur 
 vived until the 1st of November, when he died of his wound, on 
 board the Cumberland. 
 
 On the 12th of November, Commodore Conner sailed with a large 
 portion of his squadron, and on the 14th the important town of 
 Tampico capitulated unconditionally without resistance. Three fine 
 
 View of Tampico. 
 
 gunboats and other property fell into the hands of the captors. 
 In the capture of Tampico, the Mexicans lost one of their most 
 considerable ports in the Gulf. Arrangements were immediately 
 68 
 
T90 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 made to garrison the place the command of which was given to 
 an officer of the army. 
 
 Military Operations. Congress having authorized the President, 
 as already noticed, to accept the service of volunteers, not exceeding 
 fifty thousand, a call for that purpose was made upon several of the 
 states for twenty-six regiments, amounting in all to about twenty - 
 three thousand men, to serve for the period of twelve months, or 
 to the end of the war. Much the largest portion of this force was 
 designed to co-operate with the regular army under General Taylor, 
 then on the Rio Grande. After establishing his base of operations 
 on that river for several hundred miles, he moved into the enemy's 
 country in the direction of Monterey, in the department of New 
 Leon. Another portion was concentrated, under General Wool, at 
 San Antonio de Bexar, for a movement upon Chihuahua ; and the 
 volunteers from the State of Missouri assembled at Fort Leaven- 
 worth, to compose, with a few hundred regular troops, an expedition 
 to Santa Fe, under General Kearney. 
 
 The operations of the force under Generals Kearney and Taylor 
 have resulted in important accessions to the military acquisition of 
 the country, while it is supposed Coahulia and Chihuahua have been 
 in effect wrested from Mexico by the force of General Wool. 
 
 On the 30th of June, General Kearney, with the force under his 
 command, amounting, in all, to about 1600 men, regulars and volun 
 teers, moved from Fort Leaven worth upon Santa Fe, where he 
 arrived, after a march of 873 miles, on the 18th of August, and took 
 military possession of New Mexico without resistance. The Mexi 
 can forces, about four thousand in number, which had been collected 
 near that city under the late governor, Armijo, to oppose his pro 
 gress, dispersed on the approach of our troops, and the governoi 
 nimself fled with a small command of dragoons in the direction of 
 Chihuahua. 
 
 Having thus taken possession of New Mexico and its capital, 
 Santa Fe, General Kearney proceeded to establish a provisional 
 government, proclaiming himself governor, and appointing several 
 civil officers to act under his authority. 
 
 With a regular force of about 300 dragoons, leaving orders for 
 a part of the volunteers to follow, he commenced his march from 
 Santa Fe for California, intending to proceed down the Rio Grande 
 about two hundred miles, thence to strike across to the Gila, and to 
 move down that river near to its mouth, then across the Colorado 
 to the Pacific, where he hoped to arrive about the last of Novem 
 ber. After proceeding about 180 miles on his route, he was met 
 
STORMING OF MONTEREY. 791 
 
 by an express from California, sent by Lieutenant Colonel Fremont. 
 Unlearning the condition of things in that quarter, and deeming that 
 an additional force would not be required in California, he directed 
 most of that with him to return to Santa Fe. Selecting about one 
 hundred men to accompany him, he continued on his route. 
 
 While these events were in progress, preparations were making 
 by the hero of Palo Alto, and Resaca de la Palma, to push his con 
 quests west of Matamoras, which had already fallen into his hands. 
 His next object was the capture of Monterey, the capital of New 
 Leon. 
 
 On reaching the city, on the 19th of September, it was found to 
 be strongly fortified : a large work had been constructed, command 
 ing all the northern approaches, added to which the Bishop's palace 
 and some heights in its vicinity near the Saltillo road, had been 
 fortified, and occupied with the troops and artillery. A close recon- 
 noisance of the several works, however, convinced Gen. Taylor of 
 the practicability of throwing forward a column to the Saltillo road, 
 and thus turn the position of the enemy. This duty was assigned to 
 General Worth ; who, on the afternoon of the 20th, led his division, 
 the second, to the attempt ; Gen. Taylor, meanwhile, directing a 
 strong diversion in his favor by an attack in front of the town by the 
 first division, under General T wiggs, and the first division of volun 
 teers under Major General Butler. That night, General Worth and 
 his troops occupied a defensive position, just without range of a 
 battery above the Bishop's palace. The diversion in favor of General 
 Worth's division was successful, and one of the enemy's advanced 
 works was carried, and a strong foothold had in the town. Early 
 in the morning of the 21st, the advance of the 2d division had en 
 countered the enemy in force, and after a brief but sharp conflict, 
 repulsed him with heavy loss. General Worth then succeeded in 
 gaining a position on the Saltillo road thus cutting off the enemy's 
 line of communication. From this position, the two heights south of 
 the Saltillo road were carried in succession, and the gun taken in 
 one of them turned upon the Bishop's palace. On the 22d, the 
 heights above the Bishop's palace were carried, and soon after the 
 palace itself, and its guns turned upon its fugitive garrison. 
 
 During the night of the 22d, the enemy evacuated nearly all his 
 defences in the lower part of the city. On the morning of the 23d, 
 the troops advanced from house to house, and from square to square, 
 until they reached a street but one square in rear of the principal 
 plaza, in and near which the enemy's force was now mainly concen 
 trated. 
 
792 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 At this stage of operations, General Taylor, deeming it expedient 
 to make no further attempt upon the city, without complete concert 
 as to the lines and mode of approach, (General Worth being at the 
 northern extremity of the city and advancing from that direction) 
 dispatched a messenger to the latter, directing him to suspend his 
 advance, until he, General Taylor, could have an interview with him. 
 
 Early on the 24th, the Mexican General, Ampudia, proposed to 
 evacuate the town : a suspension of hostilities was arranged till 12 
 o'clock, during which, at the request of Ampudia, General Taylor 
 had an interview with him, which resulted in a capitulation, placing 
 the town and the .materiel of war, with certain exceptions, in the 
 possession of the American General. 
 
 Storming of Monterey. 
 
 The place, on taking possession of it, was found to be of great 
 strength. There were mounted 42 pieces of cannon. The Mex 
 ican force consisted of seven thousand troops of the line, and two 
 thousand or three thousand irregulars. The American force was 
 four hundred twenty-five officers and six thousand two hundred and 
 twenty men. The artillery was one ten-inch mortar ; two twenty- 
 four pounder howitzers, and four light field batteries of four guns 
 each. 
 
 The American loss was twelve officers, and one hundred and 
 eight men killed ; thirty-one officers and three hundred and thirty- 
 seven wounded. The loss of the Mexicans was still more consid- 
 
BATTLE OP BUENA VISTA. 793 
 
 erable. An armistice was allowed by General Taylor, of eight 
 weeks, subject to be revoked by either government. On receiving 
 intelligence of the armistice, and its conditions, the American gov 
 ernment, it is said, directed its termination. The Mexican army 
 was permitted to retire, and marched out with the honors :,f war. 
 
 The capture of Monterey, considering the manner in which it 
 was fortified, and the number of soldiers concentrated to defend 
 it, was a bold and daring achievement. The annals of war seldom 
 disclose greater wisdom on the part of a commanding officer, or 
 greater valor and . determination on the part of troops, than was 
 manifested by General Taylor and his army at the siege of Mon 
 terey. 
 
 For several months following the capture of Monterey, the Amer 
 ican forces were employed in various military movements, having 
 for their object the occupation of several places in the vicinity. 
 But on the 31st of January, with about five thousand men, General 
 Taylor left Monterey for Saltillo, a distance of sixty-five miles in 
 the direction of San Luis Potosi. On the 2d of February he 
 reached Saltillo, whence he proceeded about twenty miles farther, 
 taking a position at Agua Neuva. At this point, on the twentieth 
 of February, intelligence was communicated to him that General 
 Santa Anna was at the hacienda of Encarnacion with a large force, 
 and was meditating an attack. 
 
 As the camp of Agua Neuva could be turned on either flank, and 
 the enemy's force, especially of cavalry, was greatly superior to 
 his own, he deemed it expedient to retire to the hacienda of Buena 
 Vista, about eleven miles nearer to Saltillo, and there awaited an 
 attack, for which all necessary preparations were made, and such 
 positions taken as were admirably adapted to resist a large with a 
 small force. 
 
 On the 22d, early in the morning, the enemy made his appear 
 ance, and at two o'clock in the afternoon a demand was made by 
 General Santa Anna, requiring General Taylor to surrender at 
 discretion. This was promptly refused ; immediately upon which 
 various skirmishes ensued, and were continued without interims 
 sion until dark. 
 
 It was now apparent that a general battle was at hand. The 
 Mexican General had more than twenty thousand men, completely 
 organised, and elated with the prospect of routing a force of less 
 than five thousand, of which not more than five hundred were 
 regular troops. It was a night of proud anticipation on the one 
 side, and of strong determination on the other. The odds were 
 68* Y4 
 
794 THE UNITED STATES 
 
 fearful, but what the Americans lacked in point of numbers they 
 were determined to supply by superior skill and characteristic 
 bravery. 
 
 At sunrise, on the following morning, the contest was renewed, 
 and with slight intermissions was continued on both sides until night 
 By means of his immensely superior force, the Mexican General, 
 at one time, drove the American army for some distance, but at a 
 moment the most critical, two pieces of artillery were brought to 
 bear upon the enemy, throwing canister and grape so thickly 
 so destructively, as to compel him to halt. " Yet, for several 
 hours," says the Hero of Palo Alto, "the fate of the day was 
 extremely doubtful, so much so that I was urged by some of the 
 most experienced officers to fall backhand take up a new position." 
 This advice, however, was declined, and the struggle went on, which 
 according to the American General's report, was the severest 
 contest which he had ever witnessed. Night only put a stop to 
 the contest, and, strange to say, both armies occupied the same posi 
 tion they did in the morning before the battle commenced. 
 
 All that night the Americans lay upon their arms, as they had 
 done the two previous ones, there being no fire to be had, and 
 the mercury below the freezing point; ready, and expecting to 
 renew the contest on the following morning." The twenty thousand 
 Mexicans, however, had witnessed a sufficient display of Ameri 
 can prowess. Leaving their killed and many of their wounded 
 on the field, they retreated during the night, proceeding in the 
 direction of San Luis, in a wretched and disorganised condition. 
 
 Few victories, whether in ancient or modern times, have been 
 more remarkable. The skill and experience of Santa Anna are well 
 known, and yet with a regularly formed and well disciplined army 
 of 20,000 men, that skill and experience were insufficient to cope 
 with the army of General Taylor, supported as he was by less than 
 one quarter of the enemy's number. 
 
 The loss on both sides was great amounting on the American 
 side to two hundred and sixty-seven killed, four hundred and fifty- 
 six wounded, and twenty-three missing. The Mexican loss in 
 killed and wounded probably reached two thousand. At least 
 five hundred of their killed were left upon the field of battle. The 
 loss of American officers was severe twenty-eight having been, 
 killed on the field and among them may be mentioned, as conspicu 
 ous not only for their grade, but for their great skill and bravery 
 Capt. George Lincoln, Assistant Adjutant-GeneralCols. Hardin, 
 
796 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 McKee, Yell, and Lieut. Col. Clay, the latter being a son of the dis 
 tinguished American statesman of that name. 
 
 For some months the attention of the Ameiican Government had 
 been directed to preparations for an expedition against Vera Cruz, 
 the principal sea-port of Mexico, on the Gulf of Mexico, and the 
 castle San Juan d'Ulloa, the latter situated on a small island a short 
 distance from the city. The reduction of these places was thought 
 to be important, as thereby a favorable route would be opened to 
 the capital itself, about three hundred miles in a north-westerly di 
 rection. This expedition was entrusted to General Scott, who, 
 aware of its difficulties and importance, was allowed to collect a 
 large military and naval force for the object contemplated. His 
 troops, consisting of regulars and volunteers,- to the number of some 
 thirteen thousand, were in the first instance collected at Tampico, a 
 Mexican sea-port, at this time in possession of the Americans. Most 
 of the regular troops belonging to the army of General Taylor 
 were detached for this purpose, and hence that officer was left 
 with a comparatively small force with which to meet the thousands 
 of soldiers under Santa Anna at the battle of Buena Vista. 
 
 On the 2d of March, the above thirteen thousand men were 
 landed by the American navy in the vicinity of Vera Cruz, without 
 the loss of a single life. On the 13th, the investment of the city 
 was effected. On the 22d the preparations ^vere completed, and on 
 that day the American commander-in-chief demanded of the Gov 
 ernor a surrender of the city ; and urged that surrender by consid 
 erations drawn from a desire to spare that beautiful city its gal 
 lant defenders from a useless effusion of blood and more than all, 
 its women and children from the inevitable horrors of a triumphanl 
 assault. The Governor replied, that cily and castle were defended 
 at all points, and that the American General might commence 
 his operations in manner and form as he pleased. The naval force 
 designed to co-operate in the bombardment' was far greater than" 
 had ever before been sent into action by the United States govern 
 ment. 
 
 On receiving this refusal of the Governor to surrender the city, 
 seven mortars in battery were opened upon the city, which soon 
 after were increased to ten, and about the same time two steamers 
 and five schooners opened a brisk fire, which continued with inter 
 missions up to nine o'clock on the following morning. On the 
 24th, at daylight, a naval battery, of three thirty-two pounders and 
 three eight-inch Paixhan guns, which the previous day had been 
 transported from the navy, with incredible difficulty, a distance of 
 

 67* 
 
798 THE UNITED STAfES. 
 
 three miles, over a sandy and difficult route, to a commanding 
 height within seven hundred yards of the city, was prepared to 
 open its terrible fire upon the unsuspecting place. The destruction 
 caused by these guns was tremendous. During the whole of the 
 24th and 25th, the bombardment was continued, with few intermis 
 sions f and during the same period, both from the castle and the city, 
 the Mexicans returned the fire but with comparatively little loss 
 on the side of the Americans. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 26th, the work of destruction 
 having been completed, the Governor offered to surrender the city 
 and castle into the bands of the American General. By the terms 
 of capitulation, the garrisons were to be surrendered as prisoners 
 of war, and all the materiel of war, and all public property, were 
 to belong to the United States. The four thousand troops belonging 
 to the Mexican army were dismissed upon their parole of honor. 
 Not less than six thousand seven hundred shot and shells were 
 thrown from the American batteries during the bombardment 
 weighing, in the aggregate, more than four hundred thousand 
 pounds. Some estimate may be formed by the reader, of the 
 destruction which must have been caused, when he learns that three 
 thousand ten-inch shells were thrown, each one of which weighed 
 ninety pounds, and one thousand Paixhan shot, of sixty-eight 
 pounds weight. 
 
 On entering the city, the American officers were met with the 
 sad and sickening sight of roofs crushed walls demolished, build 
 ings razed. 
 
 " No power of language," observes a writer, " can portray the 
 sufferings, agony, despair, and helpless misery, which the inhab 
 itants of Vera Cruz had endured for five days and nights previous 
 to the cessation of hostilities. Night and day, during that time, 
 they had endured an incessant shower of heavy shells, which, 
 falling in every part of the city, crushed roof and walls in theii 
 terrible descent, and at length burst with terrific violence, tearing 
 everything into fragments, and striking . terror and despair into 
 every heart. To all of this, the naval battery added its awful fire, 
 crushing their last hope of safety and escape. The number of killed 
 and wounded will, perhaps, never be known to us, but it must have 
 been very great ; though, in all such cases, the soldiers suffered less 
 than the women and children." 
 
 Thus fell, under the power of the Americans, a city of great im 
 portance to the Mexicans, and a castle of far greater importance, 
 
CAPTURE OP VERA CRUZ. 
 
 799 
 
 justly denominated, from the strength of its walls, from the number 
 of its guns, and from its isolated position, the "Gibraltar of America." 
 
 Great credit is accorded to General Scott for the scientific manner 
 in which the siege was planned and conducted. The American loss 
 was small, amounting to but sixty-five men, and but few officers ; 
 embracing, however, in the latter, Captain John R. Vinton, who had 
 highly distinguished himself in the brilliant operations of Monterey. 
 
 Such military achievements reflect the highest honor upon those 
 who conduct them; but who, after all, in view of the carnage 
 caused, and the misery consequent thereupon, can avoid adopting 
 the language of the humane, and yet heroic Taylor, in his letter to 
 a great American statesman, sympathizing with him on the loss of a 
 son "I feel no exultation in our success?" 
 
 Major General Winfield Scott. 
 
 The rejoicing consequent upon the capture of Vera Cruz, and 
 the successful bombardment of the important adjoining fortress of 
 San Juan d' Ulloa, were scarcely over, when came the news of 
 another brilliant triumph of our arms, and of the victorious progress 
 of our legions towards the " Halls of the Montezumas." On the 
 18th of April, the gallant commander-in-chief, General Scott, encoun 
 tered the enemy, fifteen thousand strong, under the personal com 
 mand of Santa Anna, at Sierra Garda or Cerro Gordo, as it is 
 otherwise spelt, a mountain pass on the road to Jalapa, about sixty 
 miles from Vera Cruz. 
 
 The road from Vera Cruz as it passes the Plan del Rio, which is 
 
800 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 a wide rocky bed of a once large stream, is commanded by a series 
 of high cliffs rising one above the other, and extending several miles, 
 all of which were well fortified. A front attack of these forts must 
 have terminated, it was apparent, in an annihilation of the American 
 army. Such a mode of attack, however, was expected by the 
 enemy ; but the skillful eye of General Scott perceived that by 
 cutting a road to the right, the position of the enemy might be 
 turned, on the left flank. This movement was made known to the 
 enemy by a deserter from our camp, upon which a large force under 
 General La Vega was sent to the forts on their left. In order 
 however, to cover his flank movements, General Scott on the 17th 
 of April ordered General Twiggs to attack the fort on the steep 
 ascent in front, and a little to the left of the Cerro. Fortunately, 
 this position was carried by Colonel Harney detached by General 
 Twiggs for that purpose. This position having thus been secured, 
 with incredible labor one of the large guns was elevated to the top 
 of the fort, in order to follow up the advantage which had been 
 gained. 
 
 On the following day, General Twiggs was ordered forward from 
 the position he had already captured, against the principal fort, 
 which commanded the Cerro. At the same time, an attack was 
 made on the fortifications on the enemy's left by the divisions of 
 Gens. Shields and Worth, which moved in separate columns, 
 while General Pillow was ordered to advance against the strong 
 forts and difficult ascents on the right. Aware of these intended 
 movements of General Scott, large bodies of the enemy had been 
 thrown into the various positions to be attacked. The most important 
 and serious enterprise was that of General Twiggs, who advanced 
 against the main fort commanding the Cerro. The undertaking 
 was difficult and hazardous. The ascent was steep and rough. 
 The forts and batteries of the enemy, poured forth a constant and 
 galling fire. The steepness of the ascent furnished the only shelter. 
 But the American soldiers sought no shelter, and, as usual, feared 
 no danger. Led on by the gallant Harney, whose voice was heard 
 amidst the thunder of the cannon, and whose arm was seen waving 
 to his men to rush on to the charge, they paused not, but leaping from 
 one rocky barrier to another, they at length reached the fort, from 
 which the enemy was soon compelled to retire. It was here the 
 enemy received their heaviest loss, and their General Vasquez was 
 killed. % l 
 
 Shortly after the force under General Worth with incredible effort 
 passed the steep and craggy heights on the enemies left, and sum 
 
BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 
 
 801 
 
 moned a strong fort in the rear of the Cerro, to surrender. This 
 fort was manned by a large force under General Pinson, a mulatto 
 officer of considerable ability and courage, who, seeing the Cerro 
 tarried, thought proper to surrender, which he did, with all his force, 
 
 Colonel Harney at Cerro Gordo. 
 
 General Shields was less fortunate. In the battery which he 
 attacked, and which was commanded by General La Vega, a heavy 
 fire was opened upon him, under which the fort was indeed carried, 
 but with considerable loss. The gallant general himself here re 
 ceived a grape-shot through his lungs, which at the time and for 
 some time after was thought would prove mortal. On the enemy's 
 right, General Pillow commenced an attack upon the strong forts 
 near the river, but was at length obliged to withdraw his men to 
 save them from a heavy fire from a masked battery. As he was 
 preparing, however, for another attack, the enemy concluded to sur 
 render. The victory was complete. Three thousand of the enemy 
 were taken prisoners, with the usual proportion of field and com 
 pany officers, besides five generals, several of them of great distinc 
 tion. These were Pinson, Jarrero, La Vega, Noriega and Obando. 
 The force of General Scott was about eight thousand, General 
 Quitman's brigade not having arrived in time to take part in the 
 engagement. General Ampudia was second in command of the 
 Mexicans, and superintended the operations of the enemy. 
 
 When the Cerro was carried, he was seen retreating on a fine 
 white charger, his hat falling off, as he galloped away. Our army 
 a z4 
 
802 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 captured about thirty pieces of beautiful brass cannon of large 
 calibre, and mostly manufactured at the extensive foundry of Seville. 
 A large quantity of fixed ammunition was also taken. The private 
 baggage and money-chest of Santa Anna, containing some twenty 
 thousand dollars, was also captured. Santa Anna, with Generals 
 Canalizo and Almonte and some six thousand men, escaped towards 
 Jalapa, but so hotly was the former pursued that he was obliged, it 
 is reported, to mount a mule attached to his carriage, the harness 
 of which was cut in order to effect his escape. The carriage itself 
 was captured, and in, or near it, was found his cork leg. Even his 
 dinner was left uneaten, which formed an acceptable repast for 
 several American officers, after the heat and fury of the battle was 
 over. Besides General Shields^ General Pillow was wounded ; as 
 were also Major Sumner of the Rifles, and Captain Mason, with 
 Lieuts. Maury, Gibbs, Davis, Ewell and McLane. The loss of the 
 Americans, in killed and wounded, was four hundred and thirty-four, 
 of whom sixty-three were killed ; that of the enemy from one thou 
 sand to twelve hundred, embracing many valuable and promising 
 officers. 
 
 The charge on Cerro Gordo was one of those cool, yet deter 
 mined ones so characteristic of the American soldier. From the 
 time that our troops left the hill, nearest that prominent height, the 
 fire was incessant, yet they pressed on with their wonted bravery, 
 determined to conquer or die. 
 
 As for the Mexican general-in-chief, loud complaints were uttered 
 by his troops against him for his pusillanimity and flight. But a few 
 days before, in an official communication addressed to the Secretary 
 of the Constituent Congress, he had made proclamation of his pat 
 riotism and willingness to yield up life, if that were necessary for his 
 country's good. " As to myself," said he, " I am determined to breast 
 the dangers of the campaign, confident that my conduct will gain 
 the approbation of my fellow-citizens. If I am crowned by victory, 
 and succeed in driving the enemy from our soil, I shall retire to 
 private life, satisfied that I shall have rendered my country some 
 service ; or, if the lead or steel should cut the thread of my life, 1 
 shall die contented, as I shall leave to my country an honorable 
 memory, and to my children a name at which they need never 
 blush." But he hastily and ingloriously flies, entering comparatively 
 unprotected and unattended a chapparal, through which it is sup 
 posed he passed to Orizaba, a small town at the foot of a mountain 
 of that name, leaving the road open to Mexico for the American 
 troops by the way of Jalapa and Perote. 
 
CAPTURE OF JALAPA PEROTE PUEBLA. 803 
 
 The Americans having thus carried the various positions of the 
 enemy, the division under General Twiggs started in pursuit of the 
 fugitive Mexican army, which it followed to within three miles of 
 Jalapa, where they encamped for the night, and entered and took 
 possession of the city early on the following morning. 
 
 This city occupies a high hill highest in the centre so that the 
 streets incline so much that no wheeled vehicle can pass along any 
 of them, except Main street. The city is surrounded by a wall, 
 and has a strongly-built church near the western gate. The streets 
 are paved. The houses, as in other Mexican towns, are of stone, 
 with flat roofs and iron-barred windows. Jalapa vi elded to General 
 Twiggs without opposition, and subsequently or :ame a depot for 
 part of the American forces. 
 
 On receiving intelligence of the surrender of Jalapa, the Mexican 
 troops, which were stationed in the castle of Perote, were with 
 drawn, and marched with the greatest precipitancy for the interior. 
 
 Perote is distant from Jalapa about fifty miles, being nearly mid 
 way between the capital and Vera Cruz. The population is esti 
 mated at nearly ten thousand. It is a walled city ; the houses are 
 generally of one story, built of stone, and covered with terraces ; 
 the principal street is remarkably fine ; the others are wide and 
 paved. The castle of Perote, together with the city, were taken 
 possession of by Gen. Worth on the 22d April without opposition: 
 both being surrendered by Col. Velasquez, who was left behind for 
 the purpose of negotiating with the advancing American general. 
 
 The castle or fortress of Perote is considered one of the strongest 
 in Mexico, and its surrender to the Americans without opposition 
 was a national loss. Two thousand troops with their officers could 
 be well accommodated within the walls, where were found ample 
 store-houses, hospitals, and magazines, with an excellent supply of 
 water. The munitions of war, which fell into the hands of the 
 Americans, consisted of more than fifty guns and mortars, of various 
 calibre, most of them in good condition ; eleven thousand and sixty- 
 five cannon-balls ; fourteen thousand three hundred bombs and hand- 
 grenades ; and five hundred muskets. Within the castle were found 
 Generals Landero and Morales, who had been there confined since 
 the surrender of Vera Cruz. These, with several American prison 
 ers, were set at liberty. 
 
 Possession having thus been taken of Perote, an advance was not 
 long after made upon Puebla, the next most considerable town upon 
 the route to the capital. This city is walled and fortified. It is 
 built of stone, and the streets are well paved. It is situated at the 
 
804 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 extremity of a large plain, on the Vera Cruz side, and has a popula 
 tion variously estimated at from fifty to eighty thousand. The public 
 place would be admired in almost any part of the world : it forms a 
 perfect square ; facing it, stands the cathedral ; on three other sides 
 are magnificent palaces. There are many other edifices of striking 
 beauty. Few churches are more magnificently ornamented than 
 the cathedral. All the chandeliers and lamps and they are not 
 few are of massive gold and silver; 'the dome is of the marble of 
 the country, and of great beauty and fine workmanship ; the chapels 
 ten in number are richly decorated, with an iron grate-door to 
 each, of great height, and of the finest finish. The church was 
 finished in 1808, at an expense, it is said, of $600,000. The Almeida, 
 or public walk, is well kept: it is composed of three alleys, of five 
 or six hundred feet each, which are severally lined with trees; and 
 the whole is surrounded by a wall, at the foot of which runs a fine 
 stream of water. Few cities in Europe present a finer appearance. 
 But no great encomium can justly be passed upon the inhabitants : 
 they are far less elevated and refined than were the European Span 
 iards, who were some years since expelled. 
 
 Such is a brief view of Puebla, which the division of the Ameri 
 can army, four thousand strong, under Gen. Worth, entered and 
 occupied on the 15th of May. A spirited opposition was anticipated, 
 as the enemy, it was understood, were in considerable numbers gar 
 risoning the city ; but only a feeble resistance was made. At Ama- 
 zogue, a distance of some ten or twelve miles from the city, a body 
 of lancers, headed by Santa Anna, made their appearance, and a 
 skirmish ensued. No loss, however, was sustained on the American 
 side, and but few of the Mexicans were killed. The latter soon 
 retreated, and thus presented an easy access to the city. On enter 
 ing, Gen. Worth took possession of such prisoners and such public 
 and military stores as the place contained. Here also he established 
 his head-quarters, while Santa Anna proceeded towards the capital. 
 
 From this time, for several weeks no important movements took 
 place. The army rested and recruited. On the 8th of June, a party, 
 consisting in part of soldiers and in part of citizens, to the number of 
 one hundred and fifty, under command of Captain Bainbridge, third 
 artillery, left Puebla for Vera Cruz. They reached Jalapa with 
 out opposition. But the road from that point to Vera Cruz, it was 
 understood, was infested by strong guerilla parties. These were 
 now multiplying in all parts contiguous to the theatre of war. They 
 consisted either of detached bodies of soldiers, or of banded citizens, 
 which, occupying the mountains, or the chapparals, would easily 
 
GUERILLA PARTIES. 805 
 
 rush out, and suddenly attack reconnoitering or recruiting parties 
 and trains of waggons, transporting provisions or munitions of war. 
 And it may here be stated, that the history of these guerillas, during 
 the present war with Mexico, in all its details, could those details be 
 written, would shock the most hardened minds. Such wanton 
 cruelty, such savage barbarity, is scarcely to be believed and yet, 
 from the representations of some few, who had the good fortune to 
 escape their vengeance, we learn that language almost fails to 
 describe the cruelties which are not unfrequently practised by them. 
 
 Guerillas attacking a train. 
 
 The above party on approaching Cerro Gordo were apprised that 
 a considerable Mexican force was concealed in that pass, and that 
 signal danger attended their march. Notwithstanding this, they 
 continued their journey through the pass without meeting with the 
 anticipated opposition, and arrived at the National bridge the same 
 evening. While preparing to encamp, they learned that a party 
 of the enemy was barricading the bridge to prevent their progress. 
 
 In the morning, however, the bridge was cleared without opposi 
 tion, and the main body passed over in safety. A different fortune 
 awaited their waggon-train. For the purpose of bringing this over, 
 an officer and soldier were sent across the bridge. But they were 
 fired upon by a guerilla party of twenty-five, as were also the attend 
 ants of the waggon. The waggon-master and four attendants 
 were killed, and the waggon captured. Upon this, Captain Bain- 
 bridge prepared for action ; but the Mexicans retreating, the captain 
 69* 
 
806 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 pursued his way to the encampment of Colonel Mclntosh. This 
 officer had been previously attacked by the enemy, and was await 
 ing reinforcements. During the night, the enemy continued to fire 
 on the camp, and occasionally manoeuvred as if about to charge. 
 Great credit was given to the dragoons under Captain Duperus, to 
 whose courage and protection the whole party was doubtless in 
 debted for their safety. 
 
 The day following, Capt. Bainbridge and his party continued their 
 march towards Vera Cruz, which they reached in safety. Mean 
 while, Capt. Duperus having in charge a long return train, halted at 
 Santa Fe, where he was attacked by a strong guerilla party, greatly 
 superior in force, but which he repulsed with considerable loss to 
 the enemy. He also arrived at Vera Cruz with his command, 
 having lost only a few waggons, and but three killed and wounded. 
 
 Fortunately, on the day that Capt. Bainbridge left the encamp 
 ment of Mclntosh, Gen. Cadwallader arrived with eight hundred men 
 and two howitzers, and pushed on to the National bridge. Here he 
 was attacked by a large Mexican force. The struggle was brief, 
 but obstinate and sanguinary. It resulted in a repulse of the enemy, 
 with the signal loss of one hundred killed, besides many wounded. 
 The loss of the Americans did not exceed fifteen killed, and from 
 thirty to forty wounded. 
 
 Previously to this battle, the loss of Col. Mclntosh from the guer 
 illas had been considerable. In an engagement, the colonel and his 
 party had fallen back with the expectation of being pursued, and of 
 thus saving their waggon-train : but the enemy seized upon twenty- 
 eight waggons and nearly two hundred pack-mules ; the estimated 
 value of which was nearly four thousand dollars. 
 
 The affairs of Mexico, it was apparent, had for some months been 
 wearing a more and more gloomy aspect. Every battle had resulted 
 in the defeat of her armies. Her councils were distracted. Her 
 generals were captured, or, being defeated one after another, were 
 fast losing the confidence of the nation. The proud and boastful 
 language of Santa Anna previous to the eventful battle of Cerro 
 Gordo, and his hasty and inglorious flight ere it was finished, had 
 lessened the confidence of both army and people in him. Besides, 
 there was an increasing party in the nation, which desired peace, 
 and which were now not slow to advocate the election of Herrera 
 to the presidency, in order the more readily to secure that object. 
 In this party were included the clergy and a respectable minority 
 in Congress : but the measure was not agreeable to the army and a 
 majority of the nation. 
 
ADVANCE UPON CONTRERAS. 807 
 
 The state of affairs and his several reverses served to perplex and 
 discourage Santa Anna himself: and perhaps induced him about this 
 time to tender his resignation to Congress of the presidency of 
 Mexico and the chief command of the army. There were, however, 
 those who considered this offer on the part of this wily chieftain 
 only a manoauvre by which to regain his former popularity, and to 
 entrench himself more firmly in power. Be his motives what they 
 may have been, he secured the objects of his ambition. The Con 
 gress declined acceding to his offers. His former services were 
 lauded, and confidence reposed in his patriotism and ability ; and to 
 Mexico and the cause of her arms the movement was doubtless aus 
 picious. A temporary impulse was given to her operations. Greater 
 confidence prevailed, and the enlistment of troops was more easy 
 and in greater numbers. 
 
 For some time following the brilliant exploits at Cerro Gordo, 
 Gen. Scott necessarily remained inactive at Puebla, waiting for rein 
 forcements. Meanwhile, the Mexicans, notwithstanding their many 
 reverses, industriously employed themselves in collecting another 
 army, and in fortifying the several approaches to the capital. 
 
 Having, at length, received a small reinforcement, Gen. Scott 
 broke up his camp, and marched for the metropolis. A spirited 
 opposition was anticipated at the Rio Frio pass, a deep gorge, 
 which takes its name from a small river adjacent. This pass the 
 Mexicans had, for some time, been engaged in fortifying; but on 
 reaching the dreaded defile, no opposition was made. The loss of 
 this opportunity of resisting the progress of the Americans, was a 
 sad mistake on the part of the Mexicans, as the gorge was capable 
 of being strongly defended, and, perhaps, of proving an insuperable 
 barrier to the American army, with a comparatively small number 
 of troops. 
 
 On descending into the basin of the capital, seventy-five miles 
 from Puebla, the several divisions of the American army, which had 
 left Puebla on the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th of August, became closely 
 approximated about the head of Lake Chalco. On the 12th and 
 and 13th, reconnoisances were made upon the Pennon, an isolated 
 mound, eight miles from Mexico, of great height, and strongly for 
 tified, and flooded round the base by trenches filled with water. 
 This fortification, being close to the National road, commanded the 
 principal eastern approach to the city. The strength of this fortifi 
 cation, munitioned and garrisoned in the most careful manner, 
 induced Gen. Scott to abandon the project of an attack upon the 
 Pennon, and to take advantage of an old, concealed road, by which 
 
808 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the whole army passed in safety, south of Lake Chalco, first to 
 Ayotla, and thence to San Augustine, where they arrived on the 
 17th. This place is about ten miles south of Mexico on the Aca- 
 pulco road. This masterly movement was entirely unanticipated by 
 the Mexicans. The Pennon fortification stood, it was supposed, as 
 an insuperable obstacle to their approach, and, although that fortifi 
 cation might doubtless have been carried, it must have been with 
 the loss of many a gallant soldier. By a happy mano3uvre of the 
 commander-in-chief, this loss was spared, and his army reserved for 
 the intensely interesting scenes which lay before them. 
 
 On the 18th, Worth's division and Harney's cavalry moved on the 
 road in the direction of San Antonio. This village was found 
 strongly defended by field-works, heavy guns, and a numerous gar 
 rison. During a reconnoitre of the place, a heavy discharge from 
 the Mexican battery killed Capt. Thornton, of the second dragoons, 
 a gallant officer, who was covering the operation with his company. 
 This caused the dragoons to be withdrawn, but various movements 
 took place during the remainder of the day, the object of which 
 was to secure, if possible, a favorable position for attacking and dis 
 lodging the Mexicans, in order to open the way towards the capi 
 tal. A cold and heavy rain, however, now set in, which induced the 
 general-in-chief to suspend further offensive operations for the day. 
 
 The morning of the 20th found the American army notwithstand 
 ing that the troops had lam in the field all night, destitute of tents or 
 blankets, and exposed to a drizzling rain, which ended towards 
 morning in unbroken torrents ready for new duties, and for the 
 achievement of victories (all in view of the capital) which have sel 
 dom, if ever, been surpassed. 
 
 On the night of the 19th, Gens. Shields, Smith, and Cadwallader, 
 with their brigades and the fifteenth regiment, under Col. Morgan, 
 found themselves in and about the important position, the village or 
 hamlet of Contreras, half a mile nearer to the city than the enemy's 
 entrenched camp on the same road towards the factory of Mag- 
 dalena. 
 
 That camp had been unexpectedly a formidable point of attack 
 the afternoon before, and it was now to be taken without the aid 
 of cavalry or artillery, or the advanced corps to be thrown back 
 upon the road from San Augustine to the city, and thence a passage 
 be forced through San Antonia. To meet contingencies, Gen. 
 Worth was ordered to leave, early in the morning of the 20th, 
 one of his brigades, for the purpose of masking San Antonio, and 
 to march, with the other, six miles upon Contreras, via San 
 
VICTORY OF CONTRERAS. 
 
 809 
 
 Augustine. Other movements and orders were now made, having 
 for their object a general, united, and effective attack upon the 
 strong entrenchments of the enemy at Contreras. Without entering 
 into the particulars of this engagement, it is sufficient to say, using 
 the language of the general-in-chief in his official report: "I doubt 
 whether a more brilliant or decisive victory, taking into view ground, 
 artificial defences, batteries, and the extreme disparity of numbers, 
 without cavalry or artillery, is to be found on record. Including all 
 our corps directed against the entrenched camp, with Shield's 
 brigade at the hamlet, we positively did not number over 4,500 rank 
 and file ; and we knew by sight, and since more certainly, by many 
 captured documents and letters, that the enemy had actually 
 engaged on the spot 7,000 men, with at least 1,200 men hovering 
 within sight and striking distance, both on the 19th and 20th. All, 
 not killed or captured, now fled with precipitation. 
 
 Battle of Contreras. 
 
 "Thus was the great victory of Contreras achieved; one road 
 to the capital opened; 700 of the enemy killed; 813 prisoners, 
 including 88 officers, 4 generals,-besides many colors and standards, 
 22 pieces of brass ordinance, half of large calibre, thousands of 
 small arms and accoutrements ; an immense quantity of shot, shells, 
 powder and cartridges ; 700 pack-mules, many horses, &c., &c., fell 
 into our hands. 
 
 "It is highly gratifying to find that, by skilful arrangement and 
 rapidity of execution, our loss, in killed and wounded, did not exceed, 
 
 A5 
 
810 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 on the spot, sixty ; among the former the brave Capt. Charles 
 Hanson, of the sixth infantry, not more distinguished for gallantry, 
 than for modesty, morals, and piety. Lieut. J. P. Johnstone, first 
 artillery, serving with Magruder's battery, a young officer of high 
 promise, was killed the evening before. 
 
 "One of the most pleasing incidents of the victory is the recap 
 ture, by Capt. Drum, fourth artillery, under Maj. Gardner, of the two 
 brass six-pounders taken from another company of the same regi 
 ment, though without loss of honor, at the glorious battle of Buena 
 Vista, about which guns the whole regiment had mourned for so 
 many long months. . Coming up, a little later, I had the happiness to 
 join in the protracted cheers of the gallant fourth on the joyous event ; 
 and indeed the whole army sympathizes jn its just pride and 
 exultation." 
 
 The victory of Contreras was almost immediately followed by a 
 second brilliant event, viz: the forcing of San Antonio. This was 
 accomplished chiefly by Gen. Worth's division. Great importance 
 was attached to the capture of this position, as thereby a shorter 
 and better road would be opened to the capital. It was a bold 
 achievement, but doubtless the more easily accomplished from the 
 total defeat of the enemy's forces at Contreras. 
 
 This desirable object accomplished, the division, which had been 
 temporarily separated, was soon united in hot pursuit, and was 
 joined by Maj. Gen. Pillow, who, marching from Coyracon, and dis 
 covering that San Antonio had been carried, immediately turned to 
 the left, and though much impeded by ditches and swamps, hastened 
 to the attack of Churubusco. 
 
 The hamlet, or scattered houses bearing this name, presented, 
 besides the fortified convent, a strong field-work, (tcte de pont) 
 with regular bastions and curtains at the head of a bridge, over 
 which the road passes from San Antonia to the capital. 
 
 The whole remaining forces of Mexico some twenty-seven 
 thousand men cavalry, artillery, and infantry, collected from every 
 quarter were now in on the flanks, or within supporting distance 
 of these works, and seemed resolved to make a last and desperate 
 stand ; for, if beaten here, the feebler defences at the gates of the 
 city four miles off could not, as was well known to both parties, 
 delay the victors an hour. The capital of an ancient empire, now 
 of a great republic, or an early peace, the assailants were resolved 
 to win. Not an American and we were less than a third of the 
 enemy's number had a doubt as to the result. 
 
 The fortified church or convent, hotly pressed by Twiggs, had 
 
CAPTURE OF CHURUBUSCO. 811 
 
 already held out about an hour, when Worth and Pillow the latter 
 having with him only Cadwallader's brigade began to manoeuvre 
 closely to tete de pont with the convent at half gunshot to their left. 
 Garland's brigade (Worth's division), to which had been added the 
 light battalion under Lieut. Col. Smith, continued to advance in front, 
 under the fire of a long line of infantry, off on the left of the bridge : 
 and Clarke, of the same division, directed his men along the road, or 
 close by its side. Two of Pillow's and Cadwallader's regiments, the 
 eleventh and fourteenth, participated in this direct movement; 
 the other (the voltigeurs) was left in reserve. Most of these corps 
 particularly Clarke's brigade advancing perpendicularly, were 
 made to suffer much by the fire of the tete de pont, and they would 
 have suffered greatly more, by flank attacks from the convent, but 
 for the pressure of Twiggs on the other side of that work. 
 
 This well-combined and daring movement, at length reached the 
 principal point of attack, and the formidable tete de pont was at 
 once assaulted, and carried by the bayonet. Its deep, wide ditch, was 
 first gallantly crossed by the eighth and fifth infantry, commanded 
 respectively by Major Waite and Lieut. Col. Scott followed closely 
 by the sixth infantry (same brigade), which had been so mucn ex 
 posed on the road the eleventh regiment, under Lieut. Col. Graham, 
 and the fourteenth, commanded by Col. Gronsdale, both of Cadwalla 
 der's brigade, Pillow's division. About the same time, the enemy 
 in front of Garland, after a hot conflict of an hour and a half, gave 
 way in a retreat towards the capital. 
 
 The immediate results of this third signal triumph of the day 
 were: three field-pieces, 192 prisoners, much ammunition, and the 
 colors taken in the tete de pont 
 
 The capture of the tete de pont was soon followed by the sur 
 render of the convent, and doubtless contributed thereto. The two 
 works were only some four hundred and fifty yards apart, and no 
 sooner had the former been carried, than a captured four-pounder 
 was turned against the convent. Lieut. Col. Duncan, from the San 
 Antonia road, soon brought two guns to bear upon the principal 
 work and upon the tower of the church. Finally, twenty minutes 
 after the tete de pont had been carried by Worth and Pillow, at the 
 end of a desperate conflict of two hours and a half, the church or 
 convent the citadel of the strong line of defence along the rivulet 
 of Churubusco yielded to Twiggs' division, and threw out on every 
 side signals of surrender. The more sure exhibition of surrendei 
 the white flag not long after followed. * 
 
 The capture of the enemy's citadel, was the fourth signal victory 
 
812 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 achieved that day. The immediate results of this victory were : 
 the capture of seven field-pieces, some ammunition, one color, three 
 generals, one thousand two hundred and sixty-one prisoners, including 
 the officers. The loss of officers on the American side was Captains 
 Capron and Burke, and Lieut. Hoffman, all of the first artillery, and 
 Captain Anderson and Lieut. Easley, both of the second infantry. 
 
 Battle of Churubusco. 
 
 To the foregoing should be added a fifth victory, under General 
 Shields, in the rear of Churubusco, during an engagement about the 
 same time with the one above described. " This battle," as described 
 by the general-in-chief, was " long, hot, and varied ; but success 
 ultimately crowned the zeal and gallantry of our troops, ably di 
 rected by their distinguished commander, Brig. Gen. Shields." 
 
 During this engagement, Gen. Pierce, from a hurt received the 
 evening before under pain and exhaustion fainted on the field. 
 Col. Morgan being severely wounded, the command of the filth 
 infantry devolved on Lieut. Col. Howard. Col. Burnett receiving a 
 like wound, the command of the New York volunteers fell on Lieut. 
 Col. Baxter ; and on the fall of the lamented Col. P. M. Butler, the 
 command of the South Carolina volunteers devolved first on Lieut. 
 Col. Dickinson, who being severely wounded, the regiment ultimately 
 fell under the orders of Maj. Gladden. 
 
 Lieuts. David Adams and W. B. Williams, of the same corps ; 
 Capt. Augustus Quarles, and Lieut. J. B. Goodman, of the fifteenth, 
 
FRUITLESS NEGOTIATIONS. 813 
 
 and Lieut. E. Chandler, New York volunteers, all gallant officers, 
 nobly fell in the same action. 
 
 Shields took three hundred and eighty prisoners, including officers : 
 and it cannot be doubted that the rage of the conflict between him 
 and the enemy, just in the rear of the tete de pont and the convent, 
 had some influence on the surrender of those formidable defences. 
 
 As soon as the tete de pont was carried, the greater part of 
 Worth's and Pillow's forces passed that bridge in rapid pursuit of 
 the flying enemy. These distinguished generals, coming up with 
 Brig. Gen. Shields, now also victorious, the three continued to press 
 upon the fugitives to within a mile and a half of the capital. Here, 
 Col. Harney, with a small part of his brigade of cavalry, rapidly 
 passed to the front, and gallantly charged the enemy up to the 
 nearest gate. 
 
 Such were the results of this important day. Thirty-two thousand 
 men had, in several battles, been defeated and routed. Three 
 thousand prisoners, including eight generals, had been made, and 
 two hundred and five other officers. Four thousand of all ranks 
 had been killed or wounded, besides entire corps dispersed and dis 
 solved. Thirty-seven field-pieces had been captured, besides a 
 large number of small arms, and large quantities of ammunition of 
 every kind. 
 
 The loss on the American side was one thousand and fifty-three : 
 killed, one hundred and thirty-nine, including sixteen officers; 
 wounded, eight hundred and seventy-one, with sixty officers. The 
 greatest number of the dead and disabled were of the highest worth 
 and promise. 
 
 The victories thus achieved presented an easy access to the 
 capital, which, doubtless, might have been occupied the same even 
 ing ; but Mr. Trist, a commissioner from the United States, sent for 
 the purpose, if possible, of effecting a treaty, being now with the 
 army, and the hope being indulged that the time had arrived when 
 an adjustment of difficulties might be made, without a forcible entry 
 into the Mexican capital, the general-in-chief decided to halt his 
 victorious army at the very gates of the city, and await the action of 
 its councils. On the morning of the 21st proposals for an armistice 
 were made. On the 22d commissioners were appointed by the com 
 manders of the armies ; the armistice was signed on the 23d, and 
 ratifications exchanged on the 24th; immediately following which, 
 meetings were held by Mr. Trist and Mexican commissioners ap 
 pointed to treat of peace. These negotiations were actively con 
 tinued to the 2d of September, when the American commissioner 
 70 
 
S14 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 presented his ultimatum in respect to boundaries, and the negotia 
 tors adjourned to meet again on the 6th. 
 
 By the terms of the armistice, it was agreed that supplies from 
 the city or country ior the American army should not be obstructed 
 by the Mexican authorities, civil or military, nor during its con 
 tinuance should any measures be adopted to enlarge or strengthen 
 any existing work or fortification within thirty leagues of the city 
 of Mexico. Infractions of these and other articles of the armistice 
 were made by the Mexicans, particularly in regard to the military 
 defences of the city. These infractions being brought to the notice 
 of Santa Anna by Gen. Scott, the former replied in terms of inso 
 lence and denial. In short, the commissioners having failed to 
 agree, and the terms of the armistice having been repeatedly 
 violated by the Mexicans the American general was induced to 
 proceed at once, on the termination of the armistice, to make pre 
 parations for an advance upon the capital. 
 
 On the 7th of September a large body of the enemy was discov 
 ered hovering about the Molinos del Hey, within a little more than 
 a mile of Tacubaya, the head-quarters of Gen. Scott. Molinos del 
 Rey, it was understood, contained a cannon-foundry, with a large 
 deposite of powder. It was also understood that several church 
 bells had been sent thither to be cast into guns. Considering the 
 importance of this place to the enemy, Gen. Scott determined to 
 attempt the destruction of the foundry and' seizure of the founder. 
 A further inducement to this movement was found in the difficulty 
 of opening a communication between the foundry and the capital 
 without first taking the formidable castle on the heights of Chapul- 
 tepec, which overlooked both, and stood between. 
 
 The first object being the capture of Molinos del Rey, this duty 
 was assigned to Gen. Worth, who was directed by the general-in- 
 chief to limit his operations to that particular object, leaving an 
 attack upon the castle of Chapultepec to a future hour. 
 
 Having made such disposition of his forces as the nature of the 
 case seemed to require, Gen. Worth put his several columns in 
 motion at three o'clock on the morning of the 8th. The early dawn 
 was the moment appointed for the attack, which was announced to 
 the troops by the opening of Huger's guns on Molinos del Rey, upon 
 which they continued to play actively until this point of the enemy's 
 lines became sensibly shaken, when an assaulting party of five hundred 
 picked men, commanded by Major Wright, dashed gallantly forward 
 to the assault. Unshaken by the galling fire of the musketry and 
 canister that was showered upon them, on they rushed, driving 
 
ATTACK ON CHAPULTEPEC. 815 
 
 infantry and artillerymen at the point of the bayonet. The enemy's 
 field-battery was taken, and his own guns trailed upon his own 
 retreating masses; before, however, they could be discharged, per 
 ceiving that he had been dispossessed of this strong position by com 
 paratively a handful of men, he made a desperate effort to regain it. 
 Accordingly his retiring forces rallied, and formed with this object. 
 Aided by the infantry, which covered the house-tops, the enemy's 
 whole line opened upon the assaulting party a terrific fire of mus 
 ketry, which struck down eleven of the fourteen officers that com 
 posed the command; and non-commissioned officers and men in 
 proportion, including, among the officers, Major Wright, the com 
 mander; Capt. Mason and Lieut. Foster, engineers, all severely 
 wounded. This severe shock staggered for a moment that gallant 
 band : aid, however, was promptly sent to their support. Meanwhile, 
 Garland's brigade, sustained by Capt. Drum's artillery, assaulted the 
 enemy s left; and after an obstinate and severe contest, drove him 
 from his apparently impregnable position immediately under the 
 guns of the castle of Chapultepec. Various movements now took 
 place. A most spirited and deadly work was waged in various 
 quarters. A large proportion of officers fell ; among whom were 
 Brevet Col. Mclntosh, Lieut. Col. Scott, and Maj. Waite, the second 
 killed, and the first and last desperately wounded. But at length 
 American valor and perseverance triumphed, and the victorious 
 general and his remaining troops returned to their quarters at Tacu- 
 baya with three of the enemy's four guns, the fourth having been 
 spiked, as also with a large quantity of small arms, with gun and 
 musket ammunition, and exceeding eight hundred prisoners, including 
 fifty-two commissioned officers. The enemy's force exceeded four 
 teen thousand men, commanded by Gen. Santa Anna in person. 
 His total loss, killed (including Gens. Valdaroz and Leon), wounded 
 and prisoners, amounted to three thousand, exclusive of some two 
 thousand who deserted after the rout. The American force reached 
 only three thousand one hundred men of all arms. The contest 
 continued two hours, and its severity was painfully attested by our 
 heavy loss of officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, inclu 
 ding in the first class some of the brightest ornaments of the service. 
 Nine officers were killed and forty-nine wounded ; seven hundred 
 and twenty-nine rank and file were killed and wounded. 
 
 The victory of the 8th at the Molinos del Key was immediately 
 followed by reconnoisances in reference to an attack upon the capital 
 itself long the object of our ambitious army. The city of Mexico 
 stands on a slight swell of ground, near the centre of an irregular 
 
816 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 basin, and is girdled with a ditch in its greater extent a navigable 
 canal of great breadth and depth very difficult to bridge in the 
 presence of an enemy, and serving at once for drainage, custom 
 house purposes, and military defence ; leaving eight entrances or 
 gates over arches each of which was defended by a system of 
 strong works, that seemed to require nothing but some men and guns 
 to render them impregnable. 
 
 Outside, and within the cross-fires of those gates, on the south, 
 other obstacles not less formidable existed. All the approaches to 
 the city are over elevated causeways, cut in many places in order to 
 oppose the American army, and flanked on both sides with ditches 
 of unusual dimensions. The numerous cross-roads were flanked 
 in like manner, having bridges at the intersections which had been 
 broken up. The meadows thus checkered were in many spots 
 under water, and marshy, owing to the wet season. 
 
 Such were some of the obstacles to an approach to the city. 
 Besides these, existed another most formidable, but which it was 
 essential to remove the fortress of Chapultepec, a natural and 
 isolated mound of great elevation, strongly fortified at its base, on 
 its acclivities and heights. Besides a numerous garrison, here was 
 the military college of the republic, with a large number of sub 
 lieutenants and other students. The works were within direct 
 gunshot of the village of Tacubaya, and, until carried, the Americans 
 could not approach the city on the west (a 'southern approach was 
 deemed impracticable) without making a circuit too wide and too 
 hazardous. 
 
 To a successful attack upon Chapultepec, and an approach to the 
 city by that route, it was deemed essential that a feint should be 
 made against the southern part of the city. This stratagem was 
 admirably executed throughout the 12th, and down to the afternoon 
 of the 13th, when it was too late for the enemy to recover from the 
 effects of his delusion. 
 
 On the morning of the 12th, the bombardment and cannonade of 
 Chapultepec was commenced, under command of Capt. Huger. 
 Before night- fall an obvious impression had been made upon the 
 castle and outworks. During this day's attack a large body of the 
 enemy had remained outside towards the city, to avoid the fire of 
 the Americans, and to be on hand at its cessation, in order to rein 
 force the garrison against an assault. On the following morning, on 
 re-opening the cannonade, the same force Was discovered outside. 
 
 On the 13th, at eight o'clock in the morning, a signal was given for 
 an attack by the army upon the castle, which had so long been the 
 
70* 
 
318 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 object of cannonade and bombardment. A strong redoubt, however 
 was first to be carried. The advance of the men, led by their brave 
 officers, was necessarily slow, but unwavering, over rocks, chasms, 
 and mines, and under the hotest fire of cannon and musketry. The 
 redoubt now yielded to resistless valor, and the shouts that followed 
 announced to the castle the fate that impended. The enemy was 
 steadily driven from shelter to shelter. The retreat allowed not 
 time to fire a single mine without the certainty of blowing up friend 
 and foe. Those at the distance, who attempted to apply matches to 
 the long trains, were shot down by the Americans. There was 
 death to those below, as well as to those above ground. At 
 length, the ditch and wall of the main work were reached ; the lad 
 ders arrived; and several efforts were made, by both officers and 
 men, to scale the walls. But many of the gallant spirits, who first 
 attempted it, fell, killed or wounded. Col. Andrews, whose regiment 
 so distinguished itself and its commander by this brilliant charge, as 
 also Lieut. Col. Johnstone and Maj. Caldwell, whose activity enabled 
 them to lead this assault, greatly distinguished themselves by their 
 gallantry and daring. Lieut. Col. Johnstone received three wounds ; 
 but they were all slight, and did not at all arrest his daring and 
 onward movements. Capt. Barnard, with distinguished gallantry, 
 having seized the colors of his regiment, upon the fall of the color- 
 bearer, scaled the walls with them unfurled, and had the honor of 
 planting the first American standard in the work. Capt. Biddle, 
 always prompt, vigilant, and daring, though so much enfeebled by 
 disease as to be scarcely able to walk, left his sick bed on this great 
 occasion, and was among the foremost to enter the works. 
 
 The gallant Col. Ransom, of the ninth infantry, fell dead from a 
 shot in the forehead, while at the head of his command, waving his 
 sword, and leading his splendid regiment up the heights to the sum 
 mit of Chapultepec. " I had myself been a witness to his heroic con 
 duct," says Gen. Pillow, in his official report, "until a moment before, 
 when I was cut down by his side. My heart bleeds with anguish 
 at the loss of so gallant an officer. The command of his regi 
 ment devolved upon Maj. Seymour, who faltered not, but with his 
 command scaled the parapet, entered the citadel sword in hand, 
 and himself struck the Mexican flag from the walls." 
 
 Not less distinguished, and no less glorious, was the conduct of the 
 fifteenth regiment of infantry, now under command of Lieut. Col. 
 Howard. This regiment, which had greatly distinguished itself in 
 the action near Churubusco, on the 20th ultimo, where the brave 
 Col. Morgan was wounded, now covered itself with new honors 
 
ENTRANCE INTO THE CAPITAL. 819 
 
 and fresh laurels, under command of its present veteran leader, 
 assisted by his gallant Major, Woods. Capt. Chase, of this regi 
 ment, at a most critical moment in the charge, when the voltigeur 
 regiment had advanced partly up the hill, and the enemy in strong 
 force had occupied the redoubt, half way up the declivity, and heM 
 us in check, under orders from my adjutant-general, Capt. Hooker, 
 with a firmness few but himself possessed, dashed rapidly forward 
 to the right flank of the work, calling upon his company to follow. 
 Lieut. Beach quickly supported him with his company, and the 
 enemy fled from the redan, pursued by the troops of my command. 
 Great credit is due to the officers and men for their rapid move 
 ments at this time, for the whole hill-side was mined, and had the 
 enemy been allowed to fire their trains, great destruction must have 
 inevitably ensued. 
 
 Lieut. Selden, of the eighth infantry, of Capt. McKenzie's com 
 mand, one of the first to mount the scaling-ladder, fell from its sum 
 mit, severely wounded. Lieut. Rogers, fourth infantry, and Lieut. 
 Smith, fifth infantry, of the same party, were both distinguished by 
 their heroic courage and daring, and were both killed while nobly 
 leading on their men. Capt. McKenzie, selected to lead the storm 
 ing corps from the first division, acted well his part after reaching 
 the heights, and sustained the character of the veteran division of 
 which his command was a part. 
 
 The fate of Chapultepec was thus sealed, and access to the city 
 opened to the American army. There are two routes from Chapul 
 tepec ; one on the right, entering the gate Belen, with the road from 
 the south, via Piedas ; the other obliqueing to the left, to intersect the 
 great western or San Cosme road in a suburb outside of the gate 
 of San Cosme. 
 
 Worth and Quitman were prompt in pursuing the retreating 
 enemy, the former by the San Cosme aqueduct, the latter along that 
 of Belens. The latter of these routes being considered far more dif 
 ficult and dangerous, it was the design of the general-in-chief that 
 Quitman should only manoeuvre and threaten the Belen or south 
 western gate, while Worth should be better supported and the main 
 attack be made at the San Cosme gate. 
 
 But the valor of Quitman and his troops would not admit of 
 delay. Gallant himself, and ably supported by Brig. Gens. Shields 
 and Smith (Shields badly wounded before Chapultepec, but refusing 
 to return), they pressed forward under flank and direct fires, earned 
 an intermediate battery of ten guns, and then the gate, before two 
 o'clock in the afternoon, but not without proportionate loss, increased 
 
THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 by the steady maintenance of that position. Quitman now entered 
 the city, when, adding several new defences to the position he had 
 won, and sheltering his corps as well as he was able, he awaited the 
 return of daylight under the guns of the citadel not to be subdued. 
 
 During the movements of Quitman, Gen. Worth was industriously 
 employed in fighting his way to the San Cosme, or Custom-house 
 gate. By eight o'clock in the evening, he had carried two batteries 
 in the suburb; and here, by direction of the general-in-chief, he 
 posted guards and sentinels, and placed his troops under shelter for 
 the night. There was but one obstacle, the San Cosme gate, 
 between him and the great square, in front of the cathedral and 
 palace, the heart of the city, and that barrier, it was known, could 
 not, by daylight, stand our large guns thirty minutes. 
 
 Such was the position of things on the night of the 13th. The 
 weary army sunk to rest, if rest could be found, in expectation of 
 stirring scenes on the coming morning, and with the hope of obtain 
 ing an object long sought for possession of the city which em 
 bosomed the celebrated "Halls of the Montezumas." 
 
 But at four o'clock, on the 14th, a deputation from the city coun 
 cil waited upon the general-in-chief with the annunciation that the 
 federal government and the army of Mexico, having abandoned the 
 city, they had come to demand terms of capitulation in favor of the 
 church, the citizens, and the municipal authorities. Such demands 
 were, however, promptly met and denied. The city, it was claimed 
 by Gen. Scott, was, in effect, in the power of the Americans, and 
 they would come under no terms not self-imposed. 
 
 Thus terminated the interview; at the close of which, Gen. Scott 
 gave orders to Gens. Worth and Quitman to advance slowly and 
 cautiously, to guard a.gainst treachery, towards the heart of the 
 city, and to occupy its strong and more commanding points. Gen. 
 Quitman proceeded to the great plaza or square, where he planted 
 guards, and hoisted the colors of the United States on the national 
 palace containing the halls of the congress and executive depart 
 ments of federal Mexico. "In this grateful service," says Gen. 
 Scott, "Quitman might have been anticipated by Worth, but for my 
 express orders, halting the latter at the head of the Alamedas or 
 Park, within three squares of that goal of general ambition." " The 
 capital," he adds, "was not taken by one or two corps, but by the 
 talent, the science, the gallantry, the patriotism of the entire army. 
 In the glorious contest, all had contributed early and powerfully 
 the killed, the wounded, and the fit for duty at Vera Cruz, C en o 
 Gordo, Contreras, San Antonio, Churubusco, (three battles) the 
 
69* 
 
822 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Molinos del Rey, and Chapultepec as much as those who fought at 
 the gates of Belen and San Cosme." 
 
 No sooner had the victorious army entered, and were in the act 
 of occupying the city, when a fire was opened upon them from the 
 flat roofs of the houses, from windows, and corners of the streets, 
 by some two thousand convicts, liberated the night before by the 
 flying government, joined by, perhaps, as many Mexican soldiers, 
 who had disbanded themselves and thrown off their uniforms. This 
 unlawful war lasted more than twenty-four hours, during which 
 several officers and many soldiers were killed, nor could it be pre 
 vented by the municipal authorities of the city. 
 
 Thus fell, under the power of the American arms, a city cele 
 brated from the very discovery of the country for its wealth and 
 magnificence for its public squares and public palaces its churches, 
 its palaces, and its other beautiful and extensive structures and 
 containing a population variously estimated from one hundred and 
 forty thousand to two hundred thousand inhabitants ; and at this 
 time defended, at vast expense, by every possible fortification, and 
 by the combined wisdom and scientific skill of their most accom 
 plished generals, aided by an army of thousands upon thousands. 
 
 Such a series of successful enterprises, accomplished by so few 
 men, and at such a distance from home, in an enemy's country, and 
 that enemy fighting for their altars and their firesides, is scarcely to 
 be paralleled. Including the garrison of Jalapa, and two thousand 
 four hundred and twenty-nine men brought up by Gen. Pierce August 
 4th, the entire force which left Puebla, August 7th 10th, and which 
 constituted Gen. Scott's entire force, amounted only to ten thousand 
 seven hundred and thirty-eight, rank and file. 
 
 At Contreras, Churubusco, &c., August 20th, the number of men 
 engaged was eight thousand four hundred and ninety-seven. At the 
 Molinos del Rey, September 8th, three thousand two hundred and 
 fifty-one. At the capture of the city itself, the effective force did not 
 exceed six thousand. The grand total loss of the Americans during 
 their several engagements after entering the basin of Mexico is 
 estimated at two thousand seven hundred and three, including three 
 hundred and eighty-three officers. Of the original force of the 
 Mexicans, estimated at thirty-two thousand, more than seven thou 
 sand were killed or wounded; three thousand seven hundred and 
 thirty were made prisoners, one-seventh officers, including thirteen 
 generals, of whom three had been presidents of the republic. 
 More than twenty colors and standards were taken; serenty-five 
 pieces of ordnance, besides fifty-seven wall pieces, twenty thou- 
 
SANTA ANNA SUPERSEDED. 823 
 
 sand small arms, and an immense quantity of shot, shells, and 
 powder. 
 
 With the conquest of Mexico, the power and influence of Santa 
 Anna seemed to have ended. If his patriotism was not impugned, 
 his wisdom and military tact were extensively questioned. He 
 retired from the city a fugitive ; his army was, in effect, disbanded ; 
 his officers and troops scattered in every direction. The supreme 
 government had been filled by Santa Anna, on the 16th of September, 
 the date of his resignation of the presidency, by the appointment of 
 Gen. Pena Y. Pena, as provisional president, who, on the 13th of 
 October, issued his proclamation, assembling the congress of the 
 nation at Querataro, one hundred and twenty-five miles north of 
 Mexico. This summons was followed, on the 20th of October, by 
 an address from Senor Rosa, Secretary of State, convoking, in the 
 name of the president, the governors of the several states to meet 
 him at Querataro on the 10th of November, to consult with the 
 president and his cabinet on subjects of the highest importance. 
 
 Allusion has already been made to the dissatisfaction felt with 
 regard to the manner with which Santa Anna had conducted the 
 war. That dissatisfaction extended to Gen. Pena Y. Pena, the pro 
 visional president of the republic, who, through Rosa, now de 
 prived Santa Anna of his command, and required him to deliver it 
 up to Don Manuel Rincon, and thence to wait, at some convenient 
 place, the formation of a council of war, to sit in judgment upon 
 him, for the loss of the capital of the republic. On the 16th of 
 October, Santa Anna published a farewell address to the army, 
 dated at his head-quarters at Huamantla, in which, after alluding to 
 the order of the president to transfer his command, in conclusion he 
 said: "I depart from you and the theatre of the war, perhaps, to 
 sacrifice myself to the vengeance of my enemies, or to effect an 
 inglorious peace, which I did not wish to grant, because it was 
 repugnant to my conscience." 
 
 This was followed by a second address, purporting to be a mani 
 festo against the government, and which was dated at Tebuscan, 
 October 22d. In this, he uttered loud complaints against the govern 
 ment, and all who had combined to deprive him of his command, 
 and of the honor he claimed as due to him. The charge of a want 
 of patriotism he repelled with indignation, challenging his enemies 
 to produce their proofs of its truth, if proofs they had, and conjuring 
 Generals Scott and Taylor, and their armies, to declare, whether, as 
 a Mexican general, he had not fulfilled all his duties to his country. 
 
 To a complete view of the operations of the army in Mexico, it 
 
824 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 is necessary to bring to the notice of the reader, transactions in 
 other quarters. 
 
 On retiring from Mexico, Santa Anna, gathering a small force, 
 proceeded to the neighborhood of Puebla. This city had been 
 placed in command of Childs, on the march of the American army 
 towards Mexico, with a force of about four hundred men, while the 
 hospitals at that place were filled with one thousand eight hundred 
 sick. Finding it necessary for the comfort of the sick to remove 
 them within the protection of San Jose, Col. Childs was here at 
 length besieged by a Mexican force for the space of twenty-eight 
 days and nights from the 14th of September. During this time the 
 enemy augmented in' numbers daily. Supplies were cut off, and 
 even an attempt was made to deprive the garrison and the sick of 
 water. On the night of the 22 d, as above stated, Santa Anna made 
 his appearance, which was signalized by a general ringing of the 
 bells, and a discharge of shell and round-shot from Soretto into the 
 heart of the city. On the 25th of September, Santa Anna sent in 
 a demand for the surrender of the place. On the 30th he had estab 
 lished his battery, bearing on San Jose, which opened with great 
 spirit. This movement, however, had been anticipated, as were 
 also various other movements during the siege. At length, however, 
 assistance came to the relief of the besieged general and his worn- 
 out but still spirited and determined troops. With a competent force, 
 Gen. Lane reached Puebla on the 13th of Ootober, at one o'clock. 
 'He immediately entered the city, his troops moving up towards the 
 main plaza, and driving the scattered forces of the enemy before him, 
 and completely clearing the streets. Thus was a brave officer and 
 his men relieved, after a long and serious siege of nearly thirty days, 
 and thirty nights. "Never," says Col. Childs, in his official report, 
 " did troops endure more fatigue, by watching night after night, for 
 more than thirty successive nights, nor exhibit more patience, spirit, 
 and gallantry. Not a post of danger could present itself, but the 
 gallant fellows were ready to fill it not a sentinel could be shot, but 
 another was anxious and ready to take his place : officers and sol 
 diers vied with each other to be honored martyrs in their country's 
 cause. 
 
 Since the capture of Mexico, two other engagements have taken 
 place between an American and Mexican force the one at Hua- 
 mantla on the 9th of October, and the other at Atlixco on the 19th. 
 
 In the action of the 9th, at Huamantla, Gen. Lane's force consisted 
 of Col. Wynkoop's battalion, (from Perote,) Col. Gorman's regiment 
 of Indiana volunteers, Capt. Heintzleman's battalion of six com- 
 
BATTLE AT HUAMANTLA. 825 
 
 panies, Maj Lally's regiment of four companies of mounted men, 
 under command of Capt. Samuel H. Walker, mounted riflemen, and 
 five pieces of artillery, under command of Capt. George Taylor, 
 third artillery, assisted by Lieut. Field, artillery. 
 
 The Mexican force was estimated at four thousand, a large portion 
 of which were lancers, under the immediate command of Santa 
 Anna. Although fatigued by a long march, the American troops 
 entered the action with great spirit and bravery. Among the dis 
 tinguished officers taken prisoners, were Col. La Vega and Maj. 
 Iturbide, son of the former chief of the republic. To no one, 
 among the gallant men, who took part in the action, was the com 
 manding general more indebted for his decided victory than to Capt. 
 Samuel H Walker, of the mounted riflemen. The commanding 
 general thus speaks of him : 
 
 " On arriving near the city, about one o'clock P. M., Capt. Walker, 
 commanding the advance guard, (of horsemen,) was ordered to 
 move forward ahead of the column, (but within supporting distance,) 
 to the entrance of the city, and if the enemy were in force, to wait 
 the arrival of the infantry before entering. When within about 
 three miles, parties of horsemen being seen making their way 
 through the fields towards the city, Capt. Walker commanded a 
 gallop. Owing to the thick maguay bushes lining the sides of the 
 road, it was impossible to distinguish his further movements. But 
 a short time had elapsed when firing was heard from the city. The 
 firing continuing, the column was pressed forward as rapidly as 
 possible. At this time a body of about two thousand lancers was 
 seen hurrying over the hills towards the city. I directed Col. Gor 
 man, with his regiment, to advance towards and enter the west side 
 of the city, while Col. Wynkoop's battalion, with the artillery, moved 
 towards the east side, Capt. Heintzleman's moving on his right, and 
 Maj. Lally's constituting the reserve. 
 
 " Upon arriving at the entrance to the city, Captain Walker, dis 
 covering the main body of the enemy in the plaza, (about five 
 hundred in number,) ordered a charge. A hand-to-hand conflict 
 took place between the forces ; but so resolute was the charge, that 
 the enemy were obliged to give way, being driven from their guns. 
 They were pursued by our dragoons for some distance, but the 
 pursuit was checked by the arrival of their reinforcements. Col. 
 Gorman's regiment, on arriving at the entrance to the city at about 
 the same time as the reinforcements of the enemy, opened a well- 
 directed fire, which succeeded in routing them. With the left wing 
 of his regiment he proceeded in person towards the upper part of 
 71 c5 
 
826 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the town, where the enemy still were, and succeeded in dispersing 
 them. Col. Wynkoop's command, with the batteries, assumed their 
 position ; but before they were within range, the enemy fled in haste. 
 The same occurred with Capt. Heintzleman's command. The 
 enemy entering the town becoming somewhat scattered, Maj. Lally, 
 with his regiment, proceeded across the fields to cut off his rear 
 and intercept his retreat. This movement not being perceived, I 
 ordered him to advance towards the town; thus depriving him, 
 unintentionally of an opportunity of doing good service. Captain 
 Walker's force had been engaged some three-quarters of an hour 
 before the infantry arrived to his support. He succeeded in cap 
 turing two pieces of 'artillery from the enemy, but was not able to 
 use them, owing to the want of priming- tubes, although every effort 
 was made." 
 
 Battle of Huamantla Death of Captain Walker. 
 
 The victory, however, was not achieved without the loss of this 
 distinguished officer. He had routed the enemy in the plaza at 
 the very moment he fell mortally wounded. His loss was deeply 
 deplored, and the more so as he had contributed so essentially to 
 the victory achieved. The total loss on the American side was 
 thirteen killed and eleven wounded. One six-pounder brass 
 gun and one mountain howitzer, both mounted, were captured, 
 together with a large quantity of ammunition and several waggons. 
 The loss of the enemy was about one hundred and fifty. 
 
PRELIMINARIES TO PEACE. 827 
 
 In the action of tne 19th, at Atlixco, ten leagues from Perote, 
 Gen. Lane's forces consisted of the fourth Ohio and fourth Indiana 
 regiments. Major Lally's and Capt. Heintzleman's battalions, Col. 
 Wynkoop's battalion of four companies, first Pennsylvania volun 
 teers, Capt. Taylor's and Lieut. Pratt's battalion of light artillery, and 
 a squadron of dragoons, commanded by Capt. Ford, third dragoons. 
 About three leagues from the city, the advance-guard of the enemy 
 was first discovered. These, on the arrival of the cavalry, were 
 pursued for a mile and a half. On arriving at a small hill, however, 
 they made a stand, and fought severely, until the American infantry 
 appeared, when they took to flight. The dragoons were again 
 ordered to follow. After a running fight of nearly four miles, and 
 when within a mile and a half of the city, the whole body of the 
 enemy, under command of Gen. Rea, was discovered on a side-hill, 
 covered with chapparal, forming hedges, behind which they had taken 
 post. Here a bloody conflict ensued. During its continuance, the 
 infantry appeared, upon which the enemy again retreated. The 
 column now pressed on, but night set in ere they could reach the 
 city. But, favored by a fine moon-light, the artillery, which had 
 come up, was posted on a hill near to the town, and overlooking it, 
 and open to its fire. From this point, an effective fire was directed 
 upon the city. Every gun was served with the utmost rapidity; 
 and the crash of the walls and the roofs of the houses, when struck 
 by the shot and shell, was mingled with the roar of the artillery. 
 After firing for three-quarters of an hour, the firing from the town 
 having ceased, the American troops entered, and Gen. Lane was 
 now waited upon by the ayuntamiento, desiring that their town 
 might be spared. The loss of the enemy was two hundred and 
 nineteen killed, and three hundred wounded. But one American 
 was killed, and but one wounded. The victory here was the more 
 important, as Atlixco had for some time been the head-quarters of 
 guerillas in that section of country. This victory achieved, Gen. 
 Lane with his command returned to Puebla. 
 
 The occupation of the city of Mexico by the American army, 
 detailed in a preceding page, may be considered as essentially ter 
 minating the war. A few other engagements between detachments 
 of the two armies occurred at subsequent dates, the principal of 
 which, however, have been noticed ; but the great and long-desired 
 object had been reached the possession of the proud capital of the 
 Aztecs : and now over the "Halls of the Montezumas" the American 
 banner literally floated in triumph. 
 
 To the Mexicans this event was most unexpected and humiliating. 
 
828 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 It crushed their hopes and paralyzed their efforts. With distraction 
 m their public councils their congress broken up their generals 
 dispersed, and their soldiery dispirited, there remained to them no 
 rational prospect of continuing the war with vigor and success. 
 
 In this posture of affairs, overtures for an adjustment of difficulties 
 by a treaty were renewed by Nicholas P. Trist, United States' com 
 missioner to the President of the Mexican republic. After several 
 months' delay, owing in part to the difficulty of convening a quorum 
 of the Mexican congress, and perhaps still more to the divided state 
 of public opinion, negotiations were opened; and, at length, on the 
 2d day of February, 1848, a "treaty of peace, friendship, and settle 
 ment," was signed at Guadaloupe Hidalgo by Mr. Trist, in behalf 
 of the United States, and Luis G. Cuivas, Bernardo Conto, and Mi 
 guel Atristain, commissioners on behalf of Mexico. On receiving 
 the treaty, the President of the United States submitted it to the 
 consideration of the Senate. In that body, the debate, it is under 
 stood, was long and exciting : to most of the senators, the terms of 
 the treaty were far from being satisfactory ; and, in addition, it 
 was understood that the powers of Mr. Trist had been revoked, and 
 himself recalled, prior to the negotiations which issued in this treaty. 
 But the hazard, in case of its rejection, of a renewal of hostilities, 
 and the indefinite continuance of war, already sufficiently sanguinary 
 and burdensome to both nations, induced the Senate to concur in 
 its ratification. Important amendments, however, having been made 
 by that body, it became necessary to return it to Mexico, for the 
 concurrence and sanction of the Mexican government. With a view 
 of explaining the modifications which the treaty had undergone in 
 the American Senate, and to facilitate its ratification by the Mexican 
 government, the Hon. Mr. Sevier, of the Senate, and Hon. Nathan 
 Clifford, Attorney General of the United States, were appointed 
 commissioners, with full powers to proceed to Mexico, and to ex 
 change ratifications with the Mexican government, in case the latter 
 adopted the treaty as modified. These gentlemen reached the city 
 of Queretaro, the seat of the Mexican congress, on the 25th of May 
 Already the House of Deputies had sanctioned the treaty; and on 
 the day of the arrival of the American commissioners, it was adopted 
 by the Mexican Senate by the strong vote of thirty-three to five. 
 
 The ratified treaty was duly announced to the American people 
 by the President's proclamation, bearing date July 4th ; thus coin 
 ciding with that of the Declaration of American Independence. On 
 the 6th it was officially communicated to Congress, accompanied by 
 a congratulatory message from the President. 
 
PROVISIONS OP THE TREATY. 829 
 
 The most important provisions of this treaty relate to boundary 
 lines "consideration" due to Mexico indemnity to American citi 
 zens a nd the withdrawal of troops from the Mexican territory. 
 
 " The boundary line between the two republics," according to the 
 fifth article, "shall commence in the Gulf of Mexico, three leagues 
 from land, opposite the mouth of the Rio Grande, otherwise called 
 Rio Bravo del Norte, or opposite the mouth of its deepest branch, if 
 it should have more than one branch emptying directly into the sea; 
 from thence up the middle of that river, following the deepest chan 
 nel, where it has more than one, to the point where it strikes the 
 southern boundary of New Mexico; thence westerly along the 
 whole southern boundary of New Mexico, which runs north of the 
 town called Paso, to its western termination; thence northward, 
 along the western line of New Mexico, until it intersects the first 
 branch of the river Gila; or, if it should not intersect any branch of 
 that river, then to the point on the said line nearest to such branch, 
 and then in a direct line to the same ; thence down the middle of 
 the said branch, and of the said river, until it empties into the Rio 
 Colorado; thence across the Rio Colorado following the division line 
 between Upper and Lower California to the Pacific Ocean." The 
 free navigation of the Gulf of California and of the river Colorado, 
 from the mouth of the Gila to the Gulf, is secured to the United States. 
 The southern and western limits of New Mexico, mentioned in the 
 above article, are those which are laid down in a map of the United 
 Mexican States, published in 1847, by J. Disturnell, New York. 
 
 The "consideration" which the United States are to pay to Mexico 
 for the above territory, is stipulated in the twelfth article, and is to be 
 fifteen millions of dollars. Of this sum three millions were paid on 
 the ratification of the treaty ; and the remaining twelve millions are 
 to be paid, in the gold or silver coin of Mexico, in four annual 
 instalments of three millions each, with interest at six per cent., and 
 at the city of Mexico. No portion of this sum is transferable. 
 
 In respect to claims of American citizens against Mexico, the thir 
 teenth article provides that the government of the United States shall 
 severally assume and pay all such claims; both those already decided, 
 and those still undecided the whole, however, not to amount to 
 more than three millions and a quarter of dollars: said claims to be 
 ascertained by a Board of Commissioners. 
 
 The United States' government further engages to protect Mexico 
 from the hostile Indian tribes inhabiting the ceded territories, 
 and to pay for their depredations, be they more or less, as "security 
 for the future." 
 
830 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The troops of the United States, the treaty further provides, shall 
 leave Mexico in three months after the ratification of the treaty, 
 unless the sickly season should come on; in which event, they are to 
 retire to some healthy situation, and are to be furnished with supplies 
 by the Mexican government on amicable terms. 
 
 The territories of New Mexico and Upper California, thus ceded 
 to the United States, are sufficiently large for a great empire. They 
 embrace nearly ten degrees of latitude, lying adjacent to the Oregon 
 territory, and extend from the Pacific to the Rio Grande a mean 
 distance of nearly one thousand miles. 
 
 By the possession^of the ports of San Diego and the Bay of San 
 Francisco, the United States will doubtless be able to command the 
 commerce of the Pacific. Seven hundred American whale ships 
 are now employed on that sea, requiring more than twenty thousand 
 seamen to navigate them, and involving a capital of not less than 
 forty millions of dollars. By these acquisitions, we are brought into 
 immediate proximity with the west coast of America, from Cape 
 Horn to the' Russian possessions north of Oregon; with the islands 
 of the Pacific Ocean ; and by a direct voyage in steamers, we shall 
 be in less than thirty days of Canton and other parts of China.* 
 
 California and New Mexico, deemed by many at the time of their 
 acquisition of little value to the United States, excepting the Bay 
 of San Francisco, have suddenly acquired great importance, espe 
 cially the former, by reason of large quantitfes of gold said to exist 
 in its soil, and of which already considerable amounts have been 
 gathered, in the form of lumps and gold dust. 
 
 Upper California, geographically considered, embraces several 
 distinct divisions. The grand feature is a range of mountains, 
 called the Sierra Nevada (Snowy Mountain), dividing it into two 
 parts, and exercising a decided influence on the climate, soil, and 
 productions of each. This mountain range stretches along the 
 coast, at the general distance of one hundred and fifty miles from 
 it. East of the Sierra Nevada, and between it and the Rocky 
 mountains, is the Great Basin, of some five hundred miles in diam 
 eter, and four or five thousand feet above the level of the sea, shut 
 in on all sides by mountains. Its general character is that of a 
 desert, but with some exceptions, there being portions of it fit for 
 the residence of a civilized people ; and of these parts, the Mormons 
 have lately established themselves in one of the largest and best. 
 
 West of the Sierra Nevada lies the Maritime region, which is the 
 
 President's Message. 
 
STATISTICS OF CALIFORNIA, ETC. 831 
 
 second grand division of California, and which, according to Colonel 
 Freemont, is "the only part to which the name applies, in the current 
 language of the country. It is the occupied and inhabited part, and 
 so different in character so divided by the mountain-wall of the 
 Sierra from the Great Basin above as to constitute a region to 
 itself, with a structure and configuration a soil, climate, and pro 
 ductions of its own; and as Northern Persia may be referred to 
 as some type of the former, so may Italy be referred to as some 
 point of comparison for the latter. North and south, this region 
 embraces about ten degrees of latitude from thirty-second degree, 
 where it touches the peninsula of California, to forty-second degree, 
 where it bounds on Oregon. East and west, from the Sierra Ne 
 vada to the sea, it will average, in the middle parts, one hundred 
 and fifty miles ; in the northern parts, two hundred giving an area 
 of above one hundred thousand square miles. Looking westward 
 from the summit of the Sierra, the main feature presented is the 
 long, low, broad valley of the Joaquin and Sacramento rivers the 
 two valleys forming one five hundred miles long and fifty broad, 
 lying along the base of the Sierra, and bounded to the west by the 
 low coast range of mountains, which separates it from the sea." 
 
 The valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin are one, but 
 discriminated by the names of the rivers which traverse it. These 
 are the San Joaquin and Sacramento, already named. They rise 
 at opposite ends of this valley, receive numerous streams, some of 
 them bold rivers from the Sierra Nevada, and, at length, meet and 
 enter together the Bay of San Francisco, in the region of tide 
 water, making a continuous water-line from one end to the other. 
 
 The valley of the San Joaquin is about three hundred miles long 
 and sixty broad, with a general elevation of only a few hundred 
 feet above the level of the sea. The valley of the Sacramento is 
 divided into upper and lower the lower, perhaps, exceeds two 
 hundred miles; the upper, one hundred. The upper is entitled to 
 this distinction, not only as being higher up on the river, but also 
 from having a, superior elevation of some thousands of feet above 
 it. This upper valley is heavily timbered, and the climate and 
 productions are modified by its altitude. The Sacramento river is 
 navigable to the rapids, a distance of two hundred miles, increasing 
 from one hundred and fifty to six hundred yards in the lowest part 
 of its course. 
 
 The Bay of San Francisco has been celebrated from its earliest 
 discovery, as one of the best in the world. It is separated from 
 the sea by low mountain ranges. Through these ranges is a single 
 
832 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 gap, resembling a mountain pass. This is the entrance to the great 
 bay, and is the only water communication from the coast to the 
 interior country. 
 
 It has a total length of seventy-five miles, or about thirty-five 
 miles, north and south of the entrance. It is divided by straits and 
 projecting points into three separate bays, of which the northern 
 two are called San Pablo and Suisoon bays. The head of the bay 
 is about forty miles from the sea, and there commences its connexion 
 with the noble valleys of the San Joaquin and Sacramento. The 
 depth of water in the bay is sufficient for the largest ships; and 
 here, it is said, the navies of the world might ride in safety.* 
 
 The great point of interest in this newly-acquired territory is 
 the valley of the Sacramento this being, in various portions of it, 
 distinguished for its "placers? or gold deposits, and which are now 
 attracting the attention of the civilized world. It is probable that 
 the existence of gold in these regions has long been known to indi 
 viduals, but kept a secret, until a trivial circumstance brought the 
 fact into general notice. At the distance of about forty miles up 
 the Sacramento, is a place known as Sutter's fort. At a consider 
 able distance from this place, higher up, Captain Sutter, desirous 
 of erecting a saw-mill, contracted for that purpose with a Mr. Mar 
 shall in September, 1847. When completed, and the water was let 
 on to the wheel, the tail-race was found to be too narrow to allow 
 the water to escape with sufficient rapidity. To save labor, Mr. 
 Marshall let the water directly into the race with a strong current, 
 so as to wash it wider and deeper. He effected his purpose, and a 
 large bed of mud and gravel was carried to the foot of the race. 
 
 One day, Mr. Marshall, as he was walking down the race to this 
 deposite of mud, observed some glittering particles at its upper 
 edge. He gathered a few, examined them, and became satisfied 
 of their value. Repairing to the fort, he made known the discovery 
 to Captain Sutter, and his impressions of its importance. Such, it 
 is believed, are the circumstances which led to the recent discovery 
 of the existence of gold in that region. Further explorations soon 
 followed, and, at, length, satisfactory evidence was furnished that 
 large portions of the valley abound with the precious metal. 
 
 It is needless to enter into further details. Nor shall we attempt 
 to describe the excitement which has grown out of this discovery, 
 nor estimate the thousands who have set sail to this newly-discov 
 ered El Dorado. The excitement is spreading over the land; it is 
 
 * Freemont's California. 
 
NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENT. 833 
 
 extending to various portions of the world and from all parts of 
 the Southern continent from the various countries of Europe and 
 the islands of the sea, vessels loaded with panters in the chase, are 
 either already traversing the wide waste of waters, or preparing to 
 traverse them, in quest of the "shining dust." 
 
 The future history of this "gold mania" will doubtless be pregnant 
 with exciting scenes. 
 
 The administration of Mr. Polk, notwithstanding the party to 
 which he owed his elevation supported him in his measures, cannot 
 be said to have been popular. As an evidence of this, few, if any, 
 seriously favored his reelection. At the national democratic con 
 vention, held in Baltimore, on the 21st of May, 1848, for the nomina 
 tion of a candidate for the presidency, others were brought forward, 
 while he was not named. The prominent names were those of 
 Lewis Cass, of Michigan, James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, and 
 Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire. After several ballotings, 
 Lewis Cass was duly nominated. General W. O. Butler, of Ken 
 tucky, was nominated for the vice-presidency. 
 
 In June following, (7th,) a whig national convention was held in 
 Philadelphia for a similar purpose. The principal candidates were 
 Henry Clay, of Kentucky, General Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana, 
 and General Winfield Scott, of New Jersey. The result of several 
 ballotings was the nomination of General Taylor, who, of the two 
 hundred and eighty votes cast, received one hundred and seventy 
 votes. Mr. Clay had thirty-two, and General Scott sixty-three. 
 Millard Fillmore, of New York, was nominated for the vice- 
 presidency. 
 
 In the Baltimore democratic convention, the state of New York 
 was not represented. Two separate sets of delegates, from two 
 separate conventions held in that state, were present, and each 
 claimed seats ; and while a portion of the convention were inclined 
 to admit one set and exclude the other, and some were in favor of 
 the admission of both, it was at length decided to exclude both. In 
 consequence of this exclusion, the free-soil party adopted measures 
 to convene another convention, which met at Utica, and nominated 
 Martin Van Buren. The object of this party was two-fold to 
 defeat Mr. Cass, and next, to lay the foundation for organizing a 
 free-soil party, designed ultimately to gain a political ascendancy in 
 the United States. 
 
 During the summer following, the friends of the respective candi 
 dates were not idle. While their efforts were not characterized by 
 the enthusiasm and intemperance of some former electioneering 
 
 D5 
 
834 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 campaigns, no probable means of success were omitted. Conven 
 tions were held speeches were made pamphlets circulated; 
 political agents itinerated the country, and the press, as usual, gave 
 currency to every good and evil report, as suited its political taste 
 and interests. 
 
 At length, in November, the election was held, and resulted in the 
 choice of a majority of electors friendly to the election of General 
 Taylor. On the 14th of February, '1849, the votes of the several 
 colleges were opened and counted, agreeably to the constitution, in 
 the presence of both houses of congress, when it appeared that the 
 whole number of votes given was two hundred and ninety, of which 
 General Taylor received one hundred and sixty-three, and accord 
 ingly was declared to be elected. Millard Fillmore, having a like 
 number of votes for the vice-presidency, was so proclaimed. Lewis 
 Cass, and General W. O. Butler, had each one hundred and twenty- 
 seven votes for the respective offices for which they were nominated. 
 Mr. Van Buren failed to receive the vote of a single state. 
 
 The THIRTIETH congress closed its second session on the 3d of 
 March, or rather extended it to about seven o'clock on the morning of 
 the Sabbath, a practice which cannot be too severely condemned, and 
 which it is to be devoutly hoped, may never occur again. This must 
 be considered the more censurable, as but few measures of signal 
 importance were proposed for the session, and the most prominent 
 of those few utterly failed. California was left without any pro 
 visional government, the more to be regretted, from the great influx 
 of people from various quarters of the globe, between whom jeal 
 ousy and rivalry are likely to spring up, not only because of their 
 national partialities and different customs, but especially from inter 
 ferences one with another in their search after gold. A new 
 department was created, called the "Home Department," an import 
 ant office, and one which, taking certain branches of business 
 hitherto belonging to the state and treasury departments, will 
 greatly relieve the officers at the head of those departments. 
 
 The presidential term of Mr. Polk ended on the 3d of March. 
 The inauguration of General Taylor, according to the constitution, 
 would have taken place on the 4th, but as that day was the Sabbath, 
 it was postponed to the following day, when it took place with the 
 usual imposing ceremonies. 
 
 At ten o'clock, the new senate was organized. Rev. Mr. Slicer, 
 chaplain of the senate, performed the usual devotional exercises. 
 At half-past twelve o'clock, the president elect, supported by the 
 ex-president, preceded by the committee of arrangements, entered 
 
INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT TAYLOR. 835 
 
 the senate-chamber. Shortly after, a procession was formed, and 
 moved to the eastern portico of the capitol ; where, in the presence 
 of gathered thousands, General Taylor delivered his inaugural 
 address ; immediately following which, the oath of office was admin 
 istered to him by Chief Justice Taney. 
 
 The inaugural address was the shortest ever delivered by any 
 president since the formation of the government, except Mr. Madi 
 son's. Yet it was sufficiently full and satisfactory to a large majority 
 of his political friends. It did not abound in professions or pledges, 
 and perhaps to a few it might have been more acceptable, had he 
 developed his views in relation to certain questions of policy, on 
 which he observed a studied, and perhaps sagacious silence. It 
 was a plain, manly, comprehensible document, couched in beautiful 
 and eloquent terms : its brevity is worthy of all praise, and in this 
 respect, if no other, is a model worthy of future imitation. On 
 points of greatest national importance, General Taylor waa lear 
 and unequivocal. 
 
 We quote a few paragraphs of this address, which set forth Ms 
 aims and objects: 
 
 "With such aids [the legislative and judicial branches of the gov 
 ernment] and an honest purpose to do whatever is right, I hope to 
 execute diligently, impartially, and for the best interests of the 
 country, the manifold duties devolved upon me. In the discharge 
 f these duties, my guide will be the constitution, which I this day 
 swear to * preserve, protect, and defend.' For the interpretation .of 
 that instrument, I shall look to the decisions of the judicial tribunals 
 established by its authority, and to the practice of the government 
 under the earliest presidents, who had so large a shar in .its 
 formation. 
 
 " Chosen by the body of the people, under the assurance that my 
 administration would be devoted to the welfare of the whole country, 
 and not to the support of any particular section or merely local 
 interests, I, this day, renew the declarations I have heretofore made, 
 and proclaim my fixed determination to maintain, to the extent x>f 
 my ability, the government in its original purity, and to adopt, as 
 the basis of my public policy, those great republican doctrines 
 which constitute the strength of our national existence. 
 
 "It shall be my study to recommend such constitutional raeasares 
 to congress, as may be necessary and proper to secure encourage 
 ment and protection to the great interests of agriculture, commerce, 
 and manufactures ; to improve our rivers and harbors ; to provide 
 for the speedy extinguishment of the public debt; to enforce a strict 
 
836 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 accountability on the part of all officers of the government, and the 
 utmost economy in all public expenditures ; but it is for the wisdom 
 of congress itself, in which all legislative powers are vested by the 
 constitution, to regulate these and other matters of domestic policy. 
 
 "In conclusion, I congratulate you, my fellow-citizens, upon the 
 high state of prosperity to which the goodness of Divine Providence 
 has conducted our common country. Let us invoke a continuance 
 of the same protecting care, which has led us from small beginnings 
 to the eminence we this day occupy, and let us seek to deserve that 
 by prudence and moderation in our councils; by well-directed 
 attempts to assuage- the bitterness which too often marks unavoid 
 able differences of opinion; by the promulgation and practice of 
 just and liberal principles ; and by enlarged patriotism, which shall 
 acknowledge no limits but those of our own wide-spread republic." 
 
 The senate having been summoned by Mr. Polk to meet on the 
 day of the inauguration with reference to an organization of the 
 new administration, General Taylor, on the 6th, submitted the 
 following nominations of members of his cabinet, which were duly 
 confirmed, viz: John M. Clayton, of Delaware, Secretary of State; 
 William M. Meredith, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Treasury; 
 Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, Secretary of the Home Department; 
 George W. Crawford, of Georgia, Secretary of War; William B. 
 Preston, of Virginia, Secretary of the Navy ; Jacob Collamer, of 
 Vermont, Postmaster General ; Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland, 
 Attorney General. 
 
 No other nation presents such a spectacle as the people of the 
 United States. Our election campaigns are without a parallel. 
 What bustle, strife, and even angry contests are witnessed at our 
 polls ! But the question once settled and however settled in a 
 few hours all is hushed "the noise of the waves and the tumults of 
 the people." Each partisan, whether of the victors or of the van 
 quished, turns off to his appropriate calling, and the government, 
 whatever be its political complexion, is organized without further 
 excitement, and proceeds to the execution of its duty, as calmly as 
 if it had been wafted into power on the most tranquil sea, and by 
 the most gentle breeze. 
 
A P P E I D IX. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE ABORIGINES OP AMERICA. Early notions respecting the Americans. 
 Speculations concerning their origin. Intercourse of the inhabitants of the 
 north-eastern parts of Asia with America. Similarity of the customs of the 
 Indians with those of many tribes in the old world. General physiognomy of 
 the North American Indians. Their mental and intellectual qualities. State 
 of government and general knowledge among them. Description of particular 
 tribes. The Eskimaux. Indians of the United States, their number and dis 
 tribution. Manners, mode of life and religious notions of the Indians. The 
 Mandans. The Sioux. The Camanchees. The Caribs. The Calif ornians. 
 American languages. Antiquities of the North American Indians. 
 
 THE early narratives of the discoveries in the western conti 
 nent contain the most marvellous tales respecting the inhabitants. 
 America, according to many of these accounts, was peopled with 
 pigmies, giants, and men with heads beneath their shoulders. A 
 tribe of negroes was believed to exist in the south, while the 
 northern regions were supposed to contain inhabitants perfectly 
 white. Nothing, however, is more striking than the uniform 
 appearance of the aboriginal population. 
 
 The problem of the origin of the American Indians, has em 
 ployed the researches and speculations of ingenious men, ever 
 since the discovery of the continent. Many fanciful theories 
 
2 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 have been invented to explain the manner in which America was 
 peopled ; but the most reasonable supposition seems to be that the 
 western continent received its first population from Asia. The 
 map of the globe will show us that immediately within the arctic 
 circle, the eastern extremity of the old continent is separated from 
 America by a strait less than forty miles in width, and this 
 strait is solidly frozen during winter. Kamtschatka, the ex 
 tremity of Asia, situated between the fortieth and fiftieth degrees 
 of north latitude, is peopled by natives who are thoroughly accus 
 tomed to endure all the rigors of this climate, and is provided 
 with many animals equally capable of existing through all its 
 inclemencies. Under such circumstances, we can see no difficulty 
 in concluding that, from the eastern extremity of Asia, both men 
 and animals have passed to America, and subsequently been 
 multiplied over the whole continent. Fn respect to human beings, 
 it is not necessary to insist that they passed to the American 
 shore during winter, since the distance is not too great for us to 
 believe, that even the rudest navigators, when driven by stress of 
 weather from their own coast, as often happens to the Eskimaux, 
 
 Eskimaux. 
 
 could, with little difficulty, have reached this continent. The 
 Aleutian islands, which are very numerous, and form almost a 
 continuous chain, beginning with Behring's Island, and extending 
 from a point opposite to Kamtschatka, in about the fifty-fifth 
 degree of latitude, may have afforded a much easier and more 
 certain approach. These islands are in the same parallel of lati 
 tude with the greater part of Hudson's Bay and Labrador, where 
 even Europeans are able to endure the climate during the severest 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA,. 3 
 
 seasons. There is, in fact, positive proof, that the reindeer cross 
 over in vast herds on the ice, subsisting on the moss found on 
 these islands during their passage. 
 
 An objection has been made to this hypothesis, grounded on 
 the fact of the striking difference between the Eskimaux and the 
 common Indian, seeming to prove that they were derived from 
 different races. But the Eskimaux bear a manifest resemblance 
 to the Kamtschadale, Tunguse, and other natives of the northeast 
 of Asia, notwithstanding that they differ in many respects from 
 other inhabitants of the new world; there can, therefore, be no 
 reasonable doubt that they are descended from the same parent 
 stock. The copper-colored natives of America, who are the most 
 numerous of the aborigines, approach more closely to the Asiatic 
 Tartars in color and stature. Our belief of the Asiatic origin of 
 the Americans is strengthened by the similarity which many of 
 their customs bear to those of many wild tribes of the ancient 
 continent. The practice of scalping was common among the 
 Scythians. Herodotus informs us that they carried about witn 
 them at all times this savage mark of triumph. The ferocity of 
 the Scythians to their prisoners, extended to the remotest part of 
 Asia. The natives of Kamtschatka, at the time of its discovery 
 by the Russians, put their prisoners to death with the most linger 
 ing tortures. The Scythians were believed by the neighboring 
 nations, annually to transform themselves into wild beasts, and 
 again to resume the human shape. The true account of this 
 metamorphosis may be found in a practice very common among 
 the American Indians. They disguise themselves in dresses 
 
 Indian hunter, with a deer's hide on. 
 
 made of the skins of beasts, and wear the heads fitted to their 
 own ; these habits they use in hunting, to deceive their game. 
 Ignorance and superstition, .among barbarous people, would natu- 
 
4 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 rally ascribe to a supernatural metamorphosis these temporary 
 expedients to outwit the brute creation. 
 
 The Indians of North America are marked by considerable 
 differences in stature, color and physiognomy. Their average 
 height corresponds with that of Europeans, though many indi 
 viduals may be found, in various tribes, far exceeding the ordinary 
 height. Their color varies, from a cinnamon-brown to a deep 
 copper-color; and some have been found of an olive-yellow tinge. 
 They almost .universally have black, straight and stiff hair, 
 
 Chief of the BlacJcfoot nation. 
 
 though it frequently appears coarser from their mode of dressing 
 it, than it would in its natural state. The features of tne face are 
 all large and strongly marked, except the eyes, which are gener 
 ally deep-seated, or sunk in large sockets, and placed nearly in a 
 horizontal line. In this respect, and in general beauty of person, 
 they more nearly resemble the European than any other variety 
 of the human race. The forehead is commonly rather low, some 
 what compressed at the sides, and slightly retreating from the 
 perpendicular. The facial angle is about eighty degrees. The 
 nose is generally prominent, and sometimes arched. The cheek 
 bones are high and widely separated ; the angle of the jaw is 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 5 
 
 broad, and the chin square. These latter marks give a peculiar 
 fulness to the lower part of the face, and occasion much of the 
 remarkable expression of the Indian countenance. They were 
 formerly supposed to be destitute of a beard, but this is erroneous ; 
 they eradicate the hair from the face with the greatest care. The 
 haii 1 of the head is also, in a great part, removed ; a small lock 
 being usually left on the centre or crown, which is commonly 
 decorated with feathers, porcupine quills and other ornaments. 
 
 It is almost a universal habit with them to paint their bodies, 
 either on occasions of ceremony, or preparatory to battle; hence, 
 vermilion has always been a substance of great value to them. 
 Under ordinary circumstances, where this substance is not to be 
 obtained, they employ various colored clays, charcoal, &c., which 
 are smeared over the skin in fantastic figures. 
 
 Western Prairie. 
 
 In his native wilds, free from the debilitating vices and corrup 
 tions of civilization, the North American Indian is brave, hospita 
 ble, honest and confiding ; for him danger has no terrors, and his 
 house is ever open to the stranger. Taught to regard glory as the 
 highest reward of his actions, he becomes a stoic under suffering, 
 and so far subjugates his feelings as to stifle the emotions of his 
 soul, allowing no outward sign of their workings to be perceived. 
 His friendships are steadfast, and his promises sacredly kept; 
 his anger is dreadful; his revenge, though often long cherished 
 in secret, is as horrible and effective as it is certain. Neces 
 sity and pride teach him patience ; habitual exercise makes him 
 vigilant and skilful. His youth is principally spent in listening 
 to the recital of his ancestors' deeds of renown, and his manhood 
 is passed in endeavoring to leave for his children an induce 
 ment to follow his example. In common circumstances, the 
 Indian is grave, dignified and taciturn ; but in the assembly of his 
 nation, or in a council with the whites, he frequently becomes 
 fluent, impassioned, eloquent and sublime. With few words and 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 no artificial aid, drawing his images exclusively from surrounding 
 objects, and yielding to his own ardent impulses, he rouses his 
 friends to enthusiasm, or strikes dread into his enemies, , as he 
 depicts, with a few rapid touches, the terrors of his vengeance, 01 
 the horril le carnage of his hattles. 
 
 Indian Council. 
 
 The stein impassiveness of the Indian is one of his strongest 
 characteristics. When suffering from hunger, he utters no com 
 plaint ; when long absent from home, he expresses no emotion at 
 his return. "I am come," is his simple salutation. "It is well," 
 is the reply. When refreshed by eating and smoking, he relates 
 the story of his enterprise to his assembled friends, who listen in 
 respectful silence, or only testify their interest in his narrative by 
 a single ejaculation. The Indians almost universally revere the 
 aged, and are exceedingly indulgent to their offspring, whom they 
 rarely chastise, except by casting cold water on them. They are 
 not so kind to their women, who are generally treated more as 
 domestic animals than as companions, and are seldom exempted 
 from severe toils, even when about to give birth to their children. 
 Notwithstanding this, the women appear contented with their 
 situation, and not unfrequently exhibit excellent traits of charac 
 ter. At times, their jealousy or other depressing passions lead 
 them to the commission of suicide, and in some tribes this pre 
 vails to a considerable extent. Indian habits of thinking vary 
 with their modes of education, and differ much in different na 
 tions, ^f he want of chastity, before marriage, is not universally 
 considered n loss of character; neither is incontinence in the 
 female, after marriage, regarded as a crime, if the husband gives 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 7 
 
 his consent. Yet the same people will treat as infamous, and 
 even put to an ignominious death, a woman who receives the 
 addissses of another man without the permission of her husband. 
 The number of wives taken by the men is most commonly limited 
 only by their ability to maintain them, as almost all the Indians 
 practise polygamy. Their wandering modes of life and precari 
 ous subsistence render the increase of population among them far 
 inferior to what it is among the whites. 
 
 Knisteneaux rvoman. 
 
 The government to which they submit is that exercised by their 
 chiefs, who are, with very few exceptions, chosen in consequence 
 of their superior courage, physical strength, or great experience 
 and wisdom. The deference paid to them is not at all to be com 
 pared with that manifested by Europeans to their rulers ; it is a 
 respect for high qualities and reputation, but confers no other 
 privileges than that of leading them to battle, or directing the 
 movements of their camp ; it does not entitle the chief to interfere 
 with the rights of others of his tribe, nor can his will be carried 
 into effect unless it be supported by the general opinion of his 
 people. The authority of the chiefs of the ancient German tribes, 
 according to the relation of Tacitus, was precisely the same. The 
 most general and enduring passion among the Indians, is that for 
 military glory. The earliest language the young savage learns, 
 is the warrior's praise ; the first actions he is taught to perform, 
 72 
 
S ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 have for their object the eventual attainment of this distinction, 
 and every thought is hent towards the achievement of heroic deeds. 
 Hence death. is despised, suffering endured, and danger courted 
 The song of war is more musical to his ear than the voice of 
 love; and the yells of the returning warrior thrill his hosom with 
 pleasing anticipations of the time when he shall leave blood and 
 ashes where the dwelling of his enemy stood, and hear the tri 
 umphant shouts of his kinsman responsive to his own returning 
 war-cry. 
 
 Movable wigwams of the Kaskaskias. 
 
 The knowledge of the Indians is very limited; their talents are 
 most exhibited by their skill in hunting, and the shrewdness of 
 their observation, by which they can detect the footsteps of game 
 or of their enemies. Their acquaintance with the mechanic arts 
 is small ; they construct huts or lodges, with skins, bark, or earth, 
 sustained by rude poles. They make canoes of birch-bark, shape 
 bowls out of wood, with vast labor, by the aid of sharp flints and 
 other stones ; make a rude and sun-dried pottery ; fashion to 
 bacco-pipes of clay or stone; dress the skins of animals by rub 
 bing them when moistened with brains, till they are pliable ; and 
 from these skins they manufacture moccasins, pouches, &c., va 
 riously ornamented with porcupine quills, which they know how 
 to dye several brilliant colors. 
 
 Their knowledge of medicines and surgery is exceedingly rude 
 and imperfect, and consists in a few plain remedies and a great 
 deal of juggling mummery. They cannot be said to have any 
 acquaintance with astronomy, if we except the ability which 
 some of them possess to guide their course by the polar star. 
 Their ideas of the Deity are very crude and indistinct, though 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 9 
 
 they all seem to possess some notion of a future state, as well as 
 of a Great Spirit and Director of the universe. Many tribes have 
 some belief in the rewards and punishments of a future life ; but 
 their ideas on this subject are necessarily founded on their appre 
 ciation of what is at present agreeable or disagreeable to them 
 selves. They believe in bad as well as good spirits, and are as 
 strongly incited to worship the one from fear, as to adore the other 
 from respect and love. 
 
 Indians hunting buffaloes. 
 
 Their modes of living vary throughout the regions they inhabit. 
 Those who reside where game is plenty, live entirely by hunting; 
 others, in the neighborhood of lakes and rivers, live by fighting ; 
 many tribes raise maize and tobacco. The Indians who frequent 
 the prairies and level tracts, in general are fond of horses, and 
 are excellent horsemen; while those who roam the forests are 
 more remarkable for the speed and sagacity with which they 
 travel on foot. 
 
 Eskimaux hut. 
 
10 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 The Eskimaux who inhabit the most northern parts of the 
 continent, differ considerably from all the other aborigines of 
 America. They are far inferior in stature, and their features are 
 extremely harsh and disagreeable to Europeans. Their cheek 
 bones are very prominent, their cheeks tumid and somewhat 
 globose, their noses small, flat or sunken, and their whole phy 
 siognomy resembles considerably that of the most ill-favored 
 Tartar tribes. The Eskimaux character varies from Prince Wil 
 liam's Sound, where they are of the largest size, as they extend 
 to the more northern regions, to the coast of the Icy Sea, Hud 
 son's Bay, Greenland and Labrador, they become dwarfish in 
 comparison with the Europeans, and have heretofore given rise to 
 stories of a race of pigmies inhabiting those regions. 
 
 The number of Indians inhabiting tire territory of the United 
 States east of the Mississippi, at the period of the first settlement, 
 
 has been estimated at somewhat below two hundred thousand. 
 These people spoke a vast variety of dialects ; yet the number of 
 languages radically distinct, was only eight. These eight races 
 were the Algonquin, the Sioux or Dahcotah, the Wyandot or Huron- 
 Iroquois, the Catawba, the Cherokee, the Uchee, the Natchez, and 
 the Mobilian. The Algonquin race were the most numerous, and 
 extended from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Carolina. This race 
 comprised numerous tribes. 1. The Micmacs, who inhabited 
 Nova Scotia, and often invaded Maine, but do riot appear to have 
 become permanently domiciliated there. 2. The Etchemins, or 
 Canoe-men, in the eastern part of Maine. 3. The Abenakis, on 
 the Penobscot and Androscoggin. 4. The Sokokis on the Saco. 
 5. The Pennacooks or Pawtuckets, in New Hampshire, and the 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 11 
 
 county of Essex, in Massachusetts. 6. The Massachusetts, who, 
 at the period of the discovery, had but a few scanty settlements 
 in the state to which they gave their name, but had formerly been 
 very numerous. 7. The Pokanokets, who dwelt about Mount 
 Hope, in Rhode Island, in Nantucket, Martha's Yineyard and on 
 Cape Cod. 8. The Narragansetts, in the western part of the state 
 of Rhode Island, and a part of Long Island ; these were the most 
 civilized of all the northern tribes. 9. The Pequods, in the 
 eastern part of Connecticut and on Long Island. 10. The Mo- 
 hegans, between the Connecticut and the Hudson. 11. The 
 Manhattans, whose settlements were mixed with the Mohegans. 
 12. The Lenni Lennape, subdivided into the Minsi and Dela- 
 wares, inhabiting New Jersey, the banks of the Delaware, and 
 the Schuylkill. 13. The Nanticokes, between the Delaware and 
 the Chesapeake. 14. The Accomacs, on the eastern shore of 
 Virginia. 15. The Pamlicoes, in the eastern part of North Caro 
 lina. 16. The Shawnees, in Kentucky. 17. The Miamis, on 
 the Scioto, the Wabash and Lake Michigan. 18. The Illinois, 
 between the Wabash, the Ohio and the Mississippi. 19. The 
 Potawatomies on Green Bay. 20. The Chippeways or Ojibways, 
 
 Chippervay Village. 
 
 in the country south of Lake Superior. 21. The Menomonies, 
 near Green Bay. 22. The Sacs, between Lake Michigan and the 
 Mississippi. 23. The Foxes, in the same neighborhood. 24. 
 The Kickapoos, in the north of Illinois. Such were the diver 
 sities of the great Algonquin nation, which possessed more than 
 half of the territory of the United States east of the Mississippi. 
 
 The Sioux nation inhabited the northern bank of the Missis 
 sippi, and waged a hereditary war with the Chippeways. Their 
 numbers appear to be greater at present than formerly. 
 72* E5 
 
12 
 
 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 The Wyandots were very numerous and powerful at the time 
 of the discovery; they appear to have come originally from 
 Canada; they dwelt about Mackinaw, Detroit, and along the 
 southern shore of Lake Erie and Ontario, occupying a great por 
 tion of New York and Pennsylvania. The Mohawks, OneidaSj 
 Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas, were comprised in this nation. 
 In the south, were the Chowan, Meherrin, Nottaway and Tus- 
 carora tribes in Carolina. The Wyandot tribes of the north, 
 were of great political importance ; they effected many conquests, 
 and for a long time held the balance of power between the 
 French and English settlers. 
 
 The Catawba nation occupied the interior of North and South 
 Carolina. They were the hereditary enemies of the Wyandots, 
 and do not appear ever to have been a powerful nation ; they are 
 now nearly extinct. 
 
 The Cherokee nation inhabited the elevated regions of Caro 
 lina, Georgia and Alabama, and the upper valley of the Tennes 
 see. They have now emigrated beyond the Mississippi. 
 
 The Uchee nation dwelt southeast of the Cherokees. The 
 Natchez inhabited the country on the eastern bank of the Missis 
 sippi. Both these nations are now merged in the Creek confed 
 eracy. 
 
 Palmetto Glade Florida,. 
 
 The Mobilian nation inhabited Florida, Georgia, Alabama, 
 Mississippi and Louisiana. This nation includes various tribes, 
 several of which remain undiminished in numbers to the present 
 day. The Yamassees and Creeks dwelt in Georgia, the Semi- 
 noles in Florida, the Choctaws between the Alabama and the 
 Mississippi, and the Chickasaws to the north of the Natchez. 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 13 
 
 Many of these nations remain in Florida; others have emigrated 
 to the west. 
 
 From the above account of the aboriginal inhabitants of that 
 portion of the continent with which we are the best acquainted, 
 the reader may gather some notion of the great variety of the 
 tribes which still occupy the forests, the prairies, the plains and 
 the deserts of North and South America. The names would form 
 an extensive catalogue, and we shall confine our descriptions to 
 such of them as attract especial notice. 
 
 Anything mystical or marvellous among the Indians of the 
 west, is called a medicine, and a person supposed to be a conjurer, 
 is styled a medicine-man. The fur-traders were formerly almost 
 all French, and their word medecin, or doctor, became adopted by 
 the Indians, to signify anything marvellous or unaccountable, 
 among which, of course, is the practice of physic with the natives. 
 The Indian country is full of doctors, all pretending to be skilled 
 in magic, and to deal in mysteries and charms, which are their 
 main helps in curing disorders. The Indians have their "medi* 
 
 Indian Robe. 
 
 cine-bags," which are made of the skins of animals, birds or 
 reptiles, and ornamented in a great variety of ways. These bags 
 are generally attached to some part of the clothing, or carried in 
 the hand. They are often decorated in such a manner as to be 
 
 5 
 
14 APORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 exceedingly ornamental, and are always stuffed with grass, moss ? 
 or something similar ; they are religiously closed and sealed up, 
 and are seldom or never opened. The medicine-bag is a sort of 
 amulet, on which the Indian relies for protection, and to which he 
 pays homage. Feasts are often made, and dogs and horses sacri 
 ficed, to a man's medicine, and weeks of fasting and penance 
 suffered, to appease this mysterious object, when he imagines it is 
 offended with him. The medicine-bag has fallen into disrepute 
 along the frontier, where the white men have depreciated it by 
 their ridicule ; but in the distant west it is in full reputation. 
 
 A boy of fourteen or fifteen years is said to be ' making his 
 medicine,' when he -wanders away from his father's lodge, and 
 absents himself for four or five days ; during which time he lies 
 on the ground in some secluded spot, crying to the Great Spirit, 
 and fasting both day and night. In'this state, when he falls 
 asleep, the first animal, bird or reptile, of which he dreams, he 
 believes the Great Spirit has designated for his mysterious protec 
 tor through life. He then returns home and relates his success, 
 
 Knistenaux, mth his lance and medicine-bag. 
 
 and after eating and drinking, he sallies forth, with weapons of 
 traps, in quest of the animal of which he has dreamed. The 
 skin of this animal is made into his medicine-bag, and carried by 
 him through life. After death it is laid in his grave. 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 15 
 
 The value of the medicine-bag to the Indian is beyond all 
 price ; to sell or give it away would expose him to such signal 
 disgrace with his tribe that he could never recover his standing 
 among them. His superstition, moreover, is an effectual guard 
 against any such sacrilegious act. If he loses his medicine-lag 
 in battle, though fighting ever so bravely, he suffers a deep dis 
 grace ; his enemy carries it off as a trophy, and the loser bears the 
 degrading appellation of a " man of no medicine," until he can 
 replace it by rushing into battle and capturing one from an enemy 
 whom he slays with his own hand. This reinstates him in his rank, 
 and even elevates him higher than before; for the captured article 
 is considered of superior power, and goes by the name of "medi 
 cine honorable." 
 
 Mandan cemetery, 
 
 The Mandans never bury their dead, but place the corpses on 
 a slight scaffolding, just above the reach of human hands, and out 
 of the way of wolves and dogs. There they are left to moulder and 
 decay. This aerial cemetery is commonly in the neighborhood 
 of one of their villages, and often contains some hundreds of 
 corpses. When a Mandan dies, and the customary honors and 
 condolences have been paid to his remains, the body is dressed in 
 his best attire, painted, oiled, and equipped with bow and quiver, 
 shield, pipe and tobacco, knife, flint and steel, and provisions for 
 a few days 7 journey. A fresh buffalo's skin, just stripped from the 
 animal's back, is then wrapped round the body, and tightly bound 
 with thongs of raw hide from head to foot. Other robes of skin 
 are then soaked in water till they are quite soft, and these are 
 
16 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 also bandaged tightly round the body, so as totally to exclude the 
 air. The scaffold is then erected for it, constructed of four upright 
 posts : on the tops of these are laid small poles and willow-rods, 
 forming a support just strong enough to sustain the body, which 
 is laid upon its back, with the feet to the rising sun. Fathers, 
 mothers, wives and children may be seen, prostrated on the 
 ground, under these scaffolds, howling piteous cries, tearing their 
 hair, cutting their flesh with knives, to appease the spirits of the 
 
 Mandan chief. 
 
 dead. When the scaffolds decay and fall to the ground, the 
 nearest relations bury the bones, reserving the skulls, which are 
 perfectly bleached. The skulls they place in circles of a hundred 
 or more, on the prairie, with the faces all looking inward. In the 
 centre of the ring is a little mound, on which are placed two buf 
 falo skulls, a male and a female. In the centre of the mound 
 stands a medicine-pole, sustaining many curious articles of 
 mystery and superstition. 
 
 The Indian children are carried on the backs of their mothers. 
 The child in earliest infancy has its back lashed to a straight 
 board, with the feet resting on a broad hoop These cradles, if 
 they may be so called, are made in a great variety of fashions, 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 17 
 
 and among some tribes are highly and tastefully ornamented, 
 The Sioux cradles are carried on the backs of the women, and 
 
 Sioux cradle. 
 
 sustained by a band passing round the forehead. This band is 
 covered with a beautiful embroidery of porcupine quills, with 
 
 Camanchee wigwam. 
 
 figures of horses, men, &c. A broad hoop, of elastic wood, passes 
 around in front of the child's face, to protect it from a fall, from 
 
IS ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 the front of which is suspended a little toy, of exquisite embroi 
 dery, for the child to handle as a plaything. All the other orna 
 ments are of the brightest colors. 
 
 The Camanches are a powerful nation, occupying the territory 
 on the shores of the Red River. They excel all the other Indian 
 tribes in horsemanship. A Camanchee, on his feet, appears out of 
 his element, and almost as awkward as a monkey on the ground, 
 without a limb or branch to hold upon; but the moment he mounts 
 his horse, he seems metamorphosed, and flies away like a different 
 being. Their numbers amount to thirty or forty thousand, and 
 they are tolerably well skilled in agriculture. Their wigwams 
 are made sometimes of skins and sometimes of prairie grass. 
 Many of their villages contain five or six hundred dwellings. 
 
 When Columbus first arrived at Hispaniola, he received intelli 
 gence of a barbarous and warlike people, called Carribals, Cani- 
 bales, or Caribs, who made depredations on that and the neighbor 
 ing island. Columbus found this warlike race upon the wind 
 ward islands, and they remained there in considerable numbers 
 till towards the end of the last century. The great difference in 
 language and character between these savages and the quiet and 
 inoffensive natives of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto 
 Rico, causes us to believe that their origin was different. Yarious 
 tribes, closely akin to the Caribs, if not identical with them, were 
 scattered over the northern part of South America, extending from 
 the Orinoco to Essequibo, and throughout the province of Surinam 
 to Brazil. Some of them still exist in a state of independence. 
 The Caribs were among the most remarkable of the native Ameri 
 cans. Restless, enterprising and ardent, they seem to have con 
 sidered war as the chief end of their creation, and the rest of the 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 19 
 
 human race as their natural prey. They devoured, without 
 remorse, the bodies of their prisoners. This horrid custom is so 
 repugnant to every human feeling, that, for a long series of years, 
 until the discovery of similar practices among the islanders of the 
 Pacific Ocean, the most judicious European writers boldly im 
 peached the veracity of the old navigators upon this point. But 
 the fact of their cannibalism rests on irrefragable proof. Among 
 themselves, however, the Caribs were peaceable, faithful, friendly 
 and affectionate. They considered all strangers, indeed, as 
 enemies ; and of their European visitors they formed a right esti 
 mation. 
 
 Carib house. 
 
 The Caribs were not so tall as the generality of Europeans, but 
 their frame was robust and muscular; their limbs flexile and 
 active, and there was a penetrating quickness and a wildness in 
 their eyes, that seemed an emanation from a fierce and martial 
 spirit. They painted their faces and bodies with arnotto so 
 extravagantly that their natural complexion, which was nearly 
 that of Spanish olive, was not easily to be distinguished under the 
 surface of crimson. They disfigured their cheeks with deep 
 incisions and hideous scars, which they stained black ; and they 
 painted white and black circles round their eyes. Some of them 
 perforated the cartilage that divides the nostrils, and inserted a 
 fish-bone, a parrot's feather, or a fragment of a tortoise-shell ; and 
 they strung together the teeth of such of their enemies as they had 
 slain in battle, and wore them on their legs and arms. One 
 method of making their boys skilful, even in infancy, in the exer 
 cise of the bow, was to suspend their food on the branch of a tree, 
 compelling the hardy urchins to hit it with their arrows before 
 they could obtain permission to eat. As soon as a male child 
 was born, he was sprinkled with a few drops of his father's blood; 
 73 F5 
 
20 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 and the period of attaining the first year of his manhood was 
 solemnized by a scene of ferocious festivity and unnatural cruelty. 
 No other race of men has been found with a forehead so low as 
 that of the Caribs ; and in order to exaggerate a character which 
 they deemed beautiful, they had recourse to artificial means of 
 flattening this region when the bones are soft and capable of y ield- 
 ing to artificial pressure. On the birth of a child, the skull was 
 confined between two small pieces of wood, which, applied before 
 and behind, and firmly bound together on each side, altered the 
 growth of the skull bone. This uncouth and frightful custom 
 continued to be followed by the wretched remnant of Caribs, that, 
 till a recent period, inhabited the island of St. Vincent. 
 
 Cruelties of the Spaniards. 
 
 The natives of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and 
 the Bahamas, who were so quickly extirpated by their remorse 
 less conquerors, appear to have been the gentlest and most simple, 
 amiable and benevolent of the human race. Three or four mil 
 lions of them peopled these islands at the period of their discovery ; 
 and in an incredibly short space of time the whole nation had 
 disappeared from the face of the earth. They were taller, but less 
 robust than the Caribs. Their color was a clear brown, not 
 deeper, in general, according to Columbus, than that of a sun 
 burnt Spanish peasant. Like the Caribs, they altered the natural 
 configuration of the head in infancy, but after a different fashion ; 
 and by this practice, Herrera informs us, the crown was so 
 strengthened, that a Spanish broad-sword, instead of cleaving the 
 skull at a stroke, would frequently break short upon it. Their 
 features were hard and unintellectual, but their eyes beamed with 
 good nature, and there was something pleasing and inviting in 
 their countenances, which proclaimed a frank and gentle disposi 
 tion, " It was an honest face," says Peter Martyr, " coarse, but 
 not gloomy, for it was enlivened by confidence and softened by 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 21 
 
 compassion. Another striking peculiarity, which distinguishes 
 these people from all the other American races, was their remarK- 
 ahle attachment to the female sex. An insensibility, or a contemp 
 tuous disregard towards women, is a strong trait in the character 
 of most of the continental aborigines ; but with these islanders, a 
 fondness for the sex was a prominent characteristic. Love, with 
 them, was not merely a transient and youthful ardor, but the 
 source of all their pleasures, and the chief business of life ; for not 
 being, like the Caribs and other martial and restless tribes, op 
 pressed by the weight of perpetual solicitude, and tormented by 
 an unquenchable thirst of revenge, they gave full indulgence 
 to the instincts of nature, while the influence of the climate height 
 ened the sensibility of the passions. 
 
 Natives of the West India Islands. 
 
 These islanders were indolent, as their genial climate and pro 
 lific soil enabled them to satisfy their few simple wants without 
 much labor. In muscular strength they were consequently defi 
 cient ; but their limbs were pliant, and their movements displayed 
 gracefulness and ease. Their agility was eminently conspicuous 
 in their dances, in which they excelled and delighted, devoting 
 the cool hours of the night to this amusement. It was their custom 
 to dance from evening to the dawn ; and although fifty thousand 
 men and women were frequently assembled on these occasions, 
 they seemed actuated by one common impulse, keeping time, by 
 responsive motions of their hands, feet and bodies, with an exact 
 ness that struck the Spaniards with amazement. 
 
 The Californians were long famous for the fantastic ornaments 
 of their dress. Sir Francis Drake mistook the common head-dress 
 
2*2 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 of some of these people, for a diadem, which it much resembles, 
 and considered the gift of one of these, made to him by one of the 
 chiefs, as the abdication of the crown of California to Queen 
 Elizabeth. These natives have made little progress toward civili 
 zation, although the Spaniards have long been established in the 
 country. They have none of that boldness and independence of 
 character, and very little of that activity, industry and perseve 
 rance, which distinguish the Indians nearer the pole. They 
 almost entirely neglect tillage, living by the chase and on the 
 spontaneous productions of the soil. A few, however, in the imme 
 diate neighborhood of the Spanish settlements, possess some cattle 
 and horses. Their habitations are wretched wigwams, built of 
 rushes, and resembling bee-hives. They hunt animals by dis 
 guising themselves in skins, like the Indians- of the north. La 
 Perouse saw a Californian, with a stag's head fixed to his own, 
 walk on all-fours, as if he were browsing the grass ; he played his 
 pantomime to such perfection that the hunters would have fired 
 at him, had they not been forewarned. By this disguise they get 
 within two or three yards of the deer, and discharge arrows from 
 their concealed bow. without rising erect. Great numbers of the 
 Californians are nominally Christians, but they know little more 
 of Christianity than the names of a few Catholic saints. 
 
 The languages of the native Americans have afforded a very 
 interesting subject for the researches of philologists. From the 
 territory of the Eskimaux to the banks of the' Orinoco, and again 
 from this torrid region to the frozen climate of the Straits of the 
 Magellan, the mother tongues, entirely different with regard to 
 their roots, possess the same general physiognomy. Striking 
 analogies of grammatical construction are observable throughout. 
 Idioms, the roots of which do not resemble each other more than 
 the roots of the Sclavonian and the Biscayan, have those resem 
 blances of internal mechanism which are found in the Sanscrit, the 
 Persian, the Greek and the German. Almost everywhere in the 
 new world, we recognise a multiplicity of forms and tenses in the 
 verb, an artificial industry to indicate beforehand, either by 
 inflexion of the personal pronouns which form the terminations of 
 the verb, or by an intercalated suffix, the nature and relation of its 
 object and subject, and to distinguish whether the object be ani 
 mate or inanimate, masculine or feminine, simple or complex. 
 Some of the American languages have an enormous complication 
 of tenses, two presents, four preterits, and three futures. This 
 multiplicity is a characteristic, in a greater or less degree, of all, 
 even the rudest, of the American tongues. They are, according 
 to Humboldtj like complicated machines, the wheels of which are 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 23 
 
 exposed. The artifice is visible ; the industrious mechanism of 
 their construction strikes the observation at once. We seem to 
 be present at their formation, and we should state them to be of 
 very recent origin, if we did not recollect that the human mind 
 follows iniperturbably an impulse once given; that nations en 
 large, improve and repair the grammatical edifice of their lan 
 guage, according to a plan already determined. 
 
 There is no proof that the existence of man is much more 
 recent in America than in the Old World. Within the tropics, the 
 strength of vegetation, the breadth of rivers and partial inunda 
 tions, have presented powerful obstacles to the migration of tribes 
 of men. The extensive countries of the north of Asia are as 
 thinly peopled as were the savannas of New Mexico at the period 
 of their discovery ; and it is not necessary to suppose that the 
 countries first peopled are those which offer the greatest masses 
 of inhabitants. History, in carrying us back to the earliest 
 epochs, instructs us that almost every part of the globe is occu 
 pied by men who think themselves aborigines because they are 
 ignorant of their origin. 
 
 It is a somewhat ancient opinion that the Americans were of 
 Jewish descent. A more absurd notion never was entertained ; 
 yet it has been thought that proofs could be detected in the abo 
 riginal languages. Hebrew scholars have imagined that they saw 
 striking analogies between the dialects of the new world and the 
 Semitic tongues. Credulous travellers among the Choctaws and 
 Chickasaws, have heard the Hallelujah of the Hebrews sung by 
 the tawny natives. Monuments of many of these languages yet 
 remain. We have already mentioned the translation of the Bible 
 into the Massachusetts tongue, by Eliot. The Peruvian language 
 can boast of a poetical work, in which the Idyls of Theocritus are 
 imitated with perfect grace and simplicity. 
 
 The antiquities of the northern American tribes consist of se 
 pulchral mounds, either the general cemetery of a village or tribe, 
 or the funeral monuments of a battle-field, or the result of a cus 
 tom prevalent among some of the tribes, of collecting, at stated 
 intervals, the hones of the dead, and interring them in a common 
 repository. The bricks discovered in these mounds appear to 
 have been formed after the modern method, and are well burnt 
 Many metallic remains have been discovered in them, mostly of 
 copper. In a mound at Marietta was found a cup of massy 
 silver, finely gilt on the inside. The mounds also abound in 
 tools and articles of pottery. In the caves of Tennessee and 
 Kentucky have been found mummies, in a high state of preserva- 
 73* 
 
24 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 tion, clothed in skins and cloth of various textures, inlaid with 
 feathers. 
 
 The most remarkable, however, of the northern antiquities, are 
 the mural remains, or ancient fortifications, which abound through 
 out the Western States. Some of these contain many acres of 
 land, comprising walls, ditches, mounds, causeways, towers, gate 
 ways, terraces, pyramids, &c. Vestiges of whole towns are dis 
 cernible in many places, with streets and squares laid out in 
 perfect regularity. In the state of Missouri, are the remains of a 
 building, of rough stone, fifty-six feet long and twenty-two broad, 
 with a stone roof. In the same neighborhood are the ruins of 
 another building. On* the south side. of the river Missouri is an en 
 closure, including an area of about five hundred acres ; it consists 
 of walls fifteen feet high and seventy or, one hundred feet wide at 
 the base. To this enclosure are attached a redoubt and a citadel, 
 with gateways, hornworks and curtains, much resembling the 
 structure of European engineers. There can be no doubt of the 
 antiquity of these ruins, as they are overgrown with large cotton 
 trees in full growth. 
 
 At Cincinnati was a mound, six hundred and twenty feet long 
 and sixty feet broad, on which were stumps of old oaks seven feet 
 in diameter ; this mound contained articles of jasper, crystal, coal, 
 carved bones, beads, lead, copper, mica, marine shells and do 
 mestic utensils, with human bones. In Ohio, is a conical stone 
 tumulus, one hundred feet in diameter and forty feet high. 
 Another, in the same state, was ninety feet high, and contained an 
 immense number of human skeletons, of every size and age, all 
 laid horizontally, with their heads toward the centre. Stone axes, 
 knives, and various ornaments, were deposited near the head of 
 each individual. 
 
 These structures of the northern aborigines extend over a wide 
 territory, and may be traced from the state of New York, along 
 the western line of the Alleganies, to the southern extremity of 
 Florida. In the west, they exist in great numbers on the shores 
 of all the western waters, reaching to the north as far as the 
 sources of the Mississippi; southerly, they extend nearly to 
 Mexico. They are undoubtedly of high antiquity, most proba 
 bly the ruins of temples and cities, some of the most massive 
 and durable construction, and all indicating the existence of a 
 population permanently established. Most of them are covered 
 with forests, and there is every appearance that several genera 
 tions of trees have sprung up on them and disappeared, since 
 they were deserted. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Antiquities of Mexico. Uxmal. Palenque. Tezcuco. Chi-chen. Cholula. 
 Xochicako . Papantla. Zayi. Mexican hieroglyphics . Manuscripts. South 
 American Indians. The Otomaques .The Peruvian Indians. Antiquities of 
 Peru. Palaces of the Incas. Latacunga. Canar. The Araucanians. The 
 AJnpones. The Patagonians. The Fuegians. Conclusion. 
 
 Ancient Mexican musicians. 
 
 IN a former part of this work, we have described the magnifi 
 cence and extent of the architectural structures of the Mexicans. 
 The country still contains many interesting remains of the cities, 
 fortifications and temples of the ancient inhabitants, although 
 the Vandal spirit of the Spanish conquerors displayed itself in 
 attempts to obliterate everything in the nature of a national 
 monument. The great city of Mexico, formerly the wonder of 
 the western world, can hardly, at the present day, boast of a 
 single stone of the age of Montezuma. The most important an 
 tiquities are at Uxmal and Palenque ; and here we find vestiges 
 that indicate a near approach to civilization, as far as the me 
 chanic arts are concerned. The ruins at Uxmal stand on a 
 plain in the peninsula of Yucatan. When first discovered, they 
 were covered with a thick forest. The most remarkable edifices 
 lie in a group, and consist of pyramids coated with stone, and 
 quadrangular stone edifices and terraces. One of these pyramids 
 is one hundred and thirty feet in height, supporting a temple on 
 the summit. On one of the facades of the temple are four human 
 
26 
 
 MEXICAN ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 figures, similai to caryatides, cut in stone, with great exactness 
 and elegance. Their hands are crossed upon the breast, the head 
 is enveloped in something like a casque; about the neck is a 
 
 Uxmal by moonlight. 
 
 garment of the skin of an alligator, with a border beautifully- 
 worked ; over each body is sculptured a death's head with bones. 
 All the sculptures are brilliantly colored. 
 
 At Palenque, are the ruins of a city of great extent, but so 
 completely overgrown with a thick forest, that few of the build 
 ings have been explored. The principal structure appears to 
 have been a royal palace, and its architecture is on a scale of 
 great magnitude. It stands upon an artificial elevation, of sixty 
 feet in height, and beneath it is an aqueduct of stone, constructed 
 with the greatest solidity. The four sides have corridors, or por 
 ticoes, the roofs of whic. are supported by square pillars ; these 
 are crowned with square blocks of stone, stretching from col 
 umn to column, and covered with designs in stucco work. The 
 chambers are ornamented with ornaments in stucco, representing 
 grotesque figures. The sculptures are executed very skilfully. 
 Within an open court, in the middle of the whole building, stands 
 a pyramidal tower, of four stories, fifty feet in height. More than 
 a dozen other buildings already explored, exhibit the same species 
 of architecture and sculpture. The human figures represented 
 here, are all remarkable for the great size of the nose, and a pro 
 trusion of the under lip; they are also beardless. Some of the 
 sculptures represent human sacrifices, hieroglyphical symbols, and 
 men dancing, with palm-leaves in their hands. One figure, sup- 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 2? 
 
 posed to be a deity, is sitting in Hindoo style, on a throne, orna 
 mented on each side with the head and claws of an animal ; 
 another, seated cross-legged upon a two-headed monster, is receiv 
 ing an offering from a man in a kneeling attitude. In all these 
 representations, every appearance of martial weapons appears to 
 be wanting. Some of the windows are in the form of a Greek 
 cross ; and on the wall of one of the apartments is a tablet of 
 sculptured stone, exhibiting the figure of a large and richly orna 
 mented cross, placed upon an altar or pedestal. A priest stands 
 on one side, in the attitude of adjuration, and on the other side, is 
 another priest presenting some offering. On the top of the cross 
 is seated a 'sacred bird, which has two strings of beads around its 
 neck. These sculptures are accompanied with hieroglyphics, 
 which no one yet has been able to decipher. 
 
 Ruins of a temple at Chi-ehen. 
 
 At Tezcuco, Merida, Xochicalco, Chi-chen, Zayi, Zacatecas, 
 and numerous other places, are ruins of great extent, which ex 
 hibit striking proofs of the proficiency of the aboriginal Ameri 
 cans in the science of architecture. At Copan, in Guatimala, are 
 the walls and other remains of a great city, which extend along 
 the river for two miles. Here are some remarkable monuments, 
 in the shape of obelisks and columns, covered with fantastic 
 sculptures. Everything shows that Mexico and Guatimala, at the 
 time of the conquest, were covered with flourishing cities, con 
 taining magnificent palaces and other public buildings. The 
 inhabitants appear to have been a polished and cultivated people; 
 the arts were in a high state of advancement. 
 
 65 
 
?8 MEXICAN ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 The pyramids in this country are also numerous. The largest 
 is that of Cholula, which measures fourteen hundred and twenty- 
 three feet in .length, and one hundred and seventy-seven feet in 
 height. It is built of alternate layers of clay and sun-burnt 
 bricks, and is divided into four stories or stages, and ranged 
 
 Pyramid at Cholula. 
 
 exactly in the direction of the cardinal points. The ascent to the 
 summit is by steps. In the interior has been- discovered a vault, 
 with stone walls, roofed with beams of Cyprus wood, containing 
 skeletons, idols, &c. This large pyramid is surrounded by sev 
 eral smaller ones. 
 
 At Xochicalco, is a pyramid, which seems to have been formed 
 by cutting a hill into an artificial shape. It is nearly three miles 
 in circuit, from three to four hundred feet high, and encompassed 
 by a ditch. It is divided into four terraces, and the intermediate 
 slopes are covered with platforms, bastions, pyramidal and rec 
 tangular elevations and stages, one above the other, all faced 
 with large pophyry stones, skilfully cut, but joined without ce 
 ment. The construction of the stories is remarkably similar to 
 the Egyptian style of architecture. On the stones of this pyra 
 mid are many figures sculptured in relief, some representing 
 hieroglyphical signs, and others, human figures seated cross- 
 legged, in the Asiatic manner, and crocodiles spouting water. Al 
 Papantla are the remains of another pyramid, constructed of 
 enormous blocks of hewn stone, regularly laid in cement. It is 
 sixty feet high and eighty feet square. No city of any impor 
 tance, at the time of the conquest, was without a number of these 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 29 
 
 stupendous edifices in its vicinity. Most of them were over 
 thrown by the Spaniards, but their remains, scattered over the 
 country in every direction, attest the former populousness of 
 Mexico and Guatimala. 
 
 Ruins at Zayi. 
 
 The paper which was used for the Mexican hieroglyphical 
 paintings much resembles the Egyptian paper manufactured from 
 the papyrus. It was made from the agave, a plant now familiarly 
 known in our gardens by the name of aloe. Some of the hiero- 
 
 Mezican helmet and cotton armor. 
 
 glyphics now extant, are painted on deer-skins, others on cotton 
 cloth. Immense quantities of Mexican manuscripts were burnt 
 
 G5 
 
30 MEXICAN ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 by the Spaniards, at the times of the conquest, for the purpose of 
 extirpating the idolatry of the natives and all that could remind 
 them of their nationality. Some hundreds of them, however, still 
 remain. In these manuscripts, simple hieroglyphics represent 
 simple and familiar objects, as water, earth, air, wind, day, night, 
 speech, motion, &c. These signs, added to the picture of an event, 
 as a bactle or a procession, marked in a very ingenious manner 
 whether the action passed during the day or the night, the age of 
 the persons represented, whether they 'had been talking, and who 
 among them talked the most. There are also vestiges of phonetic 
 writing, or that which indicates relations, not with things, but 
 with the language spoken. Among semi-barbarous nations, the 
 names of individuals, of cities, mountains, &c., have generally 
 some allusions to objects that strike the senses; and it is by a com 
 bination of these objects that the Mexican characters were able to 
 express proper names. 
 
 Chimalpopoca, or smoking shield. 
 
 The annals of the Mexican empire, as we are informed by 
 Humboldt, appear to go back as far as the sixth century of the 
 Christian era. At that period we find the epochs of the migra 
 tions, the causes which produced them, the names of the chiefs 
 and warriors of the illustrious house of Citin, who led the north 
 ern nations from the unknown regions of Aztlan and Teocolhu- 
 acan into the plains of Anahuac. The foundation of Mexico, like 
 that of Rome, goes back to the heroic ages, and from the twelfth 
 century, the annals of the Aztecks give an uninterrupted account 
 of secular festivals, the genealogy of their kings, the tributes im 
 posed on the conquered, the foundation of cities, celestial phenom 
 ena and the minutest events which influence the state of society 
 in its infancy. It is singular that neither history nor tradition 
 connects the nations of South America with those north of the 
 isthmus of Darien. 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 3] 
 
 Several Mexican paintings represent the deluge of Coxcox, the 
 American Noah. Coxcox is drawn floating in a bark. Mount 
 Colhuacan, the Arrarat of the Mexicans, lifts its summit above 
 the waters, crowned by a tree. At the foot of the mountain 
 
 Ancient Mexicans. 
 
 appear the heads of Coxcox and his wife. The men born after 
 the deluge are represented as dumb ; but a dove from the top of a 
 tree distributes tongues among them. This deluge of Coxcox 
 stands in the Azteck cosmogony as the fourth destruction of the 
 world. In these four destructions we find the emblems of four 
 elements, earth, fire, air, and water. 
 
 The Mexican volumes examined by the first Spanish missiona 
 ries, contained notions on a great number of different subjects. 
 
 Mexican women making bread. 
 
 They consisted of annals of the empire, rituals indicating the days 
 on which sacrifices were to be made, cosmogonial and astrologi 
 cal representations, papers relating to lawsuits, lists of tributes 
 74 
 
32? MEXICAN ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 payable at certain periods of the year, genealogical tables, alma 
 nacs, laws, &c. A great proportion related to lawsuits, and the 
 use of these paintings, in matters of litigation, were continued in 
 the Spanish tribunals long after the conquest. The natives, 
 unable to address the judges except through an interpreter, found 
 the hieroglyphics doubly necessary. It was for a long time deemed 
 indispensable to have attorneys, pleaders, and judges, who were 
 able to read the titles, the genealogical paintings, the ancient laws, 
 and the lists of taxes, which each feudatory was obliged to pay his 
 lord. 
 
 One of these manuscripts represents a lawsuit for the possession 
 of an Indian farm. The farm is drawn in a bird's-eye view ; the 
 main, road is indicated by foot-prints, and the houses are sketched 
 in profile. The Spanish judges sit in their chairs, with the law- 
 books before them. The Spanish plaintiff sits on the ground on 
 one side, in conjunction with the hieroglyphic of water painted 
 green, showing that his name was Aguaverde. The Indian's 
 name is Bow. The amount of talking is indicated by the number 
 of tongues marked against each individual. Everything portays 
 the state of a vanquished country. The native scarcely utters a 
 word, while the men with long beards make long speeches with 
 the demeanor of conquerors and masters. 
 
 Modern Mexicans. 
 
 Many tribes of the Aborigines inhabit the forests and plains of 
 the northern part of South America, where they continue in their 
 original wildness. These are among the most indolent of all the 
 American Indians. Their firm belief is that the purest and most 
 exalted enjoyments under the sun are idleness and intoxication. 
 A strong liquor called chiche was formerly manufactured by them 
 from the fermented juice of fruits ; but this has been discontinued 
 by those tribes who dwell near the Spanish settlements, where they 
 can supply themselves with rum and brandy. These people pass 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. $33 
 
 their lives between drinking and sleeping. With great reluctance, 
 the Indian leaves his hammock only when the inclemency of the 
 weather, rendering the agricultural labors of his wife unproduc 
 tive, obliges him to go and hunt ; then he concerts his measures 
 with so much address, that the exertions of one day procure him 
 subsistence and repose for a week. The Otomaques, on the high 
 lands of the Orinoco, are an exception ; they are active and indus 
 trious, though even an Indian of this tribe was never known to 
 labor two days in succession. They have games, played with a 
 ball of caoutchouc, requiring much agility, like our game of ball. 
 The strange custom of eating earth, which is peculiar to some of 
 the South American tribes, exist, among the Otomaques, who are 
 among the most voracious of all these people. They mix a par 
 ticular kind of earth with alligator-fat, and subject it to a species 
 of cooking, which prevents it from being hurtful. All the va 
 grant tribes along the banks of the Rio Meta, likewise eat earth. 
 Some natives, in the regions bordering on the Casiquiare, live 
 chiefly upon ants. The lot of the women, throughout all the tribes 
 of the Orinoco, is peculiarly hard. The day of marriage is the 
 last day of ease and comfort to a female here. All domestic 
 labors, without exception, form her task ; the toil of culture and 
 harvest must be performed by her hands ; whatever embarrass 
 ments she may endure from children, she is never exempt from 
 the painful toils which are imposed by the matrimonial state. 
 She stands exposed to the heat of a scorching sun, and to torrents 
 of rain, while her barbarous husband, lazily reposing in his ham 
 mock, smokes his cigar and stupifies himself with strong liquor, 
 without addressing a word to his companion exhausted with 
 fatigue. Standing silently by, she waits till her oppressor has 
 finished his meal, which she has prepared for him at the expense 
 of the greatest suffering ; when he has done eating, she is allowed 
 to regale herself on the fragments. 
 
 Among some of these tribes, husbands exchange wives with 
 one another for a limited time, and receive them back again, 
 without the smallest difficulty arising between the parties. ,No 
 costume appears so beautiful to one of these Indians, as to have 
 his whole body painted red. Oil and arnotto are the ingredients 
 which compose the paint, and every one applies it either with his 
 own hand, or by that of another. Children at the breast undergo 
 this operation twice a day. No Indian thinks himself naked 
 when he is painted ; it would require a long time to persuade him 
 that it is more decent to dress than to paint. When Indian 
 strangers visit them, hospitality requires that the women should 
 wash away the old paint, and give them a fresh coat. Yast tracts 
 
34 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 of country on the Orinoco and its branches, remain, and are likely 
 to continue, in the undisputable possession of the Indians. The 
 soil, for a great extent, is periodically inundated by the river, and 
 immense swarms of insects are generated by the intense heat of 
 the sun upon these marshy tracts, rendering them utterly unin 
 habitable except to the natives. 
 
 In our history of the conquest of Peru, we have given an 
 account of the political and religious system of that empire. 
 The Peruvian Indians of the present day* have become christian 
 ized, but retain most of their native characteristics ; they have 
 somewhat deteriorated since the conquest, and are now infected 
 with the vices of the 'northern Indians, idleness and intoxication. 
 In labor they are persevering, but so slow as to give rise to a 
 proverb. When a thing of little value, requires much time and 
 patience, it is pronounced "fit only to be done by an Indian." 
 They weave carpets, curtains, quilts and other stuffs, but being 
 unacquainted with any better method in passing the warp, they 
 have the patience every time to count the threads one by one, so 
 that two or three years are required to finish a single piece. As 
 among the northern Indians, also, the women do nearly all the 
 work ; they grind the barley, roast the maize, and brew the chiche, 
 while the husband sits squatting on his hams. An Indian, once 
 settled in this posture, cannot be made to stir by any reward. 
 So that if a traveller has lost his way, and applies to an Indian 
 cottage, the man hides himself, and tells his'wife to say he is not 
 at home, though he might earn a considerable sum by going a 
 mile or less. Should the stranger alight from his horse and enter 
 the hut, the Indian would still be safe ; for as there is no light, 
 except what comes through a very small opening, he could not 
 be discovered. The only things in which a Peruvian Indian 
 shows any lively sensation or alacrity, are parties of pleasure, 
 rejoicings and dances; but in all these, the liquor must circu 
 late plentifully. With this they begin the day, and continue 
 drinking till they are deprived of sense and motion. The women, 
 however, young and old, are never intemperate. 
 
 The common food of the Peruvian Indians is the meal of 
 roasted maize or barley, which they eat by spoonfuls, two or three 
 of which, and a draught of chiche or water, make a repast. 
 When they set out on a journey, their whole store is a little bag 
 of this meal and a spoon, and this suffices for a journey of two or 
 three hundred miles. Their habitations are very small, and con 
 tain a fireplace in the middle; the family and their animals 
 occupy the hut promiscuously, like an Irishman and his pigs. 
 They have a particular fondness for dogs, and are never without 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 35 
 
 three or four little curs in their hut. They sleep squatting, on 
 beds of sheepskin, and never undress. 
 
 Those of the Indians who are brought up in the towns, have 
 some knowledge of Spanish, but the others speak only the 
 Quichua, or language of the Incas. The Indians of the towns 
 are far more acute and intelligent than those of the country. 
 Among them the barber surgeons are particularly distinguished ; 
 the French academicians, who travelled in Peru, thought them 
 equal to the most famous of their craft in Europe. The attach 
 ment of the Indians to the Christian religion appears to be neither 
 strong nor constant; their fickleness is such that although they 
 attend divine service on Sundays, it is merely from the fear of 
 punishment. The following anecdote will illustrate one point in 
 their character. An Indian had for some time absented himself 
 from the church service, and the priest being informed that it was 
 owing to a drinking frolic on Sunday, ordered him the usual pun 
 ishment of whipping. The Indian took the flagellation with 
 great meekness and patience, and when it was finished, he turned 
 round to the priest and humbly thanked him for having chastised 
 him according to his deserts. The priest commended him for his 
 submissive behavior and true Christian spirit, and added a timely 
 exhortation to the whole audience, on the excellence of the eccle 
 siastical discipline. No sooner had he completed his homily, than 
 the Indian stepped up, and gravely requested a second whipping 
 for the next Sunday, as he had made an appointment for another 
 drinking-match, and wished for his flogging in advance, that his 
 frolic might be enjoyed with more comfort. 
 
 The hills and plains of Peru are covered with architectural 
 remains of the times of the Incas. The Peruvians had made 
 considerable progress in the mechanic arts ; and considering that 
 they were unacquainted with the use of iron, the magnitude of 
 these superb ruins, and the contrivance and ingenuity which they 
 exhibit, are certainly suflicient to excite our admiration. The 
 European symmetry, elegance and peculiar disposition of parts, 
 must not be looked for in these structures ; yet they have a beauty 
 of their own. On the plains of Latacunga are to be seen the 
 walls of the Inca's palace, built entirely of stone as hard as flint, 
 and nearly black. The stones are exceedingly well cut, and 
 joined so admirably that the point of a knife cannot be thrust 
 between them. No mortar or cement of any kind is perceivable. 
 The stones in some of the walls are convex, and there is an ine 
 quality both in the size of the stones and the direction of the 
 courses, which gives a singular appearance to the work. A small 
 stone is immediately followed by a large one ; the interstices and 
 74* H 5 
 
36 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 projections are irregular, yet all the stones are joined with the 
 same exactness. The walls are about fifteen feet high, and three 
 or four feet thick at the base, narrowing upwards. The doors of 
 the palaces were made of such a height as to allow room for '.he 
 chair in which the Inca was carried on men's shoulders into his 
 apartment, the only place in which his feet touched the ground. 
 It is not known whether these palaces had stories, nor how they 
 were roofed, as the Peruvians, like the natives of Mexico and 
 Guatimala, were ignorant of the arch. 
 
 Near Atun Canar, is another palace or fortress of the Incas, the 
 largest, best built, and most entire in the country. It is two or 
 three hundred feet in length, with very thick walls, built of hard 
 and well-polished stone. The Jong galleries contain niches like 
 sentry-boxes, and many of the walls are full of hollows resem 
 bling cupboards, ornamented with beads. " This building contains 
 a great number of apartments, and the walls make a great many 
 irregular angles. In the centre of the space which they enclose 
 is an oval tower. A little stream flows at the foot of the walls. 
 Many other ruins are to be seen in various parts of the country, 
 most of them in desert places, without any vestige of a town or 
 village near them. The more irregular are thought to be the 
 work of the Indians before they were reduced by the Incas. An 
 immense number of mounds or tumuli, are also scattered over 
 the territory, which, on being opened, are found to be tombs. 
 They are commonly sixty feet high, and a hundred and twenty 
 in .length. The bodies are found in cells of brick or stone. These, 
 also, contain various utensils of copper and gold, stone mirrors 
 and axes. 
 
 The Araucanians are the most martial and courageous of all 
 the South American Indians. They inhabit the country south of 
 Chili, and have sustained an almost uninterrupted war with the 
 Spaniards for three hundred years. Their exploits have afforded 
 a subject for the finest heroic poem in the Spanish language; and 
 the Araucana of Don Alonzo de Ercilla, celebrates, in thirty-seven 
 cantoes, the heroic defence which this brave nation made against 
 the European invaders. The Araucanians have never been sub 
 dued. In person, they are of a moderate stature, strong, muscu 
 lar, exceedingly well built, and they have naturally a very martial 
 air. Their color is a little lighter than the other Indians and they 
 often attain ** the age of eighty, without a gray hair. They are 
 exceedingly jealous of their honor, hospitable, honest, grateful, 
 generous and humane to the enemies they conquer. When not 
 engaged in a campaign, they are indolent, addicted to intoxica 
 tion, presumptuous and haughty. Their dress is generally of 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 37 
 
 blue cloth, and they are extremely fond of this color. Their 
 women are highly ornamented, and every one wears a silver ring. 
 They practise cultivation, but never build large towns. The 
 government is aristocratical. and their several communities are 
 
 Araucanians. 
 
 associated in a federal union. They hold a general congress 
 when any affair of importance is to be decided upon. Both their 
 military government and their civil and criminal codes display a 
 great degree of intelligence. Their army consists of cavalry and 
 infantry. The infantry is formed into regiments of one thousand 
 men each; there are ten companies to a regiment. Each regi 
 ment has a banner with a star, which is the arms of the nation. 
 
 Araucanians burning a negro. 
 
 The soldiers wear helmets, shields and cuirasses of leather, hard 
 ened with varnish. The cavalry have lances and swords, and 
 the infantry, pikes and clubs, headed with iron They have 
 
38 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 never been able to make gunpowder, though they were at first 
 very anxious to learn the secret of it. Having observed some 
 negroes among the Spaniards, they supposed that gunpowder, 
 from its blackness, was extracted from their bodies. One of these 
 negroes, having the misfortune to fall into their hands, gave them 
 an opportunity of trying the experiment. He was first flayed from 
 head to foot, and then burnt to cinders ; but this chemical essay, 
 to their great surprise, proved a total failure. They have since 
 imbibed a strong prejudice against fire-arms, and when they are 
 taken from the Spaniards, little use is made of them. 
 
 The Abipones are a numerous and warlike tribe of Indians, in 
 Paraguay. They have -never been subdued by the Spaniards, but 
 maintain their independence to the present day. They lead a 
 roaming life, and are engaged in frequent wars with their neigh 
 bors. They are a well-formed race, muscular, robust and active. 
 They are particularly famous for their skill in managing horses, 
 and may be considered a nation of cavalry. They have harassed 
 the Spanish settlements ever since those unwelcome intruders 
 came into their neighborhood, and, next to the Araucanians, have 
 been the most formidable foes encountered by the Castilian inva 
 ders. The vast extent of country, bounded by the Rio Grande 
 and the Paraguay, is occupied by the Abipones, who are divided 
 into several hordes, each of which is headed by a chief, whom 
 they call capita, a name borrowed from the Spaniards. This 
 affords some evidence that their form of government or military 
 tactics underwent some modification after the arrival of the 
 strangers. Although they make common cause against the 
 Spaniards, yet the different tribes are often involved in desperate 
 wars with each other. Their numbers have been greatly dimin 
 ished by these intestine hostilities, as well as by the measles arid 
 small pox. Their natural increase is also checked by a barba 
 rous and unnatural custom, prevalent among the women, of killing 
 their children. 
 
 No man can obtain celebrity among the Abipones, except by 
 warlike prowess. Their arms are the bow and spear. The 
 Abiponian spear is as long as a Macedonian pike, and is a most 
 formidable weapon. It is pointed at both ends, so that if one be 
 blunted in battle, the other may be immediately turned against 
 the enemy. When going to fight, they grease the points, that 
 deeper wounds may be inflicted. They also possess a few mus 
 kets, but have no skill in using them. They also use a weapon 
 made of three stones, covered with leather, and fastened together 
 by a thong; this they whirl round rapidly, and dart at an object 
 with great precision. A hostile expedition is always preceded by 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. gQ 
 
 a drinking festival, in which copious draughts of mead are swal 
 lowed ; and the drunker they get, the more wisdom is supposed to 
 be in their councils. Whatever is determined upon in these bac 
 chanalian orgies is always religiously executed after they become 
 sober. On their march, each man has three horses, riding one and 
 driving the others, so that he has always a fresh horse. When 
 they attack the Spaniards, they put their horses to a gallop and 
 rush upon them with all the speed they can exert ; the attack is 
 made not in close ranks, but in a scattering manner and in various 
 parties, so that the enemy finds himself assailed in front, flank 
 and rear. They strike a single blow, and then leap back quickly, 
 to avoid a blow in return. They can turn their horses jound in 
 circles with surprising swiftness, and hold the animal in perfect 
 command ; they have all the expertness of a professed tumbler, 
 and practise every sort of gyration and evolution upon the horse's 
 back, sometimes hanging under his belly, and thus by continually 
 changing their position, avoid every shot that is aimed at them. 
 
 These savages are capable of enduring great fatigue. On their 
 marches, they pass the day and the night in the open air, and are 
 either parched with heat or drenched with rain for many days 
 together. They expose their bare heads to the burning sun ; if 
 wide rivers or lakes are to be crossed, they need neither bridge 
 nor boat ; when the water is no longer fordable, they' leap from 
 their horses, strip off their clothes, and holding them above the 
 water, on the point of their spears, swim across, leading their 
 horses by the bridle. They use a prodigious number of trumpets, 
 horns and other uncouth instruments, which they sound on going 
 to battle ; and these horrid clangors, with the terrific appearance 
 they give themselves by painting, strike great dismay into the 
 Spaniards. 
 
 The Jesuit Dobrizhoffer, who lived many years among these 
 Indians, thus speaks of the extreme dread in which they held their 
 neighbors. " How often have I seen the Spanish settlements 
 thrown into the greatest terror by a mere flying report that the 
 Abipones were coming. In an instant every man imagined a 
 troop of these ferocious savages, with blackened faces, mounted 
 on swift horses, rushing to the attack with horrid shouts and the 
 alarm of trumpets, brandishing an enormous spear in their right 
 hands, laden with bundles of arrows, breathing fire and slaughter, 
 and with their ferocious eyes threatening death and destruction ! 
 You might see crowds of people running up and down, bewailing 
 their fate, while not an enemy was nigh. Not only women and 
 children, but men distinguished by military titles, took refuge 
 within the stone -walls of the churches, or skulked into hidden 
 
40 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 corners. Not many years ago. the city of Buenos Ayres was 
 thrown into such an alarm, one Sunday afternoon, by a cry that 
 the Indians were upon them. In an instant the streets were 
 rilled with crowds of people, terrified almost to distraction, ana 
 uttering the most piteous cries. Nothing could surpass the scene 
 of disorder ; every one was hurrying, he knew not whither, for 
 security, and in this great confusion, one lost his wig, another his 
 hat, another his cloak, and the fright was universal, till the garri 
 son troops, plucking up courage, turned out and scoured the 
 neighborhood, and discovered that not a vestige of an enemy was 
 to be seen ! Scenes like these were very common in the cities of 
 Santa Fe, Cordova, Assumpcion and Salta, whilst the savages 
 were overrunning the province with impunity. A ludicrous 
 event, that took place in the city of Corrientes, is worthy of par 
 ticular mention. Towards evening, an alarm was suddenly given 
 that a troop of Abipones had burst into one of the streets, and 
 were slaughtering the inhabitants. This spread an instant panic ; 
 crowds of people, overcome with fright, hurried to the church, 
 which had strong stone walls. The chief captain himself, an old 
 man, was seen amid a throng of terrified women, uttering groans 
 and prayers. l Here/ said he, ' in the house of the Lord, and 
 in the presence of Jesus Christ, we must die.' This cowardly 
 behavior, in an old soldier, excited the indignation of a priest, who 
 swore a tremendous oath, and exclaimed, 'No dying, fight the 
 enemy ! ' With these words, he snatched a gun, leaped upon a 
 horse, and galloped toward the quarter of the city where the sav 
 ages were thought to be raging. But lo ! when he arrived there, 
 everything was quiet, the inhabitants were sound asleep, not so 
 much as dreaming of the Abipones !" 
 
 The Patagonians have been supposed to be a nation of giants. 
 Magellan, the discoverer of the country, stated them to be seven or 
 eight feet in height. Sarmiento, a Spanish voyager, made them 
 out to be actual Cyclops. Sir Thomas Cavendish measured their 
 footsteps, which were eighteen inches long. Sebald de Weert, in 
 1 599, was attacked by a troop of them, ten and eleven feet high, 
 as he affirms. Le Maire and Schouten, in 1615, found skeletons 
 in their tombs, ten and eleven feet long. Commodore Byron, in 
 1765, saw much of the Patagonians, and the narrator of this dis 
 coveries affirms them to be from eight to nine feet and upwards in 
 height. Many other voyagers have confirmed these wonderful 
 tales. But as, on the other hand, many visitors in Patagonia 
 came away without finding any of the inhabitants who were 
 above the ordinary size of Europeans, and as some of the ac 
 counts of the Patagonian giants contained matters evidently 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 41 
 
 fabulous, the whole story fell into discredit, though the evidence 
 of the huge size of the natives, seemed, in the first instance, to be 
 too positive to be diregarded. The voyages of Captains King and 
 Fitzroy, in this quarter, by order of the British government, have 
 supplied us with fresh information on this curious and interesting 
 subject. The following facts may be fully relied upon. 
 
 Patagonian. 
 
 The Patagonians are at present divided into four tribes, each of 
 which has a separate leader or cacique; but they all speak one 
 language. When it is found convenient, they all assemble in one 
 place, but if food becomes scarce, or quarrels happen, each party 
 withdraws to its own territory. At such times one body will 
 encroach upon the hunting grounds of another, and a battle is the 
 consequence. The whole Patagonian nation comprises not above 
 four or five thousand souls, and the women exceed the men three 
 to one. The Patagonians are generally tall and stout, though 
 not giants ; no one has been seen for many years much above six 
 feet in height. Yet it seems indisputable that the Patagonians 
 are really the tallest race of men in the world, taken collec 
 tively. Not more than one in forty or fifty of the adults is below 
 five feet nine or ten inches. The cacique Cangopol, measured by 
 * Falkner, was more than seven feet high. The women are tall in 
 proportion to the men. Both men and women, moreover, have a 
 
42 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 habit of folding their arms in their mantles, across the chest, which 
 magnifies their apparent height. Their heads and features are 
 large, their hands and feet comparatively small. Their color is a 
 rich, reddish brown. They wear mantles or cloaks of skins 
 loosely gathered round them, and boots made of the skins of 
 horses' legs. They disfigure themselves with red, white and 
 black paint. They have horses of a diminutive size, with which 
 they hunt ostriches and guanacoes. Their huts are common 
 Indian wigwams. 
 
 Fuegian. 
 
 The natives of Tierra del Fuego are inferior in stature, ill- 
 looking, and badly proportioned; they have a villanous expression 
 of features, and have altogether the most savage exterior of the 
 whole human race. Their color is that of old mahogany. They 
 pass much of their time in low wigwams, or cramped up in small 
 canoes, which injures the growth and shape of the legs, and causes 
 them to move about in a stooping manner, with the knees much 
 bent; yet they are nimble and strong. The smoke of wood fires, 
 confined in small wigwams, hurts their eyes so much, that they 
 aie always red and watery. They rub their bodies with grease, 
 oil, charcoal, ochre and clay, and wear a scanty clothing of skins, 
 but no shoes or moccasins. Their canoes are made of bark, and 
 when they are paddling about, always have a fire burning in a 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 43 
 
 heap of earth in the middle. They are constantly roving from 
 one place to another, and never attempt to cultivate the soil, fish 
 being almost exclusively their food. Cannibalism prevails among 
 them, and the following horrid custom is proved by the evidence 
 of a native boy, who was carried to England, and learned the 
 language. In a severe winter, when the snow prevents their ob 
 taining food, arid famine is staring them in the face, they seize 
 the oldest woman of the party, hold her head over a thick smoke, 
 pinch her throat and choke her to death; after which, they 
 devour every particle of her flesh. They also eat invariably the 
 enemies whom they kill in battle. The scenery of the territory is 
 perfectly consonant to these savage and atrocious manners ; noth 
 ing can surpass the horrid aspect of Tierra del Fuego a heap of 
 craggy rocks, wild, sterile and desolate, fit for the production of 
 monsters rather than men. 
 
 At this extremity of South America man appears to exist in a 
 lower state of improvement than in any other part of the world. 
 The South Sea Islander is comparatively civilized. The Eski- 
 maux, in his subterranean hut, enjoys some of the comforts of life, 
 and in his canoe, when fully equipped, manifests much skill. 
 The tribes of Southern Africa and New Holland are sufficiently 
 wretched, but with their skill in climbing trees, tracking animals 
 and hunting, they are superior to the miserable Puegians, many 
 tribes of whom subsist on nothing but shell-fish. Hardly a gleam 
 of sunshine illumines the rocky barrenness of the country. In 
 midsummer, snow falls every day upon the hills, and the valleys 
 are deluged with rain and sleet. The Fuegian wigwam, consist 
 ing of nothing but a few broken branches stuck in the ground, 
 slightly thatched with grass and rushes, lasts only for a few 
 days. Sometimes these sleeping-places amount to nothing better 
 than the lair of a wild beast. A late voyager thus describes 
 them. "Ingoing ashore, we pulled alongside a canoe contain 
 ing six Fuegians. These were the most abject and miserable 
 creatures I anywhere beheld. They were quite naked, and one 
 of them was a full-grown woman. It was raining heavily, and 
 the water with the spray of the sea trickled down her body. In 
 another harbor not far distant, a woman, who was suckling a 
 recently born child, came one day alongside the vessel, and re 
 mained there while the sleet fell and thawed on her naked bosom 
 and on the skin of her naked child. These poor creatures were 
 stinted in their growth, their hideous faces bedaubed with white 
 paint, their skins filthy and greasy, their hair entangled, their voices 
 discordant,, their gestures violent and without dignity. Viewing 
 such men, one can hardly believe they are fellow-creatures and 
 75 1 5 
 
44 ABORIGINES O? AMERICA. 
 
 inhabitants of the same world. It is a common subject of con 
 jecture what pleasure in life some of the less gifted animals enjoy: 
 how much more reasonably the same question may be asked with 
 respect to these barbarians. At night, five or six human beings, 
 naked and scarcely protected from the wind and rain of this tem 
 pestuous climate, sleep on wet ground, coiled up like animals. 
 Whenever it is low water, they must rise to pick shell-fish from 
 the rocks; and the women, winter and summer, either dive to 
 collect sea-eggs, or sit patiently in their canoes fishing. If a seal 
 is killed, or the floating carcass of a putrid whale discovered, it is 
 a feast, and such miserable food is assisted by a few tasteless 
 berries and fungi. Nor are they exempt from famine, and as a 
 consequence, cannibalism, accompanied by parricide." 
 
 Whilst beholding these savages, we naturally ask, whence 
 have they come? What could have tempted,' or what change 
 compelled, a tribe of men to leave the fine regions of the north, to 
 invent and build canoes, cross the Strait of Magellan, and estab 
 lish themselves in one of the most dreary and inhospitable coun 
 tries on the face of the globe ? There is no reason to believe that 
 the Fuegians decrease in number, and, therefore, we must suppose 
 that they enjoy, amidst this apparent misery, a sufficient share of 
 happiness to make life worth possessing. 
 
 A surgeon, who accompanied the expedition of Captains King 
 and Fitzroy. had frequent opportunities of examining the physical 
 structure of the Fuegians, and discovered that^they are provided 
 with a powerful natural defence against the cold and dampness 
 of their dreary climate. The Fuegian is like a cetaceous animal, 
 which circulates red blood in a cold medium, and possesses, in 
 his fleshy covering, an admirable non-conductor of heat. The 
 corpus adiposum is uncommonly thick on the parts of the body 
 most liable to the attacks of cold ; on the hips it forms a perfect 
 cushion, and in most parts of the body, fills up the interstices be 
 tween the muscles. The great quantity of fat which covers the 
 bodies of the Fuegians, may be imputed to their diet, as their 
 greatest dainty is fat of all kinds, that of the seal and penguin in 
 particular ; vegetables they can hardly be said to know as food, 
 the country producing nothing of the land eatable except berries 
 and the excrescences of stunted birch trees. 
 
 Nature has been bountiful in providing for the Fuegians an 
 almost inexhaustible supply of shell-fish, which are procured with 
 so little trouble, that no ideas are required which can improve the 
 reasoning faculties. No patience or perseverance is necessary, like 
 that exercised by savages, who, in hunting, must employ reason 
 superior to the instinctive cunning of the animals they pursue, 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 45 
 
 When distressed by the famine of winter, the dreadful expedients 
 to which they resort for their relief, are such as to debase their 
 faculties and morals still more. The different tribes seem to have 
 no government or head, yet each is surrounded by other hostile 
 tribes, speaking different dialects ; and a dearth of provisions is 
 sure to lead to wars. Their country is a broken mass of wild 
 mountains, barren rocks, and dreary, unproductive forests, and 
 these gloomy objects are viewed through mists and endless storms. 
 The habitable land is reduced to the stones which form the 
 beach. In search of food, they are compelled to wander from spot 
 to spot, and so steep is the coast that they can only move about 
 in their wretched canoes. They cannot know the feeling of 
 having a home, and still less that of domestic affection, unless 
 the treatment of a master to a laborious slave can be considered 
 as such. How can the higher powers of the mind be brought 
 into play in these circumstances ? What is there for imagination 
 to picture, for reason to compare, for judgment to decide upon? 
 To know a limpet from a rock, does not even require cunning, 
 that lowest power of the mind. The skill of the Fuegians may 
 in some respects be compared to the instinct of animals, for it is 
 not improved by experience. The canoe, their most ingenious 
 work, poor as it is, has remained the same from the time they 
 were first known to Europeans. 
 
 The condition of the Fuegians, as compared with that of the 
 ancient Mexicans and Peruvians, affords us a striking instance of 
 the effect of climate and local circumstances, in accelerating or 
 retarding civilization and human culture. There can be no doubt 
 that the same original stock produced the several nations which 
 erected magnificent cities in the temperate regions of America, 
 and which roam over the bleak and barren regions of the north 
 and south, in a state more assimilated to that of beasts than men. 
 The American continent, like that of Africa and Asia, presents 
 several points of a primitive civilization, of which the mutual 
 relations are as unknown as those of Meroe, Thibet and China. 
 The civilization of Mexico emanated from a country in the north ; 
 that of Peru appears to have arisen from a point having no con 
 nexion with Mexico. Other, civilized and industrious nations have 
 flourished and passed away in America, leaving no written or tra 
 ditionary memorials of their existence behind them. Amidst the 
 extensive plains of Upper Canada, in the western part of the 
 United States, in Florida, in the deserts bordered by the Orinoco, 
 the Cassiquiare and the Guiania, walls and dikes of great 
 length, weapons of brass and sculptured stones, afford evidence 
 that these countries were formerly inhabited by populous, civil- 
 75 1 5 
 
46 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 
 
 ized and industrious nations, where savage hunters now chase 
 their prey, or adventurous emigrants from the east are forming 
 new settlements. 
 
 The unequal distribution of animals over the surface of the 
 globe has had a considerable influence on the fate of nations, and 
 on their progress, more or less rapid, toward civilization. In the 
 old continent, the pastoral life formed the passage from a hunting 
 to an agricultural nation. The ruminating animals, so easily 
 reared under every climate, have followed the African negro, the 
 Mogul, the Malay and the hordes that dwell on the Caucasus. 
 Though several quadrupeds and a greater number of the vegeta 
 ble tribe are common to the most northern regions of both conti 
 nents, America possesses, in the species of oxen, only two, the 
 bison and the musk-ox. These animals are difficult to tame, and 
 their females yield but little milk, notwithstanding the richness 
 of the pasture. The American hunter was not led to agriculture 
 by the care of flocks and the habits of a pastoral life. The 
 inhabitant of the Andes was never tempted to milk the lama, 
 the alpaca, or the guanaco. Milk was formerly a nourishment 
 unknown to the Americans, as well as to several nations of east 
 ern Asia. 
 
 Though no traditions point out any direct connection between 
 the nations of North and South America, their history is not less 
 fraught with analogies in the political and religious revolutions, 
 from which is to be dated the civilization of the Mexicans, the 
 Peruvians, and the other nations that had made any progress in 
 social improvement. Men with beards, and with clearer com 
 plexion than ordinary, make their appearance in different countries 
 of America, without any indication of the place of their birth, 
 and bearing the title of high-priests, of legislators, of the friends 
 of peace and the arts which flourish under its auspices, operate a 
 sudden change in the policy of the nations, who hail their arrival 
 with veneration. Quetzalcoatl in Mexico, Manco Capac in Peru, 
 and Bochica, the Boodh of the Muyscas, on the lofty plains of 
 Bogota, are the sacred names of these mysterious beings. Quet 
 zalcoatl, clothed in a black sacerdotal robe, comes from Panuco, 
 on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Bochica arrives from the 
 savannas, which stretch along the east of the Cordilleras. Manco 
 Capac and his wife appear on the banks of the Lake Titicaca. 
 The history of these legislators is intermixed with miracles, reli 
 gious fictions, and with characters which imply an allegorical 
 meaning. Some learned men have pretended to discover that x 
 these strangers were shipwrecked Europeans, or the descendants 
 of those Scandinavians who visited the shores of New England 
 
ABORIGINES OF AMERICA. 47 
 
 in the eleventh century ; but a slight reflection on the period of 
 the Toltec migrations, on the monastic institutions, the symbols 
 of worship, the calendar, and the form of the pyramids, and other 
 monuments which still exist in North America, will lead to the 
 conclusion that the civilization of this continent was not of Euro 
 pean origin. 
 
 When the Mexicans or Aztecks, in the year 1190, took posses 
 sion of the country where they founded their empire, they already 
 found the pyramidal monuments of Teotihuacan, of Cholula and 
 of Papantla. They ascribed these great edifices to the Toltecs, 
 a powerful and civilized nation, who inhabited Mexico five hun 
 dred years earlier, who made use of hieroglyphical characters, 
 who computed the year more precisely, and had a more exact 
 chronology than the greater part of the people of the old conti 
 nent. The Aztecks knew not with certainty which tribe had 
 inhabited the country of Anahuac before the Toltecs;* conse 
 quently, the belief that the monuments of Teotihuacan and 
 Cholula were built by the Toltecs, assigned them the highest 
 antiquity. It is not surprising that the annals of the Toltecs 
 should be as uncertain as those of the Pelasgi and the Ausonians, 
 and that no history of any American nation goes farther back 
 than the seventh century. The history of the north of Europe 
 reaches no further than the tenth century, a period when Mexico 
 was in a more advanced state of civilization than Denmark, 
 Sweden or Russia. In one of the Mexican pictures now extant, 
 is a figure representing Q,uetzalcoatl appeasing, by his penance, 
 the wrath of the gods, when, thirteen thousand and sixty years 
 after the creation of the world, as the hieroglyphics state, a great 
 famine prevailed in the province of Chilian. We seem here to 
 behold one of those ancient hermits of the Ganges, whose pious 
 austerity is celebrated in the Puranas. We have alluded already 
 to the striking similarity of some of the figures in the antiquities 
 of Central America, to the Hindoo drawings. 
 
 Yet, whatever resemblances may be traced between the Amer 
 icans and the nations of the old world, there is nothing in them 
 modern or recent. Neither the physical peculiarities nor the 
 political and religious institutions can be identified with those 
 of any nations of the ancient continent, though they approximate 
 (he western civilization to that of the Hindoos, the Egyptians and 
 the Chinese. The origin of this resemblance is to be traced back 
 to the earliest ages, when these great nations first separated, and 
 carried into Egypt, Hindostan and China, the same religion, arts, 
 customs and institutions, to be variously modified under the influ 
 ence of diverse causes. The great diversity of American law- 
 
48 
 
 ABORIGINES OF AMERICA, 
 
 guages, the few analogies which they present to those of the old 
 world, the absence of the use of iron, certain peculiarities in their 
 astronomical systems, and some of their own traditions, which 
 have preserved the memory of historical events, all concur in 
 supporting this belief. In conclusion, we may state that the 
 aborigines of America appear to have been a primitive branch of 
 the human family which penetrated at a very early period into 
 the western continent ; that the American race was not derived 
 from any nation now existing, but is assimilated, by numerous 
 analogies, to the Etrurians, Egyptians, Mongols, Chinese and 
 Hindoos, and is most closely related to the Malays and Polyne 
 sians. 
 


o, 
 
 Y. 
 
 .