Zach-a-ry Tay-lor was born in Vir-gin-i-a, on No-vem-ber 24th, 1784; but
when he was a small boy his fa-ther went to live in Ken-tuck-y; and long
af-ter the rest of the land was at peace this state was the scene of
such fierce fights with the In-di-ans that it was known as "The dark and
blood-y ground." It is not strange that this boy, who lived at a time
when wo-men as well as men had to know how to load and fire guns, so
that they could help to keep the red men from their homes, should have
grown up to be a brave, strong man.
As a boy he went to good schools, but cared far more for the tales of
war which his brave fa-ther told him than he did for his books; he did
love books which told of great fights and brave men, and read all that
he could get. When he was just of age he went to war, in place of a
friend, and was so brave and fear-less that he soon took a high place.
He was in the great fight of Tip-pe-ca-noe; and all through the War of
1812 he showed great skill in his fights with the red men;--well he knew
all their tricks and modes of war. He gained great fame in Flor-i-da,
when he was sent there to make the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans keep the peace.
For years had this tribe of In-di-ans made war on the white men; their
chief, Os-ce-o-la, had, years a-go, gone to one of the forts with his
wife, who was a slave girl; he had been put in chains, and she held
at the fort. In his rage, he had sworn to lead his men in war, when he
could get to them; at last his chance had come, and he had fled by night
from the fort. To rouse his tribe and hurl them at the whites, was
his first thought; and long and cru-el were the fights that went on for
years. At last Tay-lor was sent to Flor-i-da; and now a trick was played
on this great chief of the In-di-ans; with a flag of truce, he came
to the fort to talk with the gen-er-al; and by the or-ders of the
gen-er-al, he was held there a pris-on-er; he was sent, at last, to Fort
Moul-trie in Charles-ton har-bor, and there, in the year 1838, he died.
With their chief dead, the Sem-i-nole In-di-ans had no heart for war;
and soon the few red men left of this great, fierce tribe were put far
a-way from each oth-er, in new states, and there was peace in Flor-i-da.
Gen-er-al Tay-lor won great fame in the Mex-i-can War; in 1847 he
won the fight of Bu-e-na Vis-ta, which took place on Wash-ing-ton's
birth-day; and he won too the fights of Pa-lo Al-to and Mon-te-rey. On
Sep-tem-ber 24th, 1847, our troops took the cit-y of Mex-i-co, and the
war was brought to an end. As Tay-lor went home to Ba-ton Rouge, he met
with praise, at each place he passed; folks came in crowds to see the
great he-ro; cheers filled the air; flags were raised and guns were
fired; he was the i-dol of the land. His men too were fond of him, for
all through the war he had been kind and good to them, and shared their
hard life. He was such a he-ro to the whole land, that it is not strange
that he was named for the next pres-i-dent, and got the most votes. He
took the chair of state in 1849, but the brave old man came in just at
the time when the strife a-bout slaves was at its height; and the cares
of the of-fice were too much for him, as they had been for Har-ri-son.
On Ju-ly 4th, 1850, there was a great time in Wash-ing-ton, in which
he took part; but his health was too weak to stand this strain; and
in the midst of his work, on Ju-ly 9th, 1850, the brave old In-di-an
fight-er died.
[Illustration: ZACHARY TAYLOR.]
[Illustration: MILLARD FILLMORE.]