GOOD STORIES
FOR GREAT BIRTHDAYS
[Illustration: BREAKFAST WITH THE CHILDREN AT MOUNT VERNON]
GOOD STORIES
FOR GREAT BIRTHDAYS
_ARRANGED FOR STORY-TELLING AND READING
ALOUD AND FOR THE CHILDREN’S
OWN READING_
BY
FRANCES JENKINS OLCOTT
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
[Illustration: colophon]
BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
The Riverside Press Cambridge
COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY FRANCES JENKINS OLCOTT
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE · MASSACHUSETTS
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
GRATEFULLY DEDICATED
TO
FRANCES MARY JENKINS OLCOTT
_January 25_
_One in whose eyes the smile of kindness made_
_Its haunt, like flowers by sunny brooks in May,_
_Yet at the thought of others’ pain, a shade_
_Of sweeter sadness chased the smile away._
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT
FOREWORD
Here are over 200 stories celebrating 23 great birthdays of
patriot-founders and upbuilders of the Republics of both North and South
America. In the stories are more than 75 historical characters, men,
women, and children. The arrangement follows the school-year, beginning
in October with Columbus. The book-cover is dressed in George
Washington’s colours, scarlet and white.
TREATMENT OF HISTORY FOR CHILDREN
These tales are not packed full of dry facts and dates, boring to
children. Instead, they treat history in a manner appealing to boys and
girls. For it is the strong personalities that moved in the big events
of the world, it is the forceful lives of the men themselves, their
preparation in boyhood for successful careers, their struggles for
right, their heroism, devotion, and high adventure, as well as the why
and wherefore of things, which make history an intense reality to
children and young folk. American history treated after such a fashion,
may be used educationally to develop a fine, true type of Americanism.
So most of the tales presented here are ones of personality, human and
alive. They are full of action. Many of them relate deeds of courage,
kindness, self-sacrifice, and perseverance. They are of just the right
length to read aloud or tell without fatiguing the children. They deal
scarcely at all with battle, murder, or sudden death. They stress the
intimate, human side of our Patriots, the side not often found in
textbooks.
SOME OF OUR HEROES
Here are stories of Washington, Hamilton, John Adams, and John Marshall
showing them not cold and wooden, but warm and vital; also tales of
great-hearted Lincoln, and of America’s very human hero, Roosevelt.
And exceedingly human, too, are Light Horse Harry, the Sage of
Monticello, Old Hickory, Brother Jonathan, Old Put, and the Great
Commoner, who, with words as powerful as sword-strokes, fought America’s
battles.
Among the women, the mothers and wives helping to win the Wars for
Independence in both North and South America, are Mary and Martha
Washington, Abigail Adams, Andrew Jackson’s mother, the mother of John
Marshall, and the wife of San Martin.
And the children of our foreign born, with how much greater pride may
they say, “We are Americans!” when they read about Lafayette,
Kosciuszko, Steuben, Haym Salomon, Pulaski, De Kalb, and Irish Moll
Pitcher. Then, of course, Columbus the Italian is here, sailing under
the gold and crimson banner of Spain.
Our school children, too, may be surprised to learn, that there are 20
robust American Republics to the south of us, with aspirations like our
own, and having devoted Patriots. Among their national heroes, are
Miranda “the Flaming Son of Liberty,” San Martin the great and good,
Bolivar the brilliant and victorious, O’Higgins the soldier-citizen, and
Brazil’s patriot Emperor, Dom Pedro the magnanimous.
All Spanish accents have been omitted--as is sometimes done in English
books--so that the names of South American Patriots may not seem strange
and foreign to our school children.
NO HISTORICAL FICTION
There is no historical fiction here. The larger number of the stories
are original, written purposely for this volume. Every detail is
historical, and every conversation is based on an authority.
A partial list of the histories and biographies consulted while writing
the stories, may be found on page xiv. When historians have not agreed
as to dates and facts, the most reliable sources have been followed.
Of the stories attributed to authors, some have been recast to meet the
requirements of storytelling; others are given verbatim. This provides a
selection of tales varied both in style and in treatment. Some of the
tales are for children, and some for young people. The book may be
useful in all Grades.
No living Americans are celebrated. Those whose birthdays are kept, have
passed into history. And since one small volume cannot hold stories
about all of our Patriots, a careful selection has been made of tales
about Americans whose contributions to the founding of free Government
are of vital importance. It is deeply regretted that lack of space
precludes the use of other birthdays. Because of copyright restrictions,
the Roosevelt section is somewhat limited.
A number of well-known tales which are omitted, may be found in _Good
Stories for Great Holidays_.
TEACHING AMERICAN SOLIDARITY
In as far as possible, all tales of sectional differences, of political
animosities, and of civil strife, have been avoided. The emphasis in
this book is upon American Solidarity.
Pioneers of progress inevitably arouse bitter antagonists. It would
require a large volume indeed, to treat of the derogatory statements and
written attacks which have been levelled at most of the men whose
birthdays we are celebrating. We know that Columbus suffered severely
from attacks by enemies, that Washington was one of the “most vilified
of men,” and that Lincoln’s detractors were merciless. To-day we may
perceive the process of vilification still going on around us. Happily,
time has shown that much of the detraction of the past was public
slander and clamour, and has consigned it to the rubbish heap of
history. In a book of this kind, detractions have little or no place;
and it is against the good sense of the best educational principles, to
impress the children’s plastic minds with such matters. When the
children are older, they will be better able to judge of them
intelligently.
HELPFUL TO TEACHERS
May it be said right here, with emphasis, that this book is not intended
to take the place of suitable biographies of the men whose birthdays we
are celebrating. Entertaining, lively tales should, on the contrary,
lead boys and girls to want to know more about their favourite heroes.
And the teacher may use these short stories not merely to illustrate
American history textbooks, but to strengthen the children’s love of
Country, to teach them the meaning of American Unity, and to give them a
more intelligent reverence for the Constitution.
To aid the teacher and story-teller there is appended on pages 465-483 a
_Subject Index_, by means of which any story on a given topic may be
quickly found. The Study Programmes, on pages 451-462, are
chronologically arranged to illustrate the day’s lesson.
FOR MOTHERS, ALSO
But above all else, may this book, day by day, help mothers and
educators to bring to the children’s remembrance on these great
birthdays, something of the devotion, the patience, the sufferings, and
the personal sacrifice of the noble men, who, under the good hand of
God, laid the foundations of American Liberty and Self-Government.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Grateful acknowledgments are due the following Publishers and Authors,
for material from their books:--
To Houghton Mifflin Company for material from books by Edward Arber,
Albert J. Beveridge, John Fiske, Henry Cabot Lodge, John T. Morse, James
Parton, James B. Thayer, William Roscoe Thayer, and John Greenleaf
Whittier.
To the _New York Evening Post_ for stories written for its columns by
the author of this book.
To the _New York Times_ for “A Lock of Washington’s Hair,” by T. R.
Ybarra.
To D. Appleton and Company for extracts from the Poems of William Cullen
Bryant, and material from William Spence Robertson’s _Rise of the
Spanish-American Republics_.
To Charles Scribner’s Sons for material from _Theodore Roosevelt: An
Autobiography_.
To Harr Wagner Publishing Company, San Francisco, California, publishers
of the complete works of Joaquin Miller, for permission to use his
_Columbus_.
To J. B. Lippincott Company for material from Charles Morris’s _Heroes
of Progress_.
To Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard Company for “Nellie and Little Washington,”
from Harriet Taylor Upton’s _Our Early Presidents, their Wives and
Children_.
To the Missionary Education Movement for “Dom Pedro,” from Margarette
Daniels’s _Makers of South America_.
To the Macmillan Company for material from James Morgan’s _Theodore
Roosevelt, the Boy and the Man_.
To Dr. Sherman Williams for “The Boy of the Hurricane,” from his _New
York’s Part in History_, published by D. Appleton and Company.
To Mr. Wayne Whipple for “The Little Girl and the Red Coats,” from his
_Story-Life of Washington_, published by John C. Winston Company.
To the Brooklyn Public Library, Montague Branch, for the use of its
remarkably fine collection of volumes on early American history, many of
which are rare and out of print.
To the Staff of the Brooklyn Public Library, Montague Branch, for most
helpful co-operation.
* * * * *
As this book of _Great Birthdays_ was several years in the making, it is
not possible to cite the many authorities, histories, and biographies
which have been consulted. The following titles may give some idea of
the kind of research work done, in order to make _Great Birthdays_ of
value in teaching American History:--
Fiske, _American Revolution_; Garden, _Ancedotes of the Revolutionary
War_; Green, _Short History of the English People_; _Journals of the
Continental Congress_; Lossing, _Pictorial Field-Book of the
Revolution_; Elkanah Watson, _Men and Times of the Revolution_; _Select
Letters of Christopher Columbus, with other Original Documents_ (Hakluyt
Society); _Memorials of Columbus ... translated from the Spanish and
Italian_; Lives of Columbus by Irving, Lamartine, and Winsor; _Story of
the Pilgrim Fathers_ (Arber Reprint); _Mourt’s Relation_; _Old South
Leaflets_; George Washington, _Journal of my Journey over the
Mountains_, also his _Writings_; Ford, _Washington and the Theatre_;
George Washington Parke Custis, _Recollections and Private Memoirs of
Washington_, by his Adopted Son; Headley, _Illustrated Life of George
Washington_; Irving, _Life of Washington_; Lossing, _Mary and Martha,
the Mother and the Wife of George Washington_; Lodge, _George
Washington_, (American Statesmen Series); John Paul Jones’s _Letters_,
also lives of him by De Koven, Headley, and Mackenzie; Lives of William
Penn, by Dixon, Hodges, Janney, Stoughton; Lives of John Marshall, and
addresses in his memory, by Beveridge, Binney, Flanders, Rawle, Sallie
E. Marshal Hardy (in _The Green Bag_), Justice Story, and Chief Justice
Waite; Peters, Haym Salomon; Franklin’s _Autobiography_; Humphreys,
_Life of the Honourable Major General Israel Putnam_ (material obtained
largely from Putnam himself); _Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of
Connecticut_, by his descendant Jonathan Trumbull; correspondence,
diaries, and speeches of John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Abigail Adams,
Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Lafayette, Pitt, Lincoln, and Webster.
In writing the South American stories, the following have been most
useful: Biggs, _History of Don Francisco de Miranda’s Attempt to Effect
a Revolution in South America_; Palacio Fajardo, _Outline of the
Revolution in Spanish America_; _Encyclopedia of Latin America_; Koebel,
_British Exploits in South America_, also his _South America_; Captain
Basil Hall, _Extracts from a Journal_; Larrazábal, _Simón Bolivar_;
Mahoney, _Campaigns and Cruises in Venezuela and New Grenada_; Mehegan,
_O’Higgins of Chile_; General Miller, _Memoirs in the Service of the
Republic of Peru_; Bartolomé Mitre, _Emancipation of South America_;
Pan-American Union, _Bulletin_; Petre, _Simón Bolivar_; Robertson, _Rise
of the Spanish-American Republics_, also his _Francisco de Miranda_
(American Historical Association); Smith, _History of the Adventures and
Sufferings of Moses Smith_; also a number of volumes of travel including
Lord Bryce, _South America_; and Winter, _Argentina_, and _Chile_.
CONTENTS
OCTOBER 12
COLUMBUS AND DISCOVERER’S DAY
COLUMBUS, _Joaquin Miller_ 2
THE SEA OF DARKNESS 3
THE FORTUNATE ISLES 5
THE ABSURD TRUTH 7
CATHAY THE GOLDEN 10
THE EMERALD ISLANDS 12
THE MAGNIFICENT RETURN 13
THE FATAL PEARLS 15
Tierra Firme
The Pearls
The Curse of the Pearls
QUEEN ISABELLA’S PAGE 21
THE TWIN CITIES 24
THE PEARLS AGAIN 26
OCTOBER 14
WILLIAM PENN, THE FOUNDER OF
PENNSYLVANIA
WITHIN THE LAND OF PENN, _John Greenleaf Whittier_ 30
THE BOY OF GREAT TOWER HILL 31
HE WORE IT AS LONG AS HE COULD, _Samuel M. Janney_ 32
THE PEACEMAKER 33
WESTWARD HO, AND AWAY! _John Stoughton_ 34
THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE 36
THE PLACE OF KINGS, _Samuel M. Janney_ 38
ONAS, _W. Hepworth Dixon_ 41
OCTOBER 27
THEODORE ROOSEVELT, AMERICA’S HERO
THE SQUARE DEAL, _Theodore Roosevelt_ 44
THE BOY WHO GREW STRONG, _James Morgan_ 45
Not in a Log Cabin
In the Wide Out-of-Doors
Busting Broncos
SAGAMORE HILL, _Theodore Roosevelt_ 50
THE CHILDREN OF SAGAMORE HILL, _William Roscoe Thayer_ 52
OFF WITH JOHN BURROUGHS, _Theodore Roosevelt_ 53
THE BIG STICK, _William Roscoe Thayer_ 54
A-HUNTING TREES WITH JOHN MUIR, _Theodore Roosevelt_ 55
THE BEAR HUNTERS’ DINNER, _Theodore Roosevelt_ 56
HUNTING IN AFRICA, _Theodore Roosevelt_ 57
THE EVER FAITHFUL ISLAND 59
THE COLONEL OF THE ROUGH RIDERS, _William Roscoe Thayer_ 61
THE RIVER OF DOUBT, _William Roscoe Thayer_ 65
THEODORE ROOSEVELT, _William Roscoe Thayer_ 69
OCTOBER 30
JOHN ADAMS, THE SON OF LIBERTY
INDEPENDENCE DAY, _John Adams_ 74
A SON OF LIBERTY, _Benson J. Lossing_ 75
THE ADAMS FAMILY 76
AID TO THE SISTER COLONY, _James Parton_ 77
A FAMOUS DATE 80
WHAT A GLORIOUS MORNING! 81
JOHN TO SAMUEL 82
A GENTLEMAN FROM VIRGINIA 83
THE BOY WHO BECAME PRESIDENT 85
HOW SHALL THE STARS BE PLACED? 88
THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER 89
HIS LAST TOAST 91
NOVEMBER 15
WILLIAM PITT, DEFENDER OF AMERICA
HE AT ONCE BREATHED HIS OWN LOFTY SPIRIT, _John Richard Green_ 94
THIS TERRIBLE CORNET OF HORSE 95
THE CHARTER OF LIBERTY 98
AMERICA’S DEFENDER 101
THE SONS OF LIBERTY 103
A LAST SCENE, _John Fiske_ 105
DECEMBER 2
DOM PEDRO THE SECOND, THE MAGNANIMOUS,
THE BEST REPUBLICAN IN BRAZIL
FREEDOM IN BRAZIL, _John Greenleaf Whittier_ 110
THE BRAZILS MAGNIFICENT 111
THE EMPIRE OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS 112
MAKING THE LITTLE EMPEROR, _W. H. Koebel_ 113
THE PATRIOT EMPEROR 115
I. Viva Dom Pedro the Second!
II. My People
III. Emancipating the Slaves, 1888
IV. The Empire of the Southern Cross--No More! _Margarette Daniels_
THE UNITED STATES OF BRAZIL 120
DECEMBER 20
WILLIAM BRADFORD, AND THE LANDING
OF THE PILGRIMS
SO THEY LEFT THAT GOODLY AND PLEASANT CITY, _William Bradford_ 124
THE FATHER OF THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 125
THE SAVAGE NEW WORLD 128
WELCOME, ENGLISHMEN! 131
LOST! LOST! A BOY! 132
THE RATTLESNAKE CHALLENGE 136
THE GREAT DROUGHT, _Governor Edward Winslow_ 138
JANUARY 7
GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM, “OLD PUT”
THERE WAS A GENEROSITY AND BUOYANCY ABOUT THE BRAVE OLD MAN,
_Washington Irving_ 142
SEEING BOSTON 143
THE FIGHT WITH THE WOLF 144
FROM PLOUGH TO CAMP 146
HE MADE WASHINGTON LAUGH 148
A GENEROUS FOE 149
PUTNAM NOT FORGOTTEN! 150
JANUARY 11
ALEXANDER HAMILTON, DEFENDER OF
THE CONSTITUTION
HE GAVE THE WHOLE POWERS OF HIS MIND, _Daniel Webster_ 154
THE BOY OF THE HURRICANE, _Sherman Williams_ 155
CALL COLONEL HAMILTON 157
A STRUGGLE 158
“HE KNOWS EVERYTHING” 159
JANUARY 17
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, THE AMERICAN
SOCRATES
OUR COUNTRY, _Benjamin Franklin_ 164
THE WHISTLE, _Benjamin Franklin_ 165
THE CANDLE-MAKER’S BOY 166
THE BOY OF THE PRINTING PRESS 167
THE THREE ROLLS 168
STANDING BEFORE KINGS 169
THE WONDERFUL KITE EXPERIMENT 170
THE RISING SUN 171
TO MY FRIEND, _Benjamin Franklin_ 172
FEBRUARY 12
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE GREAT
EMANCIPATOR
OH, SLOW TO SMITE AND SWIFT TO SPARE, _William Cullen Bryant_ 174
THE CABIN IN THE CLEARING 175
HOW HE LEARNED TO BE JUST 176
OFF TO NEW ORLEANS 177
THE KINDNESS OF LINCOLN 178
The Little Birds
Rescuing the Pig
Opening Their Eyes
LINCOLN AND THE CHILDREN 181
Hurrah for Lincoln!
Only Eight of Us, Sir
He’s Beautiful!
Please Let Your Beard Grow
Three Little Girls
THE PRESIDENT AND THE BIBLE 183
WASHINGTON AND LINCOLN SPEAK 185
GETTYSBURG ADDRESS, _Abraham Lincoln_ 186
FEBRUARY 22
GEORGE WASHINGTON, THE FATHER OF
HIS COUNTRY
LINCOLN ON WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY 190
THE BOY IN THE VALLEY 191
WASHINGTON’S MOTHER, _George Washington Parke Custis_ 194
WASHINGTON’S WEDDING DAY, _Henry Cabot Lodge_ 197
WASHINGTON AND THE CHILDREN, _Grace Greenwood_ 197
THE LITTLE GIRL AND THE RED COATS, _Wayne Whipple_ 200
NELLIE AND LITTLE WASHINGTON, _Harriet Taylor Upton_ 200
SEEING THE PRESIDENT, _George Washington Parke Custis_ 203
NELSON THE HERO, _George Washington Parke Custis_ 204
CARING FOR THE GUEST, _Elkanah Watson_ 205
THOUGHTFUL OF OTHERS 206
THE CINCINNATUS OF THE WEST 206
BROTHER JONATHAN 208
THE BLOODY FOOTPRINTS, _George Washington Parke Custis_ 210
AN APPEAL TO GOD, _Benson J. Lossing_ 211
FRIEND GREENE 213
LIGHT HORSE HARRY, _Washington Irving_ 216
CAPTAIN MOLLY, _George Washington Parke Custis_ 218
THE SOLDIER BARON 220
FATHER THADDEUS 223
THE LITTLE FRIEND IN FRONT STREET 228
FAREWELL! MY GENERAL! FAREWELL! _J. T. Headley_ 230
FROM “WASHINGTON’S LEGACY” 232
A KING OF MEN, _John Fiske_ 233
WHEN WASHINGTON DIED 234
FEBRUARY 25
JOSE DE SAN MARTIN OF ARGENTINA,
THE PROTECTOR
SAN MARTIN, THE GREAT LIBERATOR, _Joseph Conrad_ 236
THE BOY SOLDIER 237
THE PATRIOT WHO KEPT FAITH 238
WHEN SAN MARTIN CAME 240
ARGENTINA’S INDEPENDENCE DAY 243
A GREAT IDEA 243
THE MIGHTY ANDES, _Bartolome Mitre_ 245
THE REAL SAN MARTIN 247
THE FIGHTING ENGINEER OF THE ANDES, _Bartolome Mitre_ 248
THE HANNIBAL OF THE ANDES, _General Miller and Bartolome Mitre_ 249
NOT FOR HIMSELF 254
COCHRANE, EL DIABLO 255
OUR BROTHERS, YE SHALL BE FREE 256
THE FALL OF THE CITY OF THE KINGS, _Captain Basil Hall_ 257
SAN MARTIN THE CONQUEROR, _Captain Basil Hall_ 261
A Retreat
The Mother and Her Three Sons
The Little Girl Who Was Bashful
Another Little Girl
The Best Cigar
Duty Before the General
LIMA’S GREATEST DAY 265
HAIL, NEIGHBOUR REPUBLICS! 266
AMERICA FOR THE AMERICANS 268
WHAT ONE AMERICAN DID 271
THE AMAZING MEETING 272
WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARD 274
THE MYSTERY SOLVED 276
MARCH 15
ANDREW JACKSON, OLD HICKORY
I WANT TO SAY THAT ANDREW JACKSON, _Theodore Roosevelt_ 280
MISCHIEVOUS ANDY, _James Parton_ 281
READING THE DECLARATION 282
OUT AGAINST TARLETON, _James Parton_ 283
AN ORPHAN OF THE REVOLUTION, _James Parton_ 285
THE HOOTING IN THE WILDERNESS, _James Parton_ 286
FORT MIMS 289
DAVY CROCKETT 290
CHIEF WEATHERFORD, _James Parton_ 291
SAM HOUSTON 295
WHY JACKSON WAS NAMED OLD HICKORY, _James Parton_ 297
THE COTTON-BALES 299
AFTER THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS, _James Parton_ 300
APRIL 13
THOMAS JEFFERSON, THE FRAMER OF THE
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
THE FOURTH OF JULY, _Hezekiah Butterworth_ 304
THE BOY OWNER OF SHADWELL FARM, _James Parton_ 305
A CHRISTMAS GUEST, _James Parton_ 306
THE AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION 308
PROCLAIM LIBERTY 309
ONLY A REPRIEVE 310
ON THE FOURTH OF JULY 313
MAY 29
PATRICK HENRY, THE ORATOR OF THE
WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE
TO THE READER, _Patrick Henry_ 316
THE ORATOR OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE, _Charles Morris_ 317
A Surprise to All
A Failure That Was a Success
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!
FACING DANGER 322
JUNE 9
FRANCISCO DE MIRANDA OF VENEZUELA,
THE FLAMING SON OF LIBERTY
THE PRINCE OF FILIBUSTERS, _William Spence Robertson_ 326
THE SPANISH GALLEONS 327
THE ROMANCE OF MIRANDA 331
THE MYSTERY SHIP, _James Biggs and Moses Smith_ 335
THE END OF THE MYSTERY SHIP 339
THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS FIFTH 341
A TERRIBLE THING 343
END OF THE ROMANCE 344
JUNE 23-24
ROGER WILLIAMS AND THE FOUNDING
OF PROVIDENCE
GOD MAKES A PATH, _Roger Williams_ 348
ROGER, THE BOY 349
SOUL LIBERTY 350
WHAT CHEER! _Z. A. Mudge_ 352
RISKING HIS LIFE, _Charles Morris_ 354
JULY 6
JOHN PAUL JONES, AMERICA’S IMMORTAL
SEA-FIGHTER
PAUL JONES, _Ballad_ 358
THE BOY OF THE SOLWAY, _J. T. Headley_ 359
DON’T TREAD ON ME! _J. T. Headley_ 360
THE FIRST SALUTE, _Alexander S. Mackenzie_ 361
THE POOR RICHARD 364
MICKLE’S THE MISCHIEF HE HAS DUNE, _J. T. Headley_ 365
PAUL JONES HIMSELF, _J. T. Headley_ 367
SOME OF HIS SAYINGS 369
JULY 24
SIMON BOLIVAR OF VENEZUELA,
THE LIBERATOR
BOLIVAR, _Barry Cornwall_ 372
THE PRECIOUS JEWEL 373
THE FIERY YOUNG PATRIOT 376
SEEING BOLIVAR, _By a Young Englishman_ 378
UNCLE PAEZ--THE LION OF THE APURE 382
ANGOSTURA 384
THE CROSSING, _By One who Accompanied Bolivar_ 385
PERU NEXT 388
THE BREAK 389
BOLIVAR THE MAN, _William Spence Robertson_ 390
AUGUST 20
BERNARDO O’HIGGINS, FIRST SOLDIER,
FIRST CITIZEN OF CHILE
THE NAME OF O’HIGGINS, _W. H. Koebel_ 394
THE SON OF THE BAREFOOT BOY 395
THE SINGLE STAR FLAG 397
THE HERO OF RANCAGUA 398
COMPANIONS-IN-ARMS 400
THE PATRIOT RULER 400
FIRST SOLDIER, FIRST CITIZEN 402
CHILE AS SHE IS 403
ONE OF TWENTY 405
THE BETTER WAY 406
SEPTEMBER 6
THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE, THE
FRIEND OF AMERICA
AFTER THE SACRIFICES I HAVE MADE, _Lafayette_ 412
I WILL JOIN THE AMERICANS! _Edith Sichel_ 413
IN AMERICA 414
ON THE FIELD NEAR CAMDEN 414
THE BANNER OF THE MORAVIAN NUNS 416
LOYAL TO THE CHIEF, _John Fiske_ 418
WE ARE GRATEFUL, LAFAYETTE! 420
SOME OF WASHINGTON’S HAIR, _T. R. Ybarra_ 421
WELCOME! FRIEND OF AMERICA! 422
SEPTEMBER 24
JOHN MARSHALL, THE EXPOUNDER OF
THE CONSTITUTION
HE HAD A DEEP SENSE OF MORAL AND RELIGIOUS OBLIGATION,
_Justice Joseph Story_ 426
THE BOY OF THE FRONTIER, _Albert J. Beveridge_ 427
In a Log Cabin
Off to the Blue Ridge
Making an American
Give Me Liberty!
THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT, _Horace Binney_ 433
SERVING THE CAUSE, _Henry Flanders_ 434
AT VALLEY FORGE, _William Henry Rawle_ 435
SILVER HEELS, _J. B. Thayer_ 436
WITHOUT BREAD, _John Marshall’s Sister_ 437
HIS MOTHER, _Sallie E. Marshall Hardy_ 438
HIS FATHER, _Justice Joseph Story_ 438
THREE STORIES, _James B. Thayer_ 439
What Was in the Saddlebags
Eating Cherries
Learned in the Law of Nations
THE CONSTITUTION 442
EXPOUNDING THE CONSTITUTION, _Chief Justice Waite_ 444
THE GREAT CHIEF JUSTICE, _Horace Binney_ 446
Respected by All
The True Man
WHAT OF THE CONSTITUTION? _Washington_, _Bolivar_,
_Webster_, _Lincoln_ 448
ENVOY 450
APPENDIX
I. Programme of Stories from the History of the United States 453
II. Story Programme of South America’s Struggle for Independence 460
SUBJECT INDEX 465
ILLUSTRATIONS
BREAKFAST WITH THE CHILDREN AT MOUNT VERNON _Frontispiece_
COLUMBUS EXAMINES THE PEARLS 18
ROOSEVELT BREAKING “DEVIL” 50
JOHN BILLINGTON BROUGHT ON THE SHOULDERS OF AN INDIAN 136
FRANKLIN AND THE KITE EXPERIMENT 170
“HE’S BEAUTIFUL” 182
“‘TREASON! TREASON!’ CRIED SOME OF THE EXCITED MEMBERS” 318
PAUL JONES HOISTING THE STARS AND STRIPES 362
_Drawn by Frank T. Merrill_
OCTOBER 12
COLUMBUS AND DISCOVERER’S DAY
_The Very Magnificent Lord Don Cristobal Colon, High Admiral of the
Ocean Sea, Viceroy and Governor of the Islands and Tierra Firma._
COLUMBUS
_“My men grow mutinous day by day;
My men grow ghastly wan and weak.”
The stout Mate thought of home; a spray
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
“What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,
If we sight naught but seas at dawn?”
“Why you shall say at break of day,
Sail on! Sail on! Sail on! and on!”_
_Then pale and worn, he kept his deck,
And peered through darkness. Ah, that night
Of all dark nights! And then a speck--
A light! A light! A light! A light!
It grew, a starlit Flag unfurled!
It grew to be Time’s burst of dawn.
He gained a World, he gave that World
Its grandest lesson--
“On! Sail on!”_
_From_ JOAQUIN MILLER’S _Columbus_
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS was born in Italy, about 1451
First landed on an island of America, October 12, 1492
Sighted South America, 1498
Was sent in chains to Spain, 1500
Returned from his Fourth Voyage, 1504
He died, May 20, 1506
His name in Spanish is Cristobal Colon.
THE SEA OF DARKNESS
Before America was ever heard of, over four hundred years ago, a boy
lived in Genoa the Proud City.
He was just one of hundreds of boys in that beautiful Italian town,
whose palaces, marble villas, and churches climbed her picturesque
hillsides. The boy’s name was Christopher Columbus.
Whenever he could leave his father’s workshop, where he was learning to
comb wool, for his father was a weaver, how eagerly the boy must have
run down to the wharfs and sat there watching the ships come and go.
They came from all those parts of the world which people knew about
then, from Iceland and England, from European and Asiatic ports, and
from North Africa. Caravels, galleys, and galleons, and sailing craft of
all kinds, came laden with the wealth that made Genoa one of the richest
cities of her time.
The sailors, who lounged on the wharfs, spun wonderful yarns. They told
how beyond the Pillars of Hercules which guarded the straits of
Gibraltar, there rolled a vast, unknown sea, called the Atlantic Ocean
or the Sea of Darkness.
No one, they said, had ever crossed it. No one knew what lay beyond it.
All was mystery. And any mariners, the sailors said, who had ventured
far out on its black waters had never returned.
Fearful things had happened to such mariners, the sailors added, for the
Sea of Darkness swarmed with spectres, devils, and imps. And when night
fell, slimy monsters crawled and swam in its boiling waves. Among these
monsters, was an enormous nautilus large enough to crush a whole ship in
its squirming arms, and a serpent fifty leagues long with flaming eyes
and horse’s mane. Sea-elephants, sea-lions, and sea-tigers, fed in beds
of weeds. Harpies and winged terrors flew over the surface of the water.
And horrible, they said, was the fate which overtook the ship of any
foolhardy mariners who ventured too far out on that gloomy ocean. A
gigantic hand was thrust up through the waves, and grasped the ship. A
polypus, spouting two water-spouts as high as the sky, made such a
whirlpool that the vessel, spinning round and round like a top, was
sucked down into the roaring abyss.
These frightful sea-yarns and many like them, the sailors told about the
Atlantic Ocean, and people believed them. But the eyes of the boy
Columbus, as he sat listening, must have sparkled as he longed to
explore those mysterious waters of the Sea of Darkness, and follow them
to the very edge of the world.
For all that lay to the west of the Azores, was a great and fascinating
mystery, when Columbus was a boy, before America was discovered.
THE FORTUNATE ISLES
Listen now to some of the stories that the Irish sailors who visited
Genoa, told when Columbus was a boy. And people in those days, believed
them to be true.
They told how far, far in the West, where the sun set in crimson
splendour, lay the Terrestrial Paradise from which Adam and Eve were
driven. And other wonder tales the sailors told.
One was the enchanting tale of Maeldune, the Celtic Knight, who seeking
his father’s murderer, sailed over the wide Atlantic in a coracle of
skins lapped threefold, one over the other.
Many were the wonder-islands that Maeldune and his comrades visited--the
Island of the Silvern Column; the Island of the Flaming Rampart; the
Islands of the Monstrous Ants, and the Giant Birds; the Islands of the
Fierce Beasts, the Fiery Swine, and the Little Cat; the Islands of the
Black Mourners, the Glass Bridge, and the Spouting Water; the Islands of
the Red Berries, and the Magic Apples; and the islands of many other
wonders.
Many were the strange adventures that Maeldune had in enchanted castles
with beautiful Queens and lovely damsels, with monstrous birds,
sleep-giving potions, and magic food.
And the Irish sailors told, also, of good St. Brandan who set sail in a
coracle, and discovered the Fortunate Isles. There he dwelt in blessed
happiness, they said:--
“_And his voice was low as from other worlds, and his eyes were sweet;_
_And his white hair sank to his heels, and his white beard
fell to his feet._”
And still another tale the Irish sailors told, a tale of Fairy Land,
called the Land of Youth. Thither once went Usheen the Irish Bard.
It happened on a sweet, misty morning that Usheen saw a slender
snow-white steed come pacing along the shore of Erin. Silver were his
shoes, and a nodding crest of gold was on his head. Upon his back was
seated a Fairy Maiden crowned with gold, and wrapped in a trailing
mantle adorned with stars of red gold.
Weirdly but sweetly she smiled, and sang an Elfin song; while over sea
and shore there fell a dreamy silence. Through the fine mist she urged
on her steed, singing sweeter and ever sweeter as she came nearer and
nearer to Usheen.
She drew rein before him. His friends saw him spring upon the steed, and
fold the Fairy Maiden in his arms. She shook the bridle which rang forth
like a chime of bells, and swiftly they sped over the water and across
the sea, the snow-white steed running lightly over the waves.
They plunged into a golden haze that shrouded them from mortal eyes.
Ghostly towers, castles, and palace-gates loomed dimly before Usheen,
then melted away. A hornless doe bounded near him, chased by a white
hound. They vanished into the haze.
Then a Fairy Damsel rode swiftly past Usheen, holding up a golden apple
to him. Fast behind her, galloped a horseman, his purple cloak streaming
in the still air, a sharp sword glittering in his hand. They, too,
melted mysteriously away.
And soon Usheen himself vanished into the Land of Youth, into Fairy
Land.
These are some of the wonder tales that folk used to tell about the
mysterious Atlantic Ocean, when Columbus was a boy.
THE ABSURD TRUTH
When Columbus was a boy, there was a story told that the Earth was
round. Nearly every one who heard it thought it foolish--absurd.
“The Earth round!” they said; “do we not know that the Earth is flat?
And does not the sun set each night at the edge of the World?”
But young Columbus had a powerful, practical imagination. He believed
there were good reasons to think that the Earth was not flat. He
attended the University of Pavia. He studied astronomy and other
sciences. He learned map-making. He read how the ancient philosophers
thought the Earth to be a sphere and how they had tried to prove their
theory by observing the sun, moon, and stars.
Then, too, there were scholars in Europe, when Columbus was young, who
agreed with the philosophers.
But no scholar or philosopher had ever risked his life in a frail ship
and ventured across the terrible Sea of Darkness to battle with its
horrors, and prove his theory to be fact. The surging billows of the
Atlantic with angry leaping crests of foam, still guarded their mystery.
Young Columbus became a sailor, cruising with his uncle on the
Mediterranean, sometimes chasing pirate ships. When older, he made long
voyages. He learned to navigate a vessel. He visited, so some historians
say, England and Thule. They say, too, that Thule was Iceland. Then if
he visited Iceland, Columbus must have heard the strange tale of how
Leif, son of Erik the Red, the bold Northman, sailed in a single ship
over the Sea of Darkness, and discovered Vinland the Good on the other
side of the Atlantic.
Columbus talked with sailors about their voyages. He heard how the waves
of the Sea of Darkness sometimes cast upon the Islands of the Azores,
gigantic bamboos, queer trees, strange nuts, seeds, carved logs, and
bodies of hideous men with flat faces, the flotsam and jetsam from
unknown lands far to the west.
Columbus’s imagination and spirit of adventure were fired. He became
more eager than ever to explore that vast expanse of water, and learn
what really lay in the mysterious region, where the sun set each night
and from which the sun returned each morning.
“The Earth is not flat,” thought he, “much goes to prove it. India, from
which gold and spices come, is assuredly on the other side. If I can but
cross the Sea of Darkness, I shall reach Tartary and Cathay the Golden
Country of Kublai Khan. I shall have found a Western Passage to Asia. I
will bring back treasure; but more than all else I shall be able to
carry the Gospel of Christ to the heathen.”
For Columbus, you must know, was one of the most devout Christian men of
his time.
And he signed his name to letters, “Christ Bearing.” _Christopher_ in
the Greek language, means Christ-Bearer. Perhaps, he was thinking of
the beautiful legend of St. Christopher, who on his mighty shoulders
bore the Christ Child across the swelling river, even as he, Christopher
Columbus, humbly wished to bear Christ’s Gospel across the raging waters
of the Sea of Darkness.
CATHAY THE GOLDEN
Where was Cathay the Golden?
Who was Kublai Khan?
One of Columbus’s favourite books was written by Marco Polo, the great
Venetian traveller, who served Kublai, Grand Khan of Tartary in Asia.
Cathay was the name which Marco Polo gave to China.
In his book, Marco Polo told of many marvels. In the chief city of
Cathay the Golden, ruled over by Kublai Khan, stood the Grand Khan’s
palace. Its walls were covered with gold and silver, and adorned with
figures of dragons, beasts, and birds. Its lofty roof was coloured
outside with vermilion, yellow, green, blue, and every other hue, all
shining like crystal.
To this city of Cathay, were brought the most costly articles in the
world, gold, silver, precious jewels, spices, and rare silks. The Grand
Khan had so many plates, cups, and ewers of gold and silver, that no one
would believe it without seeing them. He had five thousand elephants in
magnificent trappings, bearing chests on their backs filled with
priceless treasure. He had also, a vast number of camels with rich
housings.
At the New Year Feast, the people made presents to Kublai Khan of gold,
silver, pearls, precious stones, and rich stuffs. They presented him,
also, with many beautiful snow-white horses handsomely caparisoned.
These and other wonderful things, did Marco Polo write about in his
book, and Columbus read them all.
* * * * *
At last the time came, when Columbus was fully determined to discover a
Western Passage, and thus open a path through the Ocean from Europe to
Asia.
The Spanish courtiers laughed at Columbus; they called him a fool and
madman to believe that the Sea of Darkness might be crossed. But as the
years of waiting went by, Columbus grew stronger in his determination.
The story of his many years of patient but determined waiting in Spain,
of his pleadings with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, for money, men,
and ships with which to cross the Ocean Sea, is told in “Good Stories
for Great Holidays.”
And in “Good Stories for Great Holidays,” it is told how at last
Columbus was befriended by the Friar Juan Perez. There also may be
found the stories of Columbus and the Egg, of his little son Diego at La
Rabida, of Queen Isabella pledging her jewels, of Columbus’s sailing
across the Sea of Darkness, of the mutiny, of his faith, perseverance,
and wisdom, and how at last he sighted a cluster of beautiful green
islands, lying like emeralds in the blue waters of the Atlantic--all
these stories may be read in “Good Stories for Great Holidays.”
THE EMERALD ISLANDS
_Columbus’s Day, October 12, 1492_
It was with songs of praise, that Columbus first landed on one of those
emerald islands of the New World.
And what delightful islands they were, sparkling with streams, and
filled with trees of great height. There were fruits, flowers, and honey
in abundance. Among the large leaves and bright blossoms, flocks of
birds sang and called. There were cultivated fields of Indian corn.
And there were savages, naked dark-skinned folk, who peeped from behind
trees, or ran frightened away. Later they grew bolder, and traded with
Columbus and his men. Some of the savages smoked rolls of dried leaves.
This was the first tobacco that white men had ever seen. Thus Columbus
and his men discovered Indian corn, and tobacco.
As Columbus sailed along the shores of the islands, he watched anxiously
for the crystal-shining domes of Kublai Khan’s Palace to rise among the
trees. But no Cathay the Golden gleamed among the green, no elephants in
trappings of cloth-of-gold, paced the sands.
Instead, all was wild though so beautiful. The only people were the
dark-skinned ones, whom Columbus named _Indians_; for he was sure that
he had come across the Sea of Darkness by the Western Passage to India.
THE MAGNIFICENT RETURN
It was a day of great rejoicing when Columbus returned to Spain. The
whole country rose up to do him honour. Bells were rung, mass was said,
and vast crowds cheered him as he passed along streets and highways.
No one called him a fool and madman then. Had he not crossed the Sea of
Darkness and returned alive? Neither nautilus, gigantic hand, nor
polypus had dared to harm him. The Sea of Darkness was a mysterious
gloomy sea no longer, instead it was the wide Atlantic Ocean, a safe
pathway for brave mariners and good ships, a pathway leading to new
lands of gold and spices far toward the setting sun. And so all Spain
did honour to Columbus.
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella eagerly awaited him at Barcelona. He
entered that city with pomp and in procession. Balconies, windows, roofs
were thronged. Crowds surged through the streets to gaze in wonder on
that strange procession, so spectacular, so magnificent.
First came the dark-skinned savage men, in paint and gold ornaments;
after them walked men bearing live parrots of every colour; then others
came carrying rich glittering coronets and bracelets, together with
beautiful fruits and strange vegetables and plants, such as the people
of Europe had never dreamed could exist.
Then passed the great discoverer himself, Christopher Columbus,
a-horseback, and surrounded by a cavalcade of the most brilliant
courtiers of Spain.
He dismounted, and entered the saloon where the King and Queen sat
beneath a canopy of brocade. He modestly greeted them on bended knee.
They raised him most graciously, and bade him be seated in their
presence.
After they had heard his tale with wonder, and had examined the
treasures that he had brought with him from beyond the Sea of Darkness,
the King and Queen together with their whole Court knelt in thanksgiving
to God.
To reward Columbus, his Sovereigns bestowed upon him the titles of Don
Christopher Columbus, Our Admiral of the Ocean Sea, and Viceroy and
Governor of the Islands discovered in the Indies. They also promised to
make him ruler over any other islands and mainland he might discover.
Columbus immediately began to prepare for another voyage. With a fleet
of seventeen ships, bearing supplies and colonists, he sailed across the
Sea of Darkness once more to the islands of the New World. He planted a
colony there. He discovered other islands. And he still kept on
searching diligently for Cathay the Golden.
Turbulent adventurers, rapacious gold-hunters, and vicious men, were
among the colonists. And Columbus, in the name of his Sovereigns, with
great difficulty ruled over them all.
THE FATAL PEARLS
_Tierra Firme_
It was in May, 1498. The fleet of Admiral Don Christopher Columbus, in
the name of the Holy Trinity, set sail from Spain for a third voyage
across the Atlantic.
It was no longer a Sea of Darkness to Columbus, but a sure pathway to
golden lands. There he still hoped to find the Earthly Paradise from
which Adam and Eve had been driven. And there too, he still expected to
discover Cathay the Golden in Tartary, and Cipango, the great island of
the western sea, which we call Japan.
His ships sailed on, now plunging through the lifting billows, now lying
becalmed on glassy waters under the fierce rays of the tropic sun, and
now moving through a region of balmy airs and light refreshing breezes.
July arrived, yet he had not sighted land. The fierce heat of the sun
had sprung the seams of the ships. The provisions were rancid. There was
scarcely any sweet water left in the casks. The anxious, watchful
Admiral scanned the horizon.
On the last day of the month, came a shout from the masthead:--“Land!”
And Columbus beheld the peaks of three mountains rising from the sea,
outlined sharply against the sky. Then he and his men, lifting up their
voices, sang anthems of praise and repeated prayers of thanksgiving.
As the ships drew nearer to the three peaks, Columbus perceived that
they rose from an island and were united at their base.
“Three in one,” he said, and named the island after the Holy Trinity in
whose name he had set sail. For he had vowed before leaving Spain, to
name the first new land he saw after the Trinity. That is why that
island, to-day, is called Trinidad.
They filled their casks there. Then onward they sailed, skirting the
coast of Trinidad, hoping to find a harbour to put into while repairing
the ships. Soon, they saw a misty headland opposite the island.
“It is another island,” said Columbus.
It was no island. Wonderful to relate, Columbus had just discovered a
new Country.
It was the coastline of a vast southern continent. It was _Tierra
Firme_. It was South America!
_The Pearls_
Young Indian braves, graceful and handsome, their black hair straight
and long, their heads wrapped in brilliant scarfs, other bright scarfs
wound round their middles, came in a canoe to visit Columbus’s ships.
Soon after this visit, Columbus set sail again, not knowing that he had
just sighted one of the richest and greatest continents on earth.
Sailing past the mouths of the mighty Orinoco River, pouring out their
torrents with angry roar into the Caribbean Sea, Columbus skirted what
is now called Venezuela.
Other friendly Indians came to his ships. It was then that Columbus saw
for the first time the pearls which were to help ruin him, and which
were to work wretchedness and death for so many poor Indian folk.
Among the friendly Indians were some who wore bracelets of lustrous
pearls. The gold and spices got by Columbus on his former voyages were
of slight beauty compared with those strings of magnificent pearls.
Columbus examined them eagerly. He longed for some to send back to Queen
Isabella, in order to prove to her what a rich land he had just
discovered.
He questioned the Indians. Where had they got the pearls? They came from
their own land, and from a country to the north and west, they answered.
Columbus was eager to go thither. But first he sent men ashore to barter
for some of the bracelets. With bright bits of earthenware, with
buttons, scissors, and needles, they bought quantities of the pearls
from the delighted Indians, to whom such articles were worth more than
gold and jewels of which they had plenty.
Then Columbus, hoisting sail, ran farther along the coast purchasing
pearls until he had half a bushel or so of the lustrous sea-jewels, some
of them of very large size.
He named a great gulf, the Gulf of Pearls. He discovered other islands,
among them the island of Margarita, which means a pearl.
After which he turned his ships toward Santo Domingo, not knowing how
tragic a thing was to befall him there, partly on account of the
pearls.
[Illustration: COLUMBUS EXAMINES THE PEARLS]
_The Curse of the Pearls_
Those fatal sea-jewels had already begun their evil work.
While Columbus was tarrying to collect them, a rebellion fomented by bad
men who had taken advantage of his absence, had broken out in the Island
of Santo Domingo. When Columbus reached there, he suppressed it. But his
enemies hastened to send lying reports about him to the Spanish Court.
And the courtiers, who were jealous of his high position, wealth, and
power, urged King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to have him deposed.
One of their accusations against him was, that he had held back from his
Sovereigns their rightful portion of the rich find of pearls.
So at last, the royal edict went forth that the very magnificent Don
Christopher Columbus, Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Viceroy and Governor of
the Indies, should be tried and, if found guilty, deposed and returned
to Spain.
The man sent to do all this, and govern in Columbus’s stead, was named
Bobadilla.
Bobadilla arrived at Santo Domingo with royal commands for Columbus to
surrender all power to him, and to obey him in everything. He caused him
to be arrested and thrown into prison. He tried and condemned him. He
ordered him put into chains. But no one could be found to rivet the
chains until one of Columbus’s own servants, “a shameless and graceless
cook,” did so with glee.
Then Bobadilla reigned in Columbus’s place over the Indies.
Meanwhile, the grand old Admiral broken in spirit, carped at by his
foes, was placed in manacles aboard a caravel.
Bobadilla had given orders that the chains should not be removed, but
the humane master of the ship offered to break them.
“Nay,” said Columbus with dignity, “my Sovereigns have commanded me to
submit, and Bobadilla has chained me. I will wear these irons until by
royal order they are removed. And I shall keep them as relics and
memorials of the reward of my services.”
But when Queen Isabella learned how he had been brought back to Spain in
shackles, she was greatly angered. Both Sovereigns commanded that he
should be immediately released. And when the venerable Columbus grown
old in her service, entered her presence, Queen Isabella wept bitterly.
Columbus fell at her feet, unable to utter a word, so great was his
sorrow.
Both Sovereigns promised to restore all his titles and the wealth which
had been taken from him by force. But though Bobadilla was finally
deposed from power because of his treatment of Columbus and because of
his evil rule, yet the royal promise was not fulfilled. His titles and
property were never restored to Columbus.
Instead, he was again sent overseas, on a fourth voyage of discovery.
With four miserable caravels manned by only a hundred and fifty men, the
gray-headed, weary Columbus set forth once more still hoping to discover
the country of Kublai Khan, and find the Earthly Paradise. And this time
Columbus took with him his younger son, Ferdinand, who was thirteen
years old.
QUEEN ISABELLA’S PAGE
Off to find Kublai Khan, to drink from his golden cups, to eat from his
silvern plates, to ride his elephants, to visit in his great palace,
and, perhaps, to discover the Earthly Paradise--what more thrilling
adventure could a boy want?
So Ferdinand Columbus, Queen Isabella’s page, eager for adventure, set
sail with his father Columbus, to cross the Sea of Darkness and explore
beyond the emerald islands.
For, while his father, on his former voyage, had been gathering pearls
among the Pearl Islands of the New World, the boy Ferdinand, amid the
splendour of the Spanish Court, had been waiting upon Queen Isabella.
But now, what a change! Ferdinand was off across the heaving, foaming
Sea of Darkness in a small caravel tossed about like a cockleshell on
the billows. A tempest with rain, thunder, and lightning arose. It
struck Columbus’s wretched caravels. They were buffeted by the wind,
their sails were torn, their rigging, cables, and boats were lost. Food
was washed overboard. The sailors were terrified, they ran about making
religious vows and confessing their sins to each other. Even the boldest
was pale with fear.
“But the distress of my son who was with me, grieved me to the soul ...”
wrote Columbus afterward, “for he was but thirteen years old, and he
enduring so much toil for so long a time. Our Lord, however, gave him
strength to enable him to encourage the rest. He worked as if he had
been eighty years at sea.”
But there was more to trouble plucky Ferdinand than the storm at sea.
Columbus, his father, fell sick near to death. There was no one who
could direct the ships’ course, but Columbus himself. So he had a little
cabin rigged up on deck. Lying there, he gave his orders. Presently, to
Ferdinand’s joy, he grew better.