THE RED MEN AND THEIR WARS.
At first, before they had time to plant the fields, the men
could but hunt and fish for food; but as years went by, they
had farms, and made glass and things for trade; they wove cloth
of wool, and some from a plant that grows in the south, of which
you may know the name. It is white and soft.
They had not much coin, and so they had to do the best they
could with skins and corn, or what they could get for trade.
The first mint to make coin was set up in Mass-a-chu-setts in
1652. This coin had a pine tree on one side, and the name of
the State. One side had a date and N. E. for New Eng-land. All
this coin was known as "pine-tree coin." In time the land at
Plym-outh Bay and those near took one name, "Mass-a-chu-setts."
In the meanwhile the small band who had made homes in Vir-gin-ia
had come to grief. They had been men of good birth in their
own land, and did not know much of hard work. They had come
in search of wealth. Great tales had been told of the gold
here. It had been said one could pick up great lumps of gold,
as large as a hen's egg, in the streams. They found that all
this was not true, and that a man had to work hard to live.
They grew sick, and death came in their midst to make things
more sad; so that they lost more than half of their small band.
[Illustration: BUILD-ING IN VIR-GIN-IA.]
[Illustration: JOHN SMITH.]
One man, John Smith by name, did great things for them. He had
been brave from his birth. He had been in wars oft, and once
he built him a lodge of boughs in a forest and took his books
with him, that he might learn the art of war. Once he went to
fight the Turks. He is said to have been sold as a slave. It
may be all these tales are not true; but it is true he taught
his own friends in Vir-gin-ia how to live. He got them to build
a fort and log huts for the cold times. He made friends as far
as he could of the In-di-ans, so that he could get boat loads
of food from them. He said that "he who would not work might
not eat;" so no man could be a drone in the hive. Each one must
learn to swing the axe in the woods or to hunt and to fish.
Once the In-di-ans took him and they told him that he must die.
Their great chief Pow-ha-tan had said the word; so his head was
laid upon a stone, and a huge war club raised to strike the
blow. But a young girl was seen to spring to his side, throw
her arms round his neck, and pray that he might be set free.
She was the pet of the tribe, for she was the child of their
chief; and so Cap-tain Smith was set free. You may be sure he
was full of thanks to his kind young friend, and it is said
she might have been seen on her way to James-town more than
once, as time went on, with small stores of corn for the white
men. And when she grew up a white man made her his wife.
[Illustration: TO-BAC-CO PLANT.]
But at last a bad wound made Cap-tain Smith go back to Eng-land,
and things grew worse and worse in Vir-gin-ia. Food was more
and more scarce, and a sad time came, which was long known as
"Starving Time." It was in 1609. At last they all made up their
minds to go back to their old home. None shed a tear as the
sun rose on that day; they had known bad times in the new land,
and did not grieve to go. But as their ship made its way down
the bay, they met Lord Del-a-ware, with a great stock of food,
and new men to swell the ranks. So they were glad to turn back
and try the place once more; and in the course of time they
throve and built and spread, and that part of the land made
a new State, which we know as Vir-gin-ia. In that State was
first grown a weed which you have seen men smoke and chew.
The folks in Mass-a-chu-setts went by the name of "Pu-ri-tans."
They had left their old home that they might pray to God in
their own way, and they thought that their own way was the right
one. When men came in their midst who did not think as they
did, they were sent out of the place. There was a class called
Quak-ers, or Friends, who were mild, and did all they could
for peace; but they thought they had their rights as well as
the rest, and might serve God in their own way. They did not
believe in wars, and would not bear arms. They would not hire
a man to preach for them; but when they met, each one spoke
as he felt the thought come in his heart. They kept the laws,
and did to all men as they wished them to do to them. They said
"thee and thou" for "you," and "yea and nay" for "yes and no;"
but this could hurt no one, and it seems strange to us that
they were not let stay in the place. They had to fly for their
lives, and four were put to death. In these days all men are
free to serve God in their own way.
And in that time there was one man to raise his voice for the
poor Quak-ers, and all who were like them. This man was Rog-er
Will-iams. He held that the State had no right to say what men
should think and feel. You may be sure those who were high in
place did not like to hear that; so he had to fly from his home
one cold day, and for a time he hid in the woods. But the In-di-ans
gave him a home, and one chief made him a gift of a piece of
land, which he called "Prov-i-dence," as it was to him like
a gift from God. And so the State of Rhode Isl-and, where this
town was built, was known as a place where thought was free.
The Quak-ers were glad to find a home in that State, where they
could dwell in peace.
[Illustration: IN-DI-ANS RID-ING.]
In 1675, a war, known as King Phil-ip's war, broke out in Mass-a-chu-setts.
King Phil-ip was an In-di-an chief who saw that the white man
would soon own all the land, and he knew that meant death to
his race. He made a plan to kill all the white men. The first
blow fell on the Lord's day, as the folks were on their way
home from church. The men flew to arms, and did not dare to
lay them down when they were in the field at work, or at their
homes. When they went to church they would stack them at the
door.
King Phil-ip and his men made their camp in a great swamp, where
it was hard for the white men to reach them. Here they laid
up a store of food, and had great tribes of red men. They would
not fight in the wide fields, but would skulk in nooks, and
rush out and hold all the land in fear, for the foe would seem
to be on all sides. At last they were made to leave their strong
hold, and could find no place to hide. There was a fight, and
the In-di-ans fell thick and fast. Phil-ip ran, but one of his
own tribe, who had a grudge, shot him dead. He had done all
he could for his own folk, but fell by the hand of one of them
at last.
All this time the King of Eng-land was at the head of this land
as well, and the men he sent were wont to rule things with a
high hand. They would not grant what our men thought to be their
rights. Dutch ships had come in to trade for furs with the In-di-ans.
Some of the crews stayed here and made their homes in a place
they called New Am-ster-dam. It is now known by the name of
New York. These first Dutch men bought the land from the In-di-ans,
and it was to go to their heirs through all time.
[Illustration: THE DUTCH AT NEW AM-STER-DAM.]
A band of Swedes made their home in Del-a-ware. A Quak-er by
the name of Will-iam Penn bought a grant of land from the King.
He thought to make a home for all his sect, who had as hard
a time in Eng-land as they did here. He sent a band of these
men here, and the next year he came too. He met the In-di-ans
by a great elm tree. He was a kind and good man, and would not
take their land from them. He bought it and made them his friends.
"We will live in love with Will-iam Penn and his heirs," said
they, "as long as the sun and moon shall shine." And it is said
that to this day a red man is loathe to shed Quak-er blood.
[Illustration: IN-DI-AN PIPES.]
[Illustration: William Penn.]
In 1683, Penn bought land from the Swedes and laid out a town,
to which he gave the name of Phil-a-del-phia. It stood in the
midst of a wood, and the wild deer ran by the men who came to
take a look at their new home. When Penn came, he sent out a
call for all the men to meet in one place, and there he met
with them, and they laid out the code or kind of laws they were
to have. This code was known as "The Great Law." No one could
vote that did not believe in Christ; and all might pray to God
in their own way. So you see the Quak-ers did not wish to force
men to believe as they did. They felt that was not right or
just.
Penn did all he could for his sect, and was mild and good to
the red men. He said to them, "We meet on the broad path of
good faith and good will. I will deal with you in love. We are
one flesh and blood."
So our land grew, and State by State was laid out, and towns
were built, and all this time the King of Eng-land was at the
head of the whole. There were more In-di-an wars; for the red
men gave the new folk no peace. They would come down from the
depths of the woods of Can-a-da on their snow shoes, and drag
men and their wives from their beds and scalp them and set their
homes on fire. Many a child, too, had to fly with the rest in
the cold night, with bare feet and few clothes on, to seek a
place to hide from this fierce foe.
[Illustration: IN-DI-AN SNOW SHOE.]
In 1754, a war broke out which we call the "French and In-di-an
War." The Eng-lish had at this time a great strip of land on
our coast which they held as their own. It was like a string
to the great bow of French land, which went from Que-bec to
New Or-leans. Both French and Eng-lish laid claim to part of
the land; and those who had the wish to live in peace could
not but look on in fear.
The French built three forts, and that made all feel that they
meant to hold the land. A young man by the name of George Wash-ing-ton,
was sent to ask that they should pull down these forts. You
have heard of George Wash-ing-ton, I know. You have been told
that he was "first in peace, first in war, and first in the
hearts of all." You have, I am sure, heard the tale of the fruit
tree that he cut, and how he could not tell a lie to save him.
He was a boy then, and some one had made his heart glad with
the gift of a small axe. What should a boy do with such a thing,
if he could not cut with it? So George went round to try the
sharp edge of his axe, and, as bad luck would have it, he came
on a young fruit tree. It may be that the fruit was of a rare
kind, and so when it was found that the bark of the tree had
been cut in such a way that one could hope for no more fruit,
the cry rang out on all sides, "Who has done this deed?"
Our small boy was not at peace in his own mind. He did not know
in what shape the wrath might fall on him; but he came forth
in a brave way and said, "I did it, Father, I can not tell a
lie. I cut it." We are glad there has been one boy who could
not tell a lie, and we hope there are some in our own times.
So this George Wash-ing-ton, then a young man, was sent to the
French man who was at the head of the forts, to say that he
must take them down at once. He had a hard time to get there,
for it was cold, and the streams were big with the rains. The
snow fell and froze as it fell. His horse gave out, and he had
to go on foot. He had one man with him, and they struck out
in to the woods. They had to cross a stream on a rude raft,
and they were caught in the ice. It bore them on with great
speed, and when Wash-ing-ton threw out his pole to check the
speed, he fell in the stream. But he knew how to swim, and so
he got to land. When day came, it grew still more cold, and
the stream froze in such a way that he could walk on it to the
place where he would be.
The men at the French forts would not say that they would give
them up. In fact, they made boasts that they could hold them
in spite of all, and so the war went on. The French would dart
out and seize Eng-lish ships, and then the Eng-lish would march
on the French, and do them all the harm they could. Wash-ing-ton
fought on the side of the Eng-lish in this war. Once the In-di-ans
laid in wait for them in the wood, and as the men were on the
march with their flags and beat of drum, they heard the fierce
war whoop on all sides. The Brit-ish troops did not know how
to deal with such a foe; but our men sprang down and fought
them in their own way.
One chief made a vow that he would kill Wash-ing-ton. Four balls
were sent through his clothes. Twice his horse was shot. Gen-er-al
Brad-dock, who was at the head of the Eng-lish troops, was shot
and borne from the field to die. There was a great fright, and
the men fled on all sides. Wash-ing-ton did what he could to
save them from the foe, like a brave man. But the French went
on and built more forts, and our men were at their wits' end
to hold their own with foes on all sides.
There were six tribes of the red men who were their friends,
and I would tell you their names if they were not too long and
hard.
But you will find in the State of New York lakes and streams
which bear the same names. We ought to bear them in mind, as
they were of great use in those times. So it was thought best
for all our men to meet in a town by the name of Al-ba-ny, to
fix on a way to keep these six tribes our friends, and to join
with them to fight the French. Al-ba-ny was then a small town
with few in it; but it had a stone fort. Here our men met the
chiefs and had a talk with them. The chiefs told our clan they
were not so wise and brave as the French, or they would build
forts like them.
But there was one wise man in our midst, Ben-ja-min Frank-lin.
He had been a poor boy, so poor that when he went in to the
great town of Phil-a-del-phia, he had but a few cents. But he
knew how to print; and more than that he was fond of books,
and so could learn all sorts of things. He brought with him
a small print on which was shown a snake cut in parts. Each
part had on it the name of one of the States. He said they must
be made one or die, and that to be one was the way to be great.
But our men did not see their way clear to do this yet. We know
they made the States one in time.
The death of Gen-er-al Brad-dock was a great blow to their hopes.
They saw that all the red-coats, as we call the Eng-lish, were
not brave; but could run as fast as the rest. Still they took
some forts, with long names, from the French in this war. They
made a move on them at Que-bec, with Gen-er-al Wolfe at the
head of our troops.
[Illustration: A DUTCH HOUSEHOLD IN NEW AM-STER-DAM, NOW NEW
YORK.]
Quebec was one of the strong forts of the world. At first Gen-er-al
Wolfe lost at all points. But he found at last a way to go in
boats. With no noise they made their way to land, and up a steep
hill, and at dawn the French woke to see red-coats on all sides.
Their Gen-er-al Mont-calm led them out of the fort to fight.
If he had not, he might have won the day, for the fort was strong.
But he chose to fight in the wide field, and so we won.
At the time of the fight, Gen-er-al Wolfe, who had been struck
by a death shot, heard shouts of joy, "They fly--they fly!"
"Who fly!" came from his white lips. "The French." "Then praise
God, I die at peace," he said, with his last breath.
Gen-er-al Mont-calm, too, on the French side, had a wound, and
was told he could not live. "I am glad of it," he said, "for
then I shall not live to see my town yield to the foe." So you
see they were two brave men who fell that day. In five days
a peace was made with France; for she gave up most of the land
to which she had laid claim.
But there were some of the red men who did not want this peace
with the Eng-lish. They had seen the red-coats run away from
them, and they thought they might now strike a blow for their
own homes and land. The French made them think they would help
them. "The King of France has but slept for a time," they said,
"but he will soon wake up, and then he will drive the foe from
the homes of the red men, and give them back their land."
[Illustration: IN-DI-AN CHIEF.]
There was one brave chief, Pon-ti-ac, who heard all this with
a glad heart. "I will live and die a French man," he said, and
he sent men to each town to bear a belt with red or black beads
on it, and a knife with a red stain on it; these meant war.
The knife was of the kind with which they were wont to scalp
the foe, and the red stain told that deeds of blood were at
hand. When this belt and knife were kept, Pon-ti-ac knew that
the chiefs there would join the war. Their first move was on
a fort at De-troit.
[Illustration: IRON TOM-A-HAWK.]
[Illustration: STONE TOM-A-HAWK.]
This was Pon-ti-ac's plan. He would go some day to the fort
with some men and ask leave to come in and show them a war dance.
While some were in the dance, a few would stroll through the
fort and see all that could be seen. Then they would go once
more as if for a call, with arms hid in their clothes, and strike
down the white men when they did not look for it. The first
part of this plan went on all right; but one of the squaws,
who was a friend to the head man of the fort, told him what
the red men meant to do. So when Pon-ti-ac and his men went
in the fort, each with his gun hid in his clothes, they found
ranks of men with arms to meet them, and they were glad to get
out with their lives.
But Pon-ti-ac would not give up, for he made more friends, and
laid siege to De-troit in 1763. It was a long siege for the
red man, but it held out, though food was scarce, and the men
in it felt that they must soon starve. Pon-ti-ac at last had
to make peace, and met his own death at the hands of a red man,
who was mad with drink; and so the French and In-di-an war came
to an end.