Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Josephine Paolucci, Joshua Hutchinson
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
[Illustration: JAMES A. GARFIELD,
AT THE AGE OF 16.
_Copied by permission of_ J.F. RYDER, _Cleveland, G._]
FROM
CANAL BOY TO PRESIDENT,
OR THE
BOYHOOD AND MANHOOD
OF
JAMES A. GARFIELD.
BY
HORATIO ALGER, JR.,
AUTHOR OF RAGGED DICK; LUCK AND PLUCK; TATTERED TOM, ETC.
_ILLUSTRATED_.
NEW YORK
AMERICAN PUBLISHERS CORPORATION
310-318 SIXTH AVENUE
1881
TO
HARRY AND JAMES GARFIELD
WHOSE PRIVATE SORROW
IS THE PUBLIC GRIEF,
THIS MEMORIAL OF THEIR ILLUSTRIOUS FATHER
Is inscribed
WITH THE WARMEST SYMPATHY.
GENERAL PREFACE.
The present series of volumes has been undertaken with the view of
supplying the want of a class of books for children, of a vigorous,
manly tone, combined with a plain and concise mode of narration. The
writings of Charles Dickens have been selected as the basis of the
scheme, on account of the well-known excellence of his portrayal of
children, and the interests connected with children--qualities which
have given his volumes their strongest hold on the hearts of parents.
These delineations having thus received the approval of readers of
mature age, it seemed a worthy effort to make the young also
participants in the enjoyment of these classic fictions, to introduce
the children of real life to these beautiful children of the
imagination.
With this view, the career of Little Nell and her Grandfather, Oliver,
Little Paul, Florence Dombey, Smike, and the Child-Wife, have been
detached from the large mass of matter with which they were originally
connected, and presented, in the author's own language, to a new class
of readers, to whom the little volumes will we doubt not, be as
attractive as the larger originals have so long proved to the general
public. We have brought down these famous stories from the library to
the nursery--the parlor table to the child's hands--having a precedent
for the proceeding, if one be needed, in the somewhat similar work, the
Tales from Shakespeare, by one of the choicest of English authors and
most reverential of scholars, Charles Lamb.
Newtonville, Mass.
PREFACE.
If I am asked why I add one to the numerous Lives of our dead President,
I answer, in the words of Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, because "our annals
afford no such incentive to youth as does his life, and it will become
one of the Republic's household stories."
I have conceived, therefore, that a biography, written with a view to
interest young people in the facts of his great career, would be a
praiseworthy undertaking. The biography of General Garfield, however
imperfectly executed, can not but be profitable to the reader. In this
story, which I have made as attractive as I am able, I make no claim to
originality. I have made free use of such materials as came within my
reach, including incidents and reminiscences made public during the last
summer, and I trust I have succeeded, in a measure, in conveying a
correct idea of a character whose nobility we have only learned to
appreciate since death has snatched our leader from us.
I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations to two Lives of
Garfield, one by Edmund Kirke, the other by Major J.M. Bundy. Such of my
readers as desire a more extended account of the later life of Gen.
Garfield, I refer to these well-written and instructive works.
HORATIO ALGER, JR.
New York, _Oct_. 8, 1881.
CONTENTS.
I.--THE FIRST PAIR OF SHOES
II.--GROWING IN WISDOM AND STATURE
III.--IN QUEST OF FORTUNE
IV.--ON THE TOW-PATH
V.--AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION
VI.--JAMES LEAVES THE CANAL
VII.--THE CHOICE OF A VOCATION
VIII.--GEAUGA SEMINARY
IX.--WAYS AND MEANS
X.--A COUSIN'S REMINISCENCES
XI.--LEDGE HILL SCHOOL
XII.--WHO SHALL BE MASTER?
XIII.--JAMES LEAVES GEAUGA SEMINARY
XIV.--AT HIRAM INSTITUTE
XV.--THREE BUSY YEARS
XVI.--ENTERING WILLIAMS COLLEGE
XVII.--LIFE IN COLLEGE
XVIII.--THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT
XIX.--GARFIELD AS A COLLEGE PRESIDENT
XX.--GARFIELD BECOMES A STATE SENATOR
XXI.--A DIFFICULT DUTY
XXII.--JOHN JORDAN'S DANGEROUS JOURNEY
XXIII.--GARFIELD'S BOLD STRATEGY
XXIV.--THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK
XXV.--THE PERILOUS TRIP UP THE BIG SANDY
XXVI.--THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A CONGRESSMAN
XXVII.--GARFIELD'S COURSE IN CONGRESS
XXVIII.--THE MAN FOR THE HOUR
XXIX.--GARFIELD AS A LAWYER
XXX.--THE SCHOLAR IN POLITICS
XXXI.--THE TRIBUTES OF FRIENDS
XXXII.--FROM CANAL-BOY TO PRESIDENT
XXXIII.--THE NEW ADMINISTRATION
XXXIV.--THE TRAGIC END
XXXV.--MR. DEPEW'S ESTIMATE OF GARFIELD
XXXVI.--THE LESSONS OF HIS LIFE
THE
BOYHOOD AND MANHOOD
OF
JAMES A. GARFIELD.
CHAPTER I.
THE FIRST PAIR OF SHOES.
From a small and rudely-built log-cabin a sturdy boy of four years
issued, and looked earnestly across the clearing to the pathway that led
through the surrounding forest. His bare feet pressed the soft grass,
which spread like a carpet before the door.
"What are you looking for, Jimmy?" asked his mother from within the
humble dwelling.
"I'm looking for Thomas," said Jimmy.
"It's hardly time for him yet. He won't be through work till after
sunset."
"Then I wish the sun would set quick," said Jimmy.
"That is something we can not hasten, my son. God makes the sun to rise
and to set in its due season."
This idea was probably too advanced for Jimmy's comprehension, for he
was but four years of age, and the youngest of a family of four
children. His father had died two years before, leaving a young widow,
and four children, the eldest but nine, in sore straits. A long and
severe winter lay before the little family, and they had but little corn
garnered to carry them through till the next harvest. But the young
widow was a brave woman and a devoted mother.
"God will provide for us," she said, but sometimes it seemed a mystery
how that provision was to come. More than once, when the corn was low in
the bin, she went to bed without her own supper, that her four children,
who were blessed with hearty appetites, might be satisfied. But when
twelve months had gone by, and the new harvest came in, the fields which
she and her oldest boy had planted yielded enough to place them beyond
the fear of want. God did help them, but it was because they helped
themselves.
But beyond the barest necessaries the little family neither expected
nor obtained much. Clothing cost money, and there was very little money
in the log-cabin, or indeed in the whole settlement, if settlement it
can be called. There was no house within a mile, and the village a mile
and a half away contained only a school-house, a grist-mill, and a
little log store and dwelling.
Two weeks before my story opens, a farmer living not far away called at
the log-cabin. Thomas, the oldest boy, was at work in a field near the
house.
"Do you want to see mother?" he asked.
"No, I want to see you."
"All right, sir! Here I am," said Thomas, smiling pleasantly.
"How old are you?" asked the farmer.
"Eleven years old, sir."
The farmer surveyed approvingly the sturdy frame, broad shoulders, and
muscular arms of the boy, and said, after a pause, "You look pretty
strong of your age."
"Oh, yes, sir," answered Thomas, complacently "I am strong."
"And you are used to farm work?"
"Yes, sir. I do about all the outdoor work at home, being the only boy.
Of course, there is Jimmy, but he is only four, and that's too young to
work on the farm."
"What does he want?" thought Thomas.
He soon learned.
"I need help on my farm, and I guess you will suit me," said Mr. Conrad,
though that was not his name. In fact, I don't know his name, but that
will do as well as any other.
"I don't know whether mother can spare me, but I can ask her," said
Thomas. "What are you willing to pay?"
"I'll give you twelve dollars a month, but you'll have to make long
days."
Twelve dollars a month! Tom's eyes sparkled with joy, for to him it
seemed an immense sum--and it would go very far in the little family.
"I am quite sure mother will let me go," he said. "I'll go in and ask
her."
"Do so, sonny, and I'll wait for you here."
Thomas swung open the plank door, and entered the cabin.
It was about twenty feet one way by thirty the other. It had three small
windows, a deal floor, and the spaces between the logs of which it was
built were filled in with clay. It was certainly an humble dwelling, and
the chances are that not one of my young readers is so poor as not to
afford a better. Yet, it was not uncomfortable. It afforded fair
protection from the heat of summer, and the cold of winter, and was
after all far more desirable as a home than the crowded tenements of our
larger cities, for those who occupied it had but to open the door and
windows to breathe the pure air of heaven, uncontaminated by foul odors
or the taint of miasma.
"Mother," said Thomas, "Mr. Conrad wants to hire me to work on his farm,
and he is willing to pay me twelve dollars a month. May I go?"
"Ask Mr. Conrad to come in, Thomas."
The farmer entered, and repeated his request.
Mrs. Garfield, for this was the widow's name, was but little over
thirty. She had a strong, thoughtful face, and a firm mouth, that spoke
a decided character. She was just the woman to grapple with adversity,
and turning her unwearied hands to any work, to rear up her children in
the fear of the Lord, and provide for their necessities as well as
circumstances would admit.
She didn't like to spare Thomas, for much of his work would be thrown
upon her, but there was great lack of ready money and the twelve dollars
were a powerful temptation.
"I need Thomas at home," she said slowly, "but I need the money more. He
may go, if he likes."
"I will go," said Thomas promptly.
"How often can you let him come home?" was the next question.
"Every fortnight, on Saturday night. He shall bring his wages then."
This was satisfactory, and Thomas, not stopping to change his clothes,
for he had but one suit, went off with his employer.
His absence naturally increased his mother's work, and was felt as a
sore loss by Jimmy, who was in the habit of following him about, and
watching him when he was at work. Sometimes his brother gave the little
fellow a trifle to do, and Jimmy was always pleased to help, for he was
fond of work, and when he grew older and stronger he was himself a
sturdy and indefatigable worker in ways not dreamed of then.
The first fortnight was up, and Thomas was expected home. No one was
more anxious to see him than his little brother, and that was why Jimmy
had come out from his humble home, and was looking so earnestly across
the clearing.
At last he saw him, and ran as fast as short legs could carry him to
meet his brother.
"Oh, Tommy, how I've missed you!" he said.
"Have you, Jimmy?" asked Thomas, passing his arm around his little
brother's neck. "I have missed you too, and all the family. Are all
well?"
"Oh, yes."
"That is good."
As they neared the cabin Mrs. Garfield came out, and welcomed her oldest
boy home.
"We are all glad to see you, Thomas," she said. "How have you got
along?"
"Very well, mother."
"Was the work hard?"
"The hours were pretty long. I had to work fourteen hours a day."
"That is too long for a boy of your age to work," said his mother
anxiously.
"Oh, it hasn't hurt me, mother," said Thomas, laughing. "Besides, you
must remember I have been well paid. What do you say to that?"
He drew from his pocket twelve silver half-dollars, and laid them on
the table, a glittering heap.
"Is it all yours, Tommy?" asked his little brother wonderingly.
"No, it belongs to mother. I give it to her."
"Thank you, Thomas," said Mrs. Garfield, "but at least you ought to be
consulted about how it shall be spent. Is there anything you need for
yourself?"
"Oh, never mind me! I want Jimmy to have a pair of shoes."
Jimmy looked with interest at his little bare feet, and thought he would
like some shoes. In fact they would be his first, for thus far in life
he had been a barefooted boy.
"Jimmy shall have his shoes," said Mrs. Garfield; "when you see the
shoemaker ask him to come here as soon as he can make it convenient."
So, a few days later the shoemaker, who may possibly have had no shop of
his own, called at the log-cabin, measured Jimmy for a pair of shoes,
and made them on the spot, boarding out a part of his pay.
The first pair of shoes made an important epoch in Jimmy Garfield's
life, for it was decided that he could now go to school.