knowledge of an able seaman, and was sent on board the ship _Sea Horse_
to the East Indies. His position at first was little better than that of
a foremast hand, but it was not long before the captain noticed the
lad's smartness and keen attention to his duties, and very soon he
called him to the quarterdeck and made him fore-midshipman.
The captain advised the first lieutenant to keep an eye on the boy and
occasionally to let him have charge of manoeuvering the vessel. This
the lieutenant did, and to his great surprise found that Nelson was
quite as well able to handle the ship as he was himself.
The sea life was doing him good, too. He was no longer the thin, sickly
lad who had wandered through the streets of Chatham, but a fine,
well-built, sun-tanned youth, well beloved on deck and popular with all
his mates.
Fine as the sea life was for him, life in the East Indies was very
trying. The climate brought fever with it, and Horatio had been in the
East but a short time before he fell very ill and had to be taken from
his ship and sent home on board the _Dolphin_. The ship doctors gave up
hope of saving him, but the captain was so much interested in the boy
that he spent hours nursing him, and finally he grew better.
The voyage from India to England was the most trying time in Nelson's
life. He felt that he was not built for the life of a sailor, although
his whole mind and heart were set upon rising in that profession. He had
no money, no influential friends; he had staked everything on winning
his way in the navy. Now it seemed as though he must give up his career
and settle down to some small place on shore.
But his talks with the captain gradually stirred new hopes. He was
seized with patriotic zeal and determined at every risk to serve his
country on the seas, no matter what suffering it might bring to him. He
wanted to act, to do something, and this resolution became suddenly the
motive power of his life. From the time of that voyage home on the
_Dolphin_, Nelson used to say, dated his passion to win fame in the
defense of England.
When he reached home he was given a position on a new ship, and a little
later took his examination for the rank of lieutenant. His uncle,
Captain Suckling, who had commanded the _Raissonnable_, was at the head
of the board of examiners before whom Horatio appeared. The boy was very
nervous when he entered the room, but answered the questions almost as
rapidly as they were put to him, and every answer was full and correct.
He passed the examinations triumphantly, and then his uncle introduced
him to the other members of the Board.
One of them said, "Why didn't you tell us he was your own nephew?"
"Because," said the old sailor, "I didn't want him to be favored in any
way. I was sure he would pass a fine examination, and as you see I
haven't been disappointed."
Nelson was given the rank of lieutenant and assigned to the
_Lowestoffe_. The vessel cruised to the Barbadoes, in the West Indies,
and there the young lieutenant had his first chance to make his mark.
The ship fell in with an American letter-of-marque, and the first
lieutenant was ordered to board the American ship. A terrific gale was
blowing, and the sea ran so high that in spite of the efforts of the
lieutenant he was unable to reach the American boat and was forced to
return to his own frigate.
The captain, very much disturbed at this failure to land the prize,
called the officers to him and asked warmly whether there was not one of
them who was able to take possession of the other boat. The lieutenant
who had already tried and failed offered to try again, but Nelson pushed
his way forward and exclaimed, "No, it's my turn now. If I come back it
will be time for you then." With a few sailors he jumped into the small
boat and ploughed through the seas.
It was a hard tussle to reach the American, and when they did reach her
the sea was so high, and the prize lay so deep in the trough of the
waves, that Nelson's boat was swept over the deck of the other vessel,
and he had to come back from the other side and fight his way against
the high sea before he could finally succeed in climbing on board.
He now had a high reputation for courage and daring at sea fit to equal
the name he had won as a skilful mariner. It did not take the captain of
the _Lowestoffe_ long to realize that the alertness and enthusiasm of
his young lieutenant bespoke a future of the greatest brilliance in his
country's service.
In those days England was really at peace, although her eyes were
constantly turned across the Channel and wise men were preparing her for
war with France. Nelson was sent into all parts of the world, and no
matter what were his orders he always carried them out with such skill
that rapid promotion followed every return home. Time and again he fell
ill, but he was never despondent, because he was determined to continue
in his course and serve his country at any cost to himself. He also saw
the war clouds gathering, and realized that it would not be long before
he would have the chance to command a squadron against France.
The men who had scoffed at him when he first appeared, a puny boy, at
Chatham, found themselves gradually trusting more and more to his
advice, and his uncle, who had at first predicted that three months'
service would send Horatio back to shore, was now the first to predict
that England would have good cause to be proud of this slightly-built
but marvelously active-minded youth.
[Illustration: NELSON BOARDING THE "SAN JOSEF"]
A boy somewhat younger than Nelson was growing up in Corsica, in France,
who was soon to win great battles for the latter country and whose
overweaning ambition was finally to plunge his land into a
life-and-death struggle with England. That boy was named Napoleon
Bonaparte, and when he became supreme in France he realized that it was
England who chiefly blocked his schemes at world-wide empire.
He planned to invade England, and to carry his troops across the Channel
while the great English war-ships were engaged with his own vessels; but
by the time that Napoleon led the troops of France, Horatio Nelson was
in command of a British squadron. The French might be all-conquering on
land, but the English had yet to be defeated on the seas.
Before the great decisive battle of Trafalgar Nelson sent his famous
message to all the men under him: "England expects every man to do his
duty!" When the battle was over, the little English admiral had won the
greatest naval victory in his country's history. The same indomitable
pluck that had carried him through so many dangers won that great day.
He would not be downed, no matter what the odds against him.
The same qualities which had sent the delicate boy of thirteen hurrying
through the rain to Chatham, intent only on reaching his goal, brought
about the great sea victories of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson.
XII
Robert Fulton
The Boy of the Conestoga: 1765-1815
It was mid-afternoon on July 3d, 1778. A group of a dozen boys sat in
the long grass that grew close down to the banks of the narrow, twisting
Conestoga River, in eastern Pennsylvania. All of the boys were hard at
work engaged in a mysterious occupation. By the side of one of them lay
a great pile of narrow pasteboard tubes, each about two feet long, and
in front of this same small boy stood a keg filled with what looked like
black sand.
Each of the group was busy working with one of the pasteboard tubes,
stopping one end tightly with paper, and then pouring in handfuls of the
"sand" from the keg, and from time to time dropping small colored balls
into the tubes at various layers of the sand. These balls came from a
box that was guarded by the same boy who had charge of the tubes and the
keg, and he dealt them out to the others with continual words of
caution.
"Be careful of that one, George," he said, handing him one of the
colored balls; "those red ones were very hard to make, and I haven't
many of them, but they'll burn splendidly, and make a great show when
they go off."
"How do you stop the candle when all the balls and powder are in, Rob?"
asked another boy.
"See, this way," said the young instructor, and he slipped a short fuse
into the tube and fastened the end with paper and a piece of twine.
"There's something'll let folks know to-morrow's the Fourth of July," he
added proudly, as he laid the rocket beside the keg of powder.
"What made you think of them, Rob?" asked one of the boys, looking
admiringly at the lad of fourteen who had just spoken.
"I knew something had to be done," said Robert, "as soon as I heard they
weren't going to let us burn any candles to-morrow night 'cause candles
are so scarce. I knew we had to do something to show how proud we are
that they signed the Declaration of Independence two years ago, and so I
thought things over last night and worked out a way of making these
rockets. They'll be much grander than last year's candle parade. They
wouldn't let us light the streets, so we'll light the skies."
"I wish the Britishers could see them!" said one of the group; and
another added: "I wish General Washington could be in Lancaster
to-morrow night!"
Just before the warm sun dropped behind the tops of the walnut-grove
beyond the river the work was done, and a great pile of rockets lay on
the grass. Then, as though moved by one impulse, all the boys stripped
off their clothes and plunged into the cool pool of the river where it
made a great circle under the maples. They had all been born and brought
up near the winding Conestoga, and had fished in it and swam in it ever
since they could remember.
The next evening the boys of Lancaster sprang a surprise on that quiet
but patriotic town. The authorities had forbidden the burning of candles
on account of the scarcity caused by the War of Independence, and every
one expected that second Fourth of July to pass off as quietly as any
other day. But at dusk all the boys gathered at Rob Fulton's house, just
outside town, and as soon as it was really dark proceeded to the town
square, their arms full of mysterious packages.
It took only a few minutes to gather enough wood in the centre of the
square for a gigantic bonfire, and when all the people of Lancaster were
drawn into the square by the blaze, the boys started their display of
fireworks. The astonished people heard one dull thudding report after
another, saw a ball of colored fire flaming high in the air, then a
burst of myriad sparks and a rain of stars. They were not used to seeing
sky-rockets, most of them had never heard that there were such things,
but they were delighted with them, and hurrahed and cheered at each
fresh burst. This was indeed a great surprise.
"What are they? Where did they come from? How did the boys get them?"
were the questions that went through the watching crowds, and it was not
long before the answer traveled from mouth to mouth: "It's one of Rob
Fulton's inventions. He read about making them in some book."
The father of one of Robert's friends nodded his head when he heard this
news, and said to his wife: "I might have known it was young Rob; I've
never known such a boy for making things. His schoolmaster told me the
other day that when he was only ten he made his own lead pencils,
picking up any bits of sheet lead which happened to come his way, and
hammering the lead out of them and making pencils that were as good as
any in the school."
The fireworks were a great success; for the better part of an hour they
held the attention of Lancaster, and when the last rocket had shot out
its stars every boy there felt that the Fourth of July had been
splendidly kept. For a day or two Rob Fulton was an important personage,
then he dropped back into the ranks with his schoolmates.
It was not long after, however, that Robert set himself to work out
another problem. The Fultons lived near the Conestoga, and Robert and
his younger brothers were very fond of fishing. All they had to fish
from was a light raft which they had built the summer before, and this
cumbersome craft they had to pole from place to place. When they wanted
to fish some distance down from their farmhouse, they had to spend most
of the afternoon poling, and this heavy labor robbed the sport of half
its charm. So, a week or two after the Fourth of July, Robert told a
couple of boy friends that he was going to make a boat of his own, and
got them to help him collect the materials he needed.
He liked mystery, and told them to tell no one of his plans. As soon as
school was over the three conspirators would steal away to the
riverside, and there hammer and saw and plane to their hearts' content.
Gradually the boat took shape under their hands, and after about ten
days' work a small, light skiff, with two paddle-wheels joined by a bar
and crank, was ready to be launched.
The idea was that a boy standing in the middle of the skiff could make
both wheels revolve by turning the crank, and it needed only another boy
holding an oar in a crotch at the stern to steer the craft wherever he
wanted it to go. Yet, even when the boat was finished, the two other
boys were very doubtful whether such a strange-looking object would
really work, Robert himself had no doubts upon that score; he had worked
the whole plan out before he had chosen the first plank.
The miniature side-paddle river-boat was christened the _George
Washington_, and launched in a still reach of the Conestoga. It was an
exciting moment when Robert laid hands on the crank and started the two
wheels. They turned easily, and the boat pulled steadily out from shore,
and at a twist from the steering-oar headed down-stream. It was a proud
moment for the young inventor. As they went down the river and passed
people on the banks, he could not help laughing as he saw the surprise
on their faces.
Fishing became better sport than ever when one had a boat of this sort
to take one up-or down-stream. Very little effort sent the paddles a
long way, and there were always boys who were eager to take a turn at
the crank.
[Illustration: ROBERT FULTON'S FIRST EXPERIMENT WITH PADDLE WHEELS]
The Lancaster schoolmaster heard of the boat, and said to a friend:
"Take my word for it, the world's going to hear from Rob Fulton some
of these days. He can't help turning old goods to new uses. And he
doesn't know what it means to be discouraged. I met him the afternoon of
the third of July and he told me that he was going to make some rockets,
and I said I thought he would find such a task impossible. 'No, sir,'
says Robert to me, 'I don't think so. I don't think anything's
impossible if you make up your mind to do it.' That's the sort of boy he
is!"
A large number of Hessian troops were quartered near the Conestoga, and
the Lancaster boys thought a great deal about the War for Independence,
as was natural when the fathers and brothers of most of them were
fighting in it. Such thoughts soon turned Rob Fulton's mind to making
firearms, and as soon as his boat had proved itself successful, he
planned a new type of gun, and supplied some Lancaster gunsmiths with
complete drawings for the whole,--stock, lock, and barrel,--and made
estimates of range that proved correct when the gun was finished.
But Rob Fulton had remarkable talents in more lines than one. His
playmates had nicknamed him "Quicksilver Bob" because he was so fond of
buying that glittering metal and using it in various ways. The name
suited him well, for he could turn from one occupation to another, and
appeared to be equally good in each. Usually, however, when he was not
inventing he was learning how to paint, and he had a number of teachers,
one of whom was the famous Major André.
The little town of Lancaster was an important place during the
Revolution. In 1777 the Continental Congress had held its sessions in
the old court-house there, and during the whole time of the war the town
was famous as the depot of supplies for the army. A great deal of powder
was stored in the town, and rifles, blankets, and clothing were
manufactured there in large quantities.
In the autumn of 1775 Major André, who had been captured while on his
way to Quebec, was brought to Lancaster for safe keeping. He was allowed
certain liberty on parole, and lived in the house of a near neighbor of
the Fultons, named Caleb Cope. Major André was very fond of sketching,
and spent much of his time in the fields painting pictures of the
picturesque little village. No sooner had Rob Fulton heard of the
English major's skill with colors than he hunted him up and asked for a
few lessons. André was a very amiable young man, and took a great liking
to the boy. He gave him many lessons in drawing, and also in the use of
colors, and young Fulton learned rapidly under his tutoring. André was
also in the habit of playing marbles and other games with Rob and his
young friends, and the boys found him delightful company.
At about the same time one of Robert's playmates learned a new way of
mixing and preparing colors, using mussel-shells to show them off. This
boy carried the shells covered with his new paint to school one day and
showed them to Robert. No sooner had young Fulton seen them than he
begged to be taught how they were made, and immediately started to work
mixing his own colors. The Revolution had made it very difficult to
obtain painting materials from abroad, and almost all the paints the
boys used were home-made. Fulton now began to study the making of
colors, and in a very short time was able to add to his stock.
Wherever he went the young inventor and painter was popular. In the near
neighborhood of his home there were several factories making arms and
ammunition for the war, and guards were stationed about the doors to
make sure that no trespassers entered. But "Quicksilver Bob" was allowed
to come and go as he would. Whatever he saw he studied, and the first
thing they knew the men in charge of the factories would find the boy
submitting new plans and new suggestions to them for the improvement of
guns or powder. Much to their surprise these suggestions were almost
always good ones, and he became a very welcome visitor. He was paid for
some of this work, but much of it he did without any reward, except the
knowledge that he was in a way serving his country. To help support the
little family he used his skill as a painter in making signs for village
taverns and shops, very much as another boy artist named Benjamin West
had done in his youth.
It happened that in 1777 some two thousand British prisoners were
brought to Lancaster and quartered there. Such a large number of the
enemy naturally caused some alarm among the quiet country people. The
officers were lodged at the taverns and at private houses, but the
soldiers themselves lived in rude barracks just outside the town, and
there were so many of them that they made quite a settlement for
themselves. Many of the Hessian troopers had their wives with them, and
these occupied square huts built of mud and sod. The little encampment
had quite a strange appearance, the small mud houses lining primitive
streets and looking like some savage settlement.
Naturally the place had a great charm for the Lancaster boys, and
whenever they were free from school during that time Robert and his
friends were almost sure to be found in the neighborhood of the Hessian
huts, watching these strange men who had come from overseas. Fulton drew
countless pictures of them, some of them caricatures, but many faithful
copies of what he saw. When they were finished these pictures were in
great demand, and some of them were carried as far as Philadelphia, to
show the people there the curious sights of the country near Lancaster.
In spite of his skill in these different lines, Robert was not a very
successful scholar, and his poor schoolteacher, who was a strict Quaker
of Tory principles, found him very hard to put up with at certain times.
If some inventive idea occurred to the boy while he was on his way to
school, he was quite as likely to stop and work it out as not. One time
he came in so very late that the teacher quite lost his patience.
Seizing a rod he told Robert to hold out his hand, and gave him a
caning. "There!" he exclaimed, "I hope that will make you do something."
But the boy folded his arms and answered very quietly, "I came to school
to have something beaten into my brains and not into my knuckles." It
was very hard for the teacher to do much with such a lad, particularly
as the boy was so often really very helpful to him.
Another time when he came to school late, he had been at a shop pouring
lead into wooden pencils that were better than those he had made before,
and he handed several of them to the master. The man examined them
carefully and said they were the best he had ever had. It was hard to
scold the boy for spending his time in such ways. One time, when the
teacher had tried to rouse his ambition to study history, Robert said to
him: "My head's so full of original notions that there's no vacant room
to store away the records of dusty old books." Yet in spite of these
stories, the boy could not help picking up a great deal of general
information at school, for his mind was always alert, and he was eager
to improve on everything that had been done before.
At this time in his boyhood it was hard to say whether the young Fulton
was more the inventor or the artist, but as soon as the war ended he
decided that he would become a painter, and went to Philadelphia, then
the chief city of the new nation, to study his art. He made enough money
by the use of his pencil and by making drawings for machinists to
support himself, and also saved enough money to buy a small farm for his
widowed mother and younger brothers and sisters.
Benjamin West, the great painter, had lived near Lancaster, and had
heard much of Robert Fulton's boyhood inventions, and he now hunted him
out in Philadelphia, and helped him in his new line of work. The young
artist met Benjamin Franklin and found him eager to aid him in his
plans, and so, by his perseverance and the friends he was fortunate
enough to make, he laid the foundations for his future.
When he became a man, the spirit of the inventor finally overcame that
of the painter. He went abroad and studied in laboratories in England
and France, and then he came home and built a workshop of his own. What
particularly interested him was the uses to which steam might be put,
and he studied its possibilities until he had worked out his plans for a
practical steamboat. How successful those plans were all the world
knows.
It was a great day when the crowds that lined the Hudson River saw the
_Clermont_ prove that the era of sailing vessels had closed, and that of
steamships had dawned. But to the boys who had lived along the Conestoga
it did not seem strange that Robert Fulton had won fame as an inventor;
they had known he could make anything he chose since that second
Independence Day when he had come to his country's rescue with his
home-made sky-rockets.
XIII
Andrew Jackson
The Boy of the Carolinas: 1767-1845
It was hard for a boy to get much of an education in the backwoods
districts of the American colonies in 1777, and especially so in such a
primitive country as that which lay along the Catawba River in South
Carolina. The colonies were at war with England, and all the care of the
people was needed to protect their farms from attacks by the enemy, and
to give as much help as they could to their country's cause.
But if the boys and girls learned little from books they learned a great
deal from hard experience; courage and self-reliance foremost of all.
All of the children learned those lessons at a time when they might come
home any day and find their home burned down by the enemy or their
father and older brothers carried away prisoners. Even more than most of
his playmates however, young Andrew Jackson learned these things,
because his life was harder than theirs, and he saw more of the actual
fighting. By nature he was a fighter, and circumstances strengthened
that trait in him.